Jared Weber
Nathan Hyde
World History
1 December 2015
Alexander the Insane
Throughout history, there have been quite a few leaders who have lead their people to victory. Many of these people are common names that most everyone has heard, such as Genghis Khan, or Napoleon. One of the more famous leaders is Alexander The Great. This popular Macedonian king lead his army on a conquest to get revenge on Persia after the end of the Persian wars. Alexander is most famous for technically never losing a single battle in his lifetime. Some people say he could be one of the greatest military leaders in all ancient history. Others say he was a military genius, and being a student of Aristotle certainly helped. But along with these, there was also madness. …show more content…
Probably the biggest non-violent piece of evidence, is the fact that Alexander thought of himself as a son of Zeus. The fact that he legitimately believed himself to be the son of a god already raises a few red flags. Many soldiers in Alexander’s army even believed this. Going back to when Alexander cut the Gordian Knot, what followed was proof to them that he was indeed the son of Zeus. The night after the Knot was cut, there was a large thunderstorm. The people, assumed that it was a message from Zeus to his son. Alexander even got confirmation from priests in Egypt, who confirmed to him that he was in fact the son of Zeus. (Worthington, 2). After this, for the rest of his life Alexander told people to think and refer to him as the son of Zeus (O’Connor, 45). When Alexander conquered Egypt, he declared himself Pharaoh. To the Egyptians, the Pharaoh was the son of a god, or even a god himself. So at that moment, everyone, including Alexander himself, believed him to be somehow connected to a divine …show more content…
It is also true that he was crazy. Alexander went out of his way to prove small things to people, as seen with his helmet. Alexander showed no fear when he cut the Gordian Knot, or as he travelled straight towards Darius’ army. He showed crazed murder when he crucified two thousand Tyrians in a monstrous rage. Alexander even believed himself to be a son of the god Zeus, demanding that people refer to him as the son of Zeus. All it takes is common sense to see how these things point less towards genius, and more towards insanity.
Bibliography
Burke, Brendan. Anatolian Origins of the Gordian Knot Legend. 2002. PDF file. Fildes, Alan, and Fletcher, Joanne. Alexander the Great: Son of Gods.
London: Duncan Baird, 2001, 2002. Print.
Hyde, Nathan. “Ancient Greece.” World History 10. Blackhawk Christian
Jr./Sr. high School, Fort Wayne, IN. 5 Dec. 2015. Lecture.
Kiehl, Kent, and Buckholtz, Joshua. Inside the Mind of a Psychopath. 2010.
PDF file.
O’Connor, Lauren. The remains of Alexander the Great: the God, the King, the Symbol. 2009. PDF file.
Rufus, Quintus Curtius. “The History of the Life and Reign of Alexander the
Great”. 1809. Book.
Wein, Berel. "Jewish History." Jewish History. Ed. Yaakov Astor. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Dec. 2015.
Worthington, Ian. "How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]." How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]. N.p., 1999. Web. 03 Dec.
Nathan Hyde
World History
1 December 2015
Alexander the Insane
Throughout history, there have been quite a few leaders who have lead their people to victory. Many of these people are common names that most everyone has heard, such as Genghis Khan, or Napoleon. One of the more famous leaders is Alexander The Great. This popular Macedonian king lead his army on a conquest to get revenge on Persia after the end of the Persian wars. Alexander is most famous for technically never losing a single battle in his lifetime. Some people say he could be one of the greatest military leaders in all ancient history. Others say he was a military genius, and being a student of Aristotle certainly helped. But along with these, there was also madness. …show more content…
Probably the biggest non-violent piece of evidence, is the fact that Alexander thought of himself as a son of Zeus. The fact that he legitimately believed himself to be the son of a god already raises a few red flags. Many soldiers in Alexander’s army even believed this. Going back to when Alexander cut the Gordian Knot, what followed was proof to them that he was indeed the son of Zeus. The night after the Knot was cut, there was a large thunderstorm. The people, assumed that it was a message from Zeus to his son. Alexander even got confirmation from priests in Egypt, who confirmed to him that he was in fact the son of Zeus. (Worthington, 2). After this, for the rest of his life Alexander told people to think and refer to him as the son of Zeus (O’Connor, 45). When Alexander conquered Egypt, he declared himself Pharaoh. To the Egyptians, the Pharaoh was the son of a god, or even a god himself. So at that moment, everyone, including Alexander himself, believed him to be somehow connected to a divine …show more content…
It is also true that he was crazy. Alexander went out of his way to prove small things to people, as seen with his helmet. Alexander showed no fear when he cut the Gordian Knot, or as he travelled straight towards Darius’ army. He showed crazed murder when he crucified two thousand Tyrians in a monstrous rage. Alexander even believed himself to be a son of the god Zeus, demanding that people refer to him as the son of Zeus. All it takes is common sense to see how these things point less towards genius, and more towards insanity.
Bibliography
Burke, Brendan. Anatolian Origins of the Gordian Knot Legend. 2002. PDF file. Fildes, Alan, and Fletcher, Joanne. Alexander the Great: Son of Gods.
London: Duncan Baird, 2001, 2002. Print.
Hyde, Nathan. “Ancient Greece.” World History 10. Blackhawk Christian
Jr./Sr. high School, Fort Wayne, IN. 5 Dec. 2015. Lecture.
Kiehl, Kent, and Buckholtz, Joshua. Inside the Mind of a Psychopath. 2010.
PDF file.
O’Connor, Lauren. The remains of Alexander the Great: the God, the King, the Symbol. 2009. PDF file.
Rufus, Quintus Curtius. “The History of the Life and Reign of Alexander the
Great”. 1809. Book.
Wein, Berel. "Jewish History." Jewish History. Ed. Yaakov Astor. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Dec. 2015.
Worthington, Ian. "How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]." How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]. N.p., 1999. Web. 03 Dec.