Aristotle's Influence On Alexander The Great

Alexander the Great was tutored by Aristotle as a child. Aristotle gifted Alexander with a copy of The Iliad at age 14, and the story greatly influenced Alexander later in his life. He may have taken the book so seriously because of his relationship with Aristotle, whom he valued as a father figure. The book’s influence on Alexander can be seen not only through his battle strategies, but also through how he acts in battle. In autumn of 332 BCE, Alexander takes the city of Gaza during a siege. The governor of the city refuses to surrender and Alexander dragged him around the city walls until his death. The governor was dragged behind Alexander’s chariot by a rope woven through the governor’s pierced achilles. This act of brutality greatly shows how much the story influenced Alexander, because a scene almost exactly the same occurred in the story. Achilles defeats Hector in battle after chasing him around the city walls three times. After his triumph, he ties Hector’s body to his chariot by his achilles and drags him behind the chariot. Alexander was very dependent on oracles. He had a strong belief in them and is said to have sought advice from them …show more content…
He was a brave fighter and an intelligent leader who knew how to win a battle. However, he was also reckless with his life, likely because of being told of his supposed invincibility. He was reckless with his soldiers’ lives, pushing them to fight for years without breaks in gruesome battles. This makes him inconsiderate and selfish, because his main objective was not to better the lives of the people living in the cities that he conquered, but to become the single ruling leader of the world. His battle behavior showed that he could be calculating and wise because he made good strategies and battle plans, but he was also impulsive and rash. The older he got, the more obsessed he became with possession of land, which made him more impulsive and reckless in