Alexander The Great: A Father's Greatest Ruler

Alexander grew up in royalty where warfare was common which eventually led to his powerful rise as a ruler. Given that he was, “Born into royalty as the son of King Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias”, Alexander was already suitable to become the next ruler (Reynolds). Having a king as a father really impacted Alexander’s leadership skills which came in handy when he became the general of an army, especially one set out to dominate the world. Alexander’s talents soon surpassed that of his father’s with ease. It was clear that Philip was, “outshone by his son, [who] started the expansion of the Macedonian empire” (Koenig). It was almost as if Alexander was destined to be his father’s successor because he was able to carry out a vision that Philip couldn’t. Learning so much from his …show more content…
Growing up, he was heavily influenced by a hero and a king thus prompting his desire for greatness. When he was young, he would keep his own copy of Homer’s Iliad, which includes stories about the hero Achilles who Alexander looked up to. He often, “modeled himself after this hero of Homer's Iliad” because Achilles was the perfect example of who he wanted to grow up to be ("Alexander the Great"). Alexander followed the path of his role model in an attempt to win people’s respect and loyalty in order to create his perfect empire. Not only was Alexander chasing after a hero, but he was also trying to surpass his father, a king. He has this, “intense… love of glory that he resents his father’s military achievements” since all of Alexander’s opportunities to shine were being taken by King Philip. Because of this, Alexander attempts to become a greater general in hopes of outshining his father and accomplish what King Philip couldn’t. With two important figures in his life driving him on, we can see why Alexander was so successful on his massive