Ana Worthington's Post

Questions 1 & 2:

I used to know a man named Alexander. He was born into Macedonian royalty, and in as little as 32 years he not only conquered countless civilizations, but also succeeded in merging different cultures into one melting pot of people. When Alexander’s father, the ruler Phillip II, died in the year 336 B.C, Alexander took over the empty throne of the Macedonian empire. By 334 B.C, Alexander had defeated Darius III of Persia in the battle of Granicus, and many more victories follow these times, such as The Battle of Issus, in 332 B.C., The Siege of Tyre, in 332 B.C., The Battle of Gaugamela, in 331 B.C, and The Battle of River Hydaspes, in 326 B.C.

I was with him through it all. I fought for him- no, I fought for my city and my people. I am sitting at his funeral now. The man that led me into battle is dead, and they are calling him ‘Alexander The Great’, but as I sit, reflecting the wars and bloodshed he caused, I can’t help but doubt his new name. Was he really ‘great’? Surely he wasn’t, because I can’t picture that man without the thousands of dead bodies that he drags with him.

One thing he did with greatness was his ability to blend different cultures. Through all of his conquers he was able to bring together and build his new empire, which he named Alexandria. Alexandria is the home of the Hellenistic culture, and I am grateful not to be apart of it. Some day the cultures might melt together, but for now they are too different. They are all clashing, and nothing is ever simple there.Yes, I do think that King Alexander did some great things. He was so brave and so bold, but he, as a person, was definitely not great.

Question 3:

Alexander The Great was a powerful and ruthless leader, like Adolph Hitler. Yes, the two men had several differences, but their overall goal was the same. I think that Alexander was a more successful and stronger leader than Adolf Hitler was. Both of the men wanted to feel the power of control over people, and they were both willing to kill people to reach their goals, and both men won over their people with powerful, emotional speeches, which had people blind to their wrong doings. One of their many differences was that Alexander actually fought with his soldiers, while Hitler only gave orders and stood by while his soldiers fought and died for him. I think that makes Alexander a better ruler, because it showed that he gave effort to fight with his soldiers. Alexander also had a much stronger idea of strategic battle plans, while Hitler lost majority of his battles. 

Hitler mainly executed a single race. Hitler killed over 13 million Jews in attempt to purify and conquer the world, and he wasn’t very successful at it. Alexander just killed the people that got in his way, and he actually respected different cultures and evolved them into his ideal Hellenistic culture, instead of killing them off. Overall, I think that Alexander was much better of a leader than Adolf Hitler was.

Adolf Hitler

Alexander The Great

Sources: 

    Clode, George. "Alexander The Great- The Greatest Leader of All Time?" 

     Military History Monthly. Military History Monthly, 10 Oct. 2010. Web. 
     19 Sept. 2013. <http://www.military-history.org/intel/alexander-the-great.htm>. 

     Tuton, Henk. "Alexander The Great." Godfather of Western and Islamic Worlds. 

     N.p., Dec. 2005. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. 
     <http://paradigm-shift-21st-century.nl/hitler-the-great-alexander-the-cursed.html>

      "Alexander The Great." Alexander The Great. Glogster, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. 
     <http://www.glogster.com/liam646/alexander-the-great/ 
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