Alexander the Great (356 - 323 B.C.

Background information:
(website 1)
- He had many teachers throughout his childhood, one of the most influential being
Aristotle
- His teachers tried to teach him that the Macedonian king was not merciful, but Alexander
did not agree with that
(website 2)
- Died before age 33
- Born in 356 B.C. in the capital of Macedon (Pella)
- The Battle of Chaeronea put all of Greek city states (except sparta) under Phillip’s
(alexander's dad) leadership. They all later swore allegiance to Alexander ( except
sparta again)
(website 3)
- With time, he has become more of a character of greek mythology than an actual human
- He was VERY ambitious
- Was heavily influenced by Homer’s Iliad
(website 4)
- Alexander the Great became Pharaoh in Egypt for an amount of time
- After coming back from a lost battle, he drank excessively, fell ill and feverish (possibly
due to malaria) and died
(website 5)
- He was inspiration for later conquerors such as Napoleon, Pompey, Caesar, and
Hannibal the Carthaginian
- At age 12, he tamed an unruly stallion
- When alexander demolished Thebes, he killed 6,000 people and enslaved 30,000
(website 6)
- Alexander the Great’s lover died, and he was so shocked that he massacred the
Cossaeans
- He also ordered there to be sacrifices made to Hephaestion as if they were a demigod
Positive Qualities of Alexander the Great
(website 1)
- He spread Greek culture by spreading the stories, myths, gods and language
- He allowed every place he conquered to rule themselves, as long as they were loyal to
him
(website 2)
- Never lost a battle
- Conquered the whole mediterranean region, and even reached the indus river region
- For 3 centuries after Alexander the Great are called the Hellenistic Age (comes from the
greek word hellenizien, meaning “to act like a Greek”). During this period, greek culture
was spread throughout the eastern Mediterranean world
(website 3)
- He founded about 70 different cities and named them after himself
- Himself and his army battled their way across 22,000 miles
(website 4)
- Alexander the Great liberated Egypt from the Persians, becoming their pharaoh
- One of the places he founded had a cosmopolitan port, theatres, schools, and one of the
greatest libraries of antiquity
- Egyptians kept their culture and religion, though greeks ran the city’s administration.
Plus, to be a citizen, you had to learn greek traditions and the greek language

Negative Qualities of Alexander the Great

(website 2)
- Thebes originally held an alliance with Alexander the Great, but they later revolted and
Alexander the Great completely destroyed Thebes
- He burned down the palace of Xerxes after he became king of asia
(website 3)
- He made an example out of Thebes, and when he razed it, he killed most of the
population - even the women and children - and enslaved the ones who remained

Websites
1) http://greece.mrdonn.org/alexander.html
2) http://centennial.dsbn.org/ academicslibraryBritannica username: dsbniag pass:
dsbn3401middle “alexander the great” (should be article #272799)
3) http://www.interesting.com/stories/alexander/ (horse)
4) http://www.livescience.com/history/top10_alexander_great.html
5) http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html (THIS
HAS A LOT OF INFO AGAINST HIM)
6) http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander00.html
7) http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/alexander_the_great.html
8) http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/alexanderthegreat.htm