Alexander the Great's Lasting Legacy
Alexander the Great's Lasting Legacy
Legend has it that there is a knot in the city of Gordium which is impossible to undo. An ancient prophecy said that whoever could untie this Gordion knot would become the ruler of Asia. According to the story, while Alexander was in Gordium he found a wagon with an ox yoke tied by a tight, complex knot. Alexander first tried to untie the knot, but was unsuccessful. He then drew his sword and cut it in a single stroke.
On July 26, 356 BCE, the world’s greatest conqueror was brought into the world. Alexander the Great was born in Pella, the capital of the Macedonian kingdom, to King Philip and Olympias, a princess from Epirus. As a child, Alexander always seemed to be consumed by a desire to achieve great fame and glory. He was very anxious to see military action and to join his father in the conquest of the Greek city-states. King Philip, however, did not feel that Alexander was ready to take on such a task, so he hired Aristotle, a great philosopher, to teach Alexander about Greek knowledge and culture.
Alexander’s formal training ended at the age of sixteen, when Philip was absent on a campaign and Alexander was forced to battle against the Thracians. The battle turned out to be a great victory for Alexander and in 338 BCE he commanded the cavalry in Philip’s army in the battle of Chaeronea. This battle brought Greece under Macedonian control. Philip’s next plan was to invade the Persian Empire, but before he could do so he was killed by one of his bodyguards, and Alexander became king of the Macedonians. Within the next 12 years following Philip’s death, Alexander conquered almost the entire known world of his time, and extended Macedonian and Greek power to a point that King Philip could not have dreamt of.
Alexander was determined to fulfill his father’s plan of attacking the Persian Empire, so in 334 BCE he led an army across the Hellespont from Europe to Asia. Alexander and his army charged across the Granicus River and won the battle, opening up Asia Minor. Next they moved into Egypt and then traveled eastward into the Persian Empire.
Darius III, the King of Persia, was Alexander’s biggest enemy. ...