Alexander the Great in History, History Channel and Profile of Alexander the Great, AlexandertheGreat.com

Plutarch describing Olympias and Philip’s dreams.

“The night before the consummation of their marriage, she dreamed that a thunderbolt fell upon her body, which kindled a great fire, whose divided flames dispersed themselves all about, and then were extinguished. And Philip, some time after he was married, dreamt that he sealed up his wife’s body with a seal, whose impression, as be fancied, was the figure of a lion. Some of the diviners interpreted this as a warning to Philip to look narrowly to his wife; but Aristander of Telmessus, considering how unusual it was to seal up anything that was empty, assured him the meaning of his dream was that the queen was with child of a boy, who would one day prove as stout and courageous as a lion.”

The Childhood of Alexander the Great

Alexander was born on July 20, 356 BC, in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon. He was the son of Philip II, the King of Macedon. Alexander claimed patrilineal descent from Heracles through Caranus of Macedon and matrilineal descent from Aeacus and Achilles through Neoptolemus. His mother was Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, the king of the north Greek state of Epirus. Although Philip had either seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for a time. On his mother’s side, Alexander was a second cousin of the celebrated general Pyrrhus of Epirus, who was ranked by Hannibal as, depending on the source, either the best or second best (after Alexander) commander the world had ever seen.

According to the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, Olympias, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunder bolt, causing a flame which spread “far and wide” before dying away. Some time after the marriage Philip was said to have seen himself, in a dream, sealing up his wife’s womb with a seal upon which was engraved the image of a lion. Plutarch offers a variety of interpretations of these dreams; that Olympia was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander’s father was Zeus. Ancient commentators were divided as to whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander’s divine parentage, some claiming she told Alexander, others that she dismissed the suggestion as impious.

The Adolescence of Alexander the Great

When Alexander was thirteen years old, Philip decided that Alexander needed a higher education and he began to search for a tutor. Many people were passed over including Isocrates and Speusippus, Plato’s successor at the Academy of Athens, who offered to resign to take up the post. In the end, Philip offered the job to Aristotle, who accepted, and Philip gave them the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as their classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle’s hometown of Stageira, which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile.

Mieza acted like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as Ptolemy and Cassander. Many of the pupils who learned by Alexander’s side would become his friends and future generals, and are often referred to as the ‘Companions’. At Mieza, Aristotle educated Alexander and his companions in medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic and art. Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer from Aristotle’s teaching, and in particular the Iliad, which Aristotle gave him an annotated copy of, which Alexander was to take on his campaigns.

Alexander the Great and the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)

Philip joined Alexander with his army in 338 BC and they marched south through Thermopylae, which they took after a stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison and went on to occupy the city of Elatea, a few days march from both Athens and Thebes. Meanwhile, the Athenians, led by Demosthenes, voted to seek an alliance with Thebes in the war against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to try to win Thebes’s favour, with the Athenians eventually succeeding. Philip marched on Amphissa (theoretically acting on the request of the Amphicytonic League), captured the mercenaries sent there by Demosthenes, and accepted the city’s surrender. Philip then returned to Elatea and sent a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes which was rejected.

As Philip marched south he was blocked near Chaeronea, Boeotia by the forces of Athens and Thebes. During the ensuing battle, Philip commanded the right, and Alexander the left wing, accompanied by a group of Philip’s trusted generals. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for a long time. Philip deliberately withdrew his troops on the right wing, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow him, thus breaking their line. On the left, the sources agree in saying that Alexander was the first to break into the Theban lines, followed by Philip’s generals. Seeing this, Philip turned and attacked the Athenians pursuing his forces, and routed them. With the rout of the Athenians, the Thebans were left to fight alone and surrounded by the victorious enemy, eventually they were crushed.

After the victory at Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC) Philip and Alexander marched unopposed into the Peloponnese and at Corinth, Philip established a “Hellenic Alliance” (modelled on the old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars) of all Greek states, with the exception of Sparta. Alexander and his father Philip had marched through the Peloponnese welcomed by all cities however when they reached Sparta they were refused, and simply left. Philip was then named as Hegemon (often translated as ‘Supreme Commander’) of this league (known by modern historians as the League of Corinth). Philip then announced his plans for a war of revenge against the Persian Empire, which he would command.

Plutarch describing the feud at Philip’s wedding.

“At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink desired the Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Alexander, that throwing one of the cups at his head, “You villain,” said he, “what, am I then a bastard?” Then Philip, taking Attalus’s part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on the floor. At which Alexander reproachfully insulted over him: “See there,” said he, “the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another.”

Alexander the Great’s Exile and return

After returning to Pella, Philip fell in love with, and married Cleopatra Eurydice, the niece of one of his generals, Attalus. This marriage made Alexander’s position as heir to the throne less secure, since if Cleopatra Eurydice bore Philip a son, there would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half Macedonian. During the wedding banquet, a drunken Attalus made a speech praying to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir to the Macedonian throne. Alexander shouted to Attalus, “What, am I then a bastard?” and he threw his goblet at him. Philip, who was also drunk, drew his sword and advanced towards Alexander before collapsing, leading Alexander to say, “See there,” said he, “the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another.”

Alexander fled from Macedon taking his mother with him, whom he dropped off with her brother in Dodona, capital of Epirus. He carried on to Illyria, where he sought refuge with the Illyrian King and was treated as a guest by the Illyrians, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before. Alexander returned to Macedon after six months in exile due to the efforts of a family friend, Demaratus the Corinthian, who mediated between the two parties.

The following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria, Pixodarus, offered the hand of his eldest daughter to Alexander’s half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus. Olympias and several of Alexander’s friends suggested to Alexander that this move showed that Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir. Alexander reacted by sending an actor, Thessalus of Corinth, to tell Pixodarus that he should not offer his daughter’s hand to an illegitimate son but instead to Alexander. When Philip heard of this, he scolded Alexander for wishing to marry the daughter of Carian. Philip had four of Alexander’s friends, Harpalus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Erygius exiled and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains.

The Accession of Alexander the Great

In 336 BC, whilst at Aegae, attending the wedding of his daughter by Olympias, Cleopatra to Olympias’s brother, Alexander I of Epirus, Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias.v[›] As Pausanias tried to escape he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander’s companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus. Alexander was proclaimed king by the Macedonian army and by the Macedonian noblemen at the age of 20.

The Kingdom of Macedon in 336 BC

Alexander began his reign by having his potential rivals to the throne murdered. He had his cousin, the former Amyntas IV, executed, as well as having two Macedonian princes from the region of Lyncestis killed, while a third, Alexander Lyncestes, was spared. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice and her daughter by Philip, Europa, burned alive. When Alexander found out about this, he was furious with his mother. Alexander also ordered the murder of Attalus, who was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor. Attalus was at the time in correspondence with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Regardless of whether Attalus actually intended to defect, he had already severely insulted Alexander, and having just had Attalus’s daughter and grandchildren murdered, Alexander probably felt Attalus was too dangerous to leave alive. Alexander spared the life of Arridaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias.

News of Philip’s death roused many states into revolt including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly and the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. When news of the revolts in Greece reached Alexander he responded quickly. Though his advisors advised him to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 men and rode south towards Thessaly, Macedon’s neighbor to the south. When he found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, he had the men ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear, and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander’s force, as he rode down towards the Peloponnesus.

Alexander the Great History, History Channel and Profile of Alexander the Great, AlexandertheGreat.com

Alexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great was an Ancient Greeki king (basileus) of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon to the throne in 336 BC after the King was assassinated, and died 13 years later at the age of 32.

While both Alexanders reign and empire were short-lived, the cultural impact of his conquests lasted for centuries. Alexander is one of the most well known figures of antiquity, and is remembered for his tactical ability, his conquests, and for spreading Greek civilization into the east.

Philip had brought most of the city-states of mainland Greece under Macedonian hegemony, using both military and diplomatic means. Upon his death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He succeeded in being awarded the generalship of Greece and with his authority firmly established, launched the military plans for expansion left by his father. He invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of campaigns lasting 10 years. Alexander repeatedly defeated the Persians in battle, marched through Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Bactria and in the process he overthrew the Persian king Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. Following his desire to reach the, ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea, he invaded India, but was eventually forced to turn back by the near-mutiny of his troops, who had tired of war.

Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, before having the chance to realize a series of planned campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following Alexander?s death, his empire was torn apart in a series of civil wars, which resulted in the formation of a number of states ruled by Macedonian nobility. Remarkable though his conquests were, Alexander?s lasting legacy was not his reign, but the cultural diffusion engendered by his conquests. The import of Greek colonists and culture to the east, initiated by Alexander, resulted in a new Hellenistic culture, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire up until the mid-15th century. Alexander himself became legendary, as a classical hero in the mould of Achilles and features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which generals, even to this day, compare themselves, and his tactical exploits are still taught in military academies throughout the world.