What does it mean to be great? The definition of "great" in Webster's dictionary says Large in size, Large in measure, important, or remarkable. Alexander The Great (Alexander III) had one of the most powerful armies at the time. Philip, Alexanders father, was the king of Macedonia and had a very powerful army. In 336 B.C. Philip was about to invite Anatolia, but one of his bodyguards assassinated him during his daughters marriage. Alexander then was the king of Macedonia at such a young age. At age 16 Alexander was commanding his own troops. (Grossman, 12). He was ambitious and ready to conquer the world. Alexander conquered many cultures and created the most powerful empires the world had ever seen. He was well educated when he was a child because he was tutored by Aristotle and taught about the art of war from his father. In 335 BC, the first year of Alexanders reign, he was challenged by a rebellion in Thebes. After Alexander destroyed Thebes, he moved to Corinth. Alexander wanted to conquer the Persian Emire. One of the first things Alexander did was he marched into Asia Minor to continue his dads plans. But before he left he wanted to make sure Macedonia was not in chaos when he left. Alexander led his 30,000 well-trained troops 22,000 miles across India and back to Macedonia fighting. (Grossman, 12). After conquering many city-states, Alexander continued south into Egypt. Alexander and his troops fought in many battles and never lost a battle. Many military generals copied Alexanders tactics and strategies of fighting like Julius Caesar. People copied Alexanders tactics because he had such great success in the field of fighting. Alexander was not just a spectacular military leader, he introduced people to a new era. Alexander spread greek culture throughout the Persian empire, including parts of Asia and Africa. Alexander created the Hellenistic Age, a time where many people advanced in reading, math, and architecture because of the peace they had. The Hellenistic Age was a very good time for Macedonia because they communicated with other cultures. Alexander accepted other cultures well during the Hellenistic Age. Macedonia and countries near by traded during this time period.
Alexander does deserve to be called great. Alexander's army was very large in size also was very remarkable. Also, Alexander was super important. Alexander turned small city-state of Macedonia into the largest and most powerful Empire in the Universe. So therefore Alexander technically was great, even though Alexander didn't treat his troops right and only cared about himself. Alexander didn't care what the people of Macedonia said and was a very selfish person.
2. What can one learn about the values of society based on their views of greatness?
A society can be viewed by what their views of greatness in many different ways. If somebody thinks great means excellent or outstanding they would have different views than if somebody thought great meant large in size or remarkable. Those people would think different things are great. Many people in Macedonia thought it was great. Alexander had a very powerful empire and that kept Macedonia protected from other countries from attacking them. Most people thought good about Alexander the Great because he was brilliant on the field of fighting and on keeping Macedonia having a powerful government. He made Macedonia great in my opinion. Alexander spread Greek culture throughout many countries and that helped unite Macedonia. Throughout many years, Macedonia tried to build up their empire and make it stronger. Alexander built up Macedonia's Empire and made it the most powerful empire ever. People in the United States might not think our society is great if they think great means excellent. The reason why is because our government is going downhill and many people are loosing money that they work for. But some people might think the United States is great because the United States is a very large country and is very remarkable. Peoples definition of greatness might change throughout their life, and so will their perspectives of how great things are.
3. Do time and distance impact someone’s popular perception?
Time and distance impact someone's popular perception majorly. When somebody does something important that impacts the whole country or even the whole world, it will be heard from very quickly. With technology these days, information can be passed through countries instantly. For an example, Abraham Lincoln only served 2 terms as the president of the United States. But in those 2 terms he did some very important things. Abraham Lincoln is known for abolishing slavery, this affected over half the population of the United States. Many people liked what he did, but many people did not like what he did. But, Lincoln abolishing slavery benefited the country. He gave black people rights. As soon as he declared no slaves, everybody with slaves had to let them free. After Lincoln abolished slavery John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln because he was angry that he had to give away his slaves and thought it would make the whole country happy, but it didn't. Throughout the country, they found out very fast that they could not have slaves. Distance impacts someone's popular perception also. No matter what happens these days, the word gets around throughout the whole country. And throughout time people views of things change. Also the United States is large is measure, we have a large military that is very strong.
3. Do time and distance impact someone’s popular perception?
Time and distance impact someone's popular perception majorly. When somebody does something important that impacts the whole country or even the whole world, it will be heard from very quickly. With technology these days, information can be passed through countries instantly. For an example, Abraham Lincoln only served 2 terms as the president of the United States. But in those 2 terms he did some very important things. Abraham Lincoln is known for abolishing slavery, this affected over half the population of the United States. Many people liked what he did, but many people did not like what he did. But, Lincoln abolishing slavery benefited the country. He gave black people rights. As soon as he declared no slaves, everybody with slaves had to let them free. After Lincoln abolished slavery John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln because he was angry that he had to give away his slaves and thought it would make the whole country happy, but it didn't. Throughout the country, they found out very fast that they could not have slaves. Distance impacts someone's popular perception also. No matter what happens these days, the word gets around throughout the whole country. And throughout time people views of things change. Also the United States is large is measure, we have a large military that is very strong.
Works Cited
Nardo, Don. "Alexander And His Successors." The Ancient Greeks. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2001. 84-86. Print.
Robinson, Charles A., JR. "Philip And Alexander The Great." Ancient Greece. The United States: Franklin Watts, 1960. 52-55. Print.
Grossman, Mark. "Alexander The Great (Alexander III)." World Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Facts On File, 2007. 11-13. Print.
"Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age." Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
"The World as We Know It." The World as We Know It. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
"Thomas R. Martin, An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander." Thomas R. Martin, An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander, The Creation of Macedonian Power. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
Emmons, Jim Tschen. "Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
"How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]." How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
I like how you used Abraham Lincoln as a person to reference for the time and distance impacting someones point of view.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting that you think he is great in your opinion even though you know he is selfish. I like how you used the United States as an example and how you put both definitions of "great". Interesting how you used that he was in term for 2 years and did many great thing like abolishing slavery, but i think you maybe should have weaved Alexander in some part of your answer but still used Lincoln. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI think that you had some good facts written here, it is clear to me that you did a lot of research on the subject, however, I think that you need to allow your paragraphs and sentences to flow better. In your first paragraph, what do you mean by he was well educated? In what subjects, what did he learn?
ReplyDeleteI can tell you did your research but to me it didn't see like it flowed very well. You did a good job backing up your points and showing your information
ReplyDeleteHow did your example about Abraham Lincoln show how time affects people views?
ReplyDeleteOther than that, nice blog post!
I thought it was really cool how you explained Lincoln and and how you looked at it from both perspectives of who hated him and who loved him for what he did.
ReplyDelete