Alexander the Great is a fascinating figure. Historians and scholars continue to write books and make movies about him, and each writer puts his or her own interpretation on their renowned subject, making it difficult to know exactly who he really was. No documents from Alexander’s time have survived; all existing accounts of his deeds were written after his death. Many accounts contain conflicting information, making it even more difficult to know the truth about many of the events of his life.
Scholars have cast the great conqueror in shades of both dark and light. Many consider Alexander an enlightened leader because he believed in the peaceful co-existence of different peoples within his empire and tried to improve the quality of life in the lands he conquered. He is considered a visionary by some because of his belief that people should see themselves as part of a global kingdom that includes every human being, rather than as belonging just to their own nation.
Others emphasize Alexander’s very real darker side. Some historians have perceived him to be a violent drunkard. They point to the facts that he destroyed some of the cities he conquered, had women and children sold into slavery, and once killed a close friend in a drunken rage. The Macedonians reportedly used brutal force to subdue some of the people they conquered, even butchering the sick and elderly in some places. Some historians see Alexander as an egotistical tyrant, who began to consider himself a god and demanded that his troops and subjects worship him. He
Even claimed the status of god for his warhorse, Bucephalas, naming a city in India after him.
The Making of A Myth
Many books about Alexander were based on The Romance of Alexander the Great, an account that is thought to have been written in about 200 c. e. by an author who came to be known as Pseudo-Callisthenes. Pseudo-Callisthenes was an unknown poet, probably of the third century, who falsely ascribed his work to Callisthenes (d. 327 B. C.E), the nephew of Aristotle and one of Alexander's original biographers. Psuedo-Callis-thenes' book was based on oral and written legends that were passed down after Alexander's death. The following description of Alexander's birth (as quoted in Alexander and His Times by Frederic Theule) shows the exaggeration and embellishment that was typical of many of these early writings:
"... the newborn fell to the ground; there was a flash of lightning, thunder resounded, the earth trembled, and the whole world shook."
Nearly all historians agree that Alexander was bisexual, pointing to his close lifelong relationship with his comrade Hephaestion. Homosexuality and bisexuality were accepted practices in ancient Greece and Macedonia, and did not have the stigma in that culture that they have in many places today. In the Middle Ages, Alexander was portrayed as a legendary hero who followed the knights’ code of chivalry, the ideal of bravery and honor. In modern Iran, his image is that of a villain-the personification of the devil. In trying to understand this complex personality, however, it is important to keep in mind the culture of his time, in which hard drinking and bisexuality were accepted practices, as was waging war, conquering territory, and enslaving enemies.
Historians, scholars, and military experts do agree on some things. Alexander was an extremely charismatic leader with an incredibly powerful personality. They also agree that he was one of the most outstanding generals of all time. By conquering nearly the entire known world of his era, he accomplished more at a younger age, and in fewer years, than most people do in a lifetime.
World History
