Greatness in a person is someone who is selfless, cares about others, is strong, has faith, listens, and most importantly, is a strong leader. No single person is perfect, everyone has their flaws, and everyone makes mistakes. Someone who is great does not fall from their struggles, but they grow stronger, and learn from them. Becoming great is not an easy thing to do. In order to become great one must learn from their mistakes, and not become weak when one may encounter hardships. Being great does not mean you are perfect, because no one is perfect. Being great means you do great things, and you learn from the things that you do that are not so great, and that was exactly what Alexander did. Alexander the Great deserves the title “great”, because he expanded his empire immensely in just a dozen years, he was worshipped as a god by many of his subjects while he was still alive, he was very intelligent, and he also had a huge impact on the spread and change of the greek culture.
Alexander expanded his empire rapidly and intelligently. In just a dozen years Alexander broadened his empire from Greece in the west, to India in the far east.The task of expanding Macedonia was not small, but Alexander was wise and used great tactics to expand his empire. An example of how Alexander gained this land is in a quote that says, “In 334 he invaded Persia, and within a decade he had defeated the Persians, subdued Egypt, and pushed on to Iran, Afghanistan and even India.” (Worthington, Professor Ian). This quote proves how fast Alexander spread his empire in just over a decade. Alexander did all of this at a very young age, he was only twenty years old when he took over the empire, and he built a legacy for himself even before he started his rule. Alexander was able to do these things, because he was very intelligent from a young age.
Alexander learned from a very young age, which is why he had the ability to rule at such a young age and do an incredible job. A quote that exemplifies Alexander's education is, “The young Alexander was trained as a warrior and horseman. According to tradition, he impressed his father by taming a horse, Bucephalus, that nobody else could handle (Bucephalus became Alexander's favorite campaign horse). Philip appointed the philosopher Aristotle to tutor Alexander in such subjects as literature, geography, medicine, and philosophy,” (Hutchinson, Jennifer). The quote not only shows that Alexander had a sophisticated education, but he also was strong and tamed a horse nobody else could handle. Alexander was very invested in his education, and interested and learning more. If Alexander had not had the education he did he probably would not have had an impact on the world like he does today.
Alexander had many achievements, and because of these achievements, he had a huge impact on the greek culture, and still does today. After Alexander died, his empire divided into separate Hellenistic kingdoms, and the culture continued to blend between the kingdoms. The time known as the Hellenistic Age is the period from Alexander's death in 323 BCE to Rome's conquest of Hellenistic Egypt in 30 BCE, and is in the Mediterranean and Near East. A quote states, “Though Alexander's vast empire fell apart into different kingdoms soon after his death, his legacy persisted through the spread of Greek culture, customs, and ideas in the regions he had conquered.” (Bialo, Ellen). This quote provides evidence that Alexander showed greatness through his legacy, which was the hellenistic culture he left behind. Alexander shows his greatness by leaving behind the hellenistic culture, because many cultures of Greece blended. The effects of the cultures blending are still evident today, and the cultural fusion also enhanced Greece as a whole.
Alexander the “great” shows his greatness through his achievements in military, by the spread of his empire, his intelligence, and the legacy he left behind, called the hellenistic culture. Alexander may have had rough times, and may have been harsh at times also, but that does not take the title of great away from him, because he pushed through the tough times and still made a huge impact on his people and Greece as a whole. Alexander did incredible things in his life, and he deserves to be known for his greatness, because of his accomplishments and his impact that he still has on the world today.
This photo is from url
A link to a song that talks about all that alexander did and his greatness is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-K-UbxamQ8
Citation
Hutchinson, Jennifer. "Alexander the Great (Overview)." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Bialo, Ellen. "career of Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Worthington, Professor Ian.
"How 'Great' Was Alexander?" The
Ancient History Bulletin. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.utexas.edu/courses/citylife/readings/great1.html>.
Pope Francis and Great People
I agree with the people that Pope Francis chose to talk about in his speech when he came to the United States. Pope Francis talked about Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther king, Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton. All of these people were people that had an impact on the United States and they were an appropriate choice for the occasion.
If I were the Pope the people I would talk about as being great would be Albert Einstein, George Washington, and of course many others. George Washington is a role model for the United States, because he was our first president, he had an impact on the United states, and was an amazing leader. Albert Einstein is great, because he was a mathematical genius, and accomplished many things that we still use today.
