As a Macedonian prince being groomed for the throne, Alexander received a first-rate education. But he did not always enjoy his educational experiences. His first tutor was a man named Leonidas. The stern Leonidas toughened Alexander physically. The young student was required by his teacher to engage in physical exercise before dawn and sometimes had to march for hours before breakfast to increase his appetite. Leonidas insisted on a lean, simple diet and believed being hungry was good discipline. He would search Alexander’s belongings to make sure his mother, Olympias, had not snuck him any treats.
Leonidas taught Alexander skills such as running, memorizing lessons, riding a horse bareback, driving a chariot, and using a sword and a spear. Historians have credited Alexander’s later ability to endure the many extreme hardships of his war campaigns to the tough discipline he was subjected to under Leonidas’s tutelage.
When Alexander was 13, his father hired Plato’s student, Aristotle, to replace Leonidas. With this great teacher Alexander studied literature, philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, geography, zoology, botany, scientific criticism, drama, poetry, art, law, and politics. Both physical and spiritual qualities were emphasized in the young prince’s education. He learned to sing and play a lyre and received training in physical fitness and warfare. Aristotle also instilled in his young student a lifelong love of the writings of Homer. Alexander believed in the Homeric concept of personal success for the sake of honor and glory, and tried to emulate his heroes Heracles and Achilles.
Alexander had a great respect for learning, and during his years in the Middle East he often ordered books to be sent to him from Greece. He
Also sent Aristotle a great deal of money over the years to fund his research and educational projects.
Time for a Bath
Hot baths first became widespread in Greece in the fourth century B. C.E., so they would have been a luxury Alexander enjoyed. Greek men took as many as three or four baths in a day, and Alexander took several baths a day throughout his life—mostly in rivers.
Most bathtubs were in public bathhouses, but the wealthy also had bathing facilities at home. Attendants helped bathers by pouring water over their bodies. The bath was not only a means of washing. It was the medium of divine purification, a spiritual event. It was thought to renew the soul.
Baths were also considered necessary for the health of the human body. A complete body bath was prescribed for healing hysteria. Soaking the head in cold water was prescribed for a hemorrhage, or massive bleeding. Sponge baths were a means to calm and relax. Such healing baths had very specific rules and required skilled assistants, a room with fresh air, and specific sacrifices.
In some cases, the king also looked after the education of his troops’ children. As the army moved from place to place, many soldiers left behind children who were half Persian and half Greek or Macedonian. Alexander made many of these children wards of the state and arranged for their education. They were given military instruction and also learned about the ideals of Greek culture.
World History
