How Alexander the Great Became Great, Part 1

One of ten reliefs based on the Pinelli engravings (1928) of the life and the campaign of Alexander the Great. Reliefs by the sculptor Pr. Tzanoulinos (bronze). Hellenic War Museum in Athens, Greece. Tilemahos Efthimiadis/CC BY-SA 2.0

When high school teachers in schools today discuss Alexander the Great, it is a sad reality that most students will know very little. One student may offer an odd tidbit: “Wasn’t Alexander the Great killed by a mosquito?” Well, the ancient Greek hero may have contracted malaria from a mosquito leading to his death, but there are other equally plausible causes of his death. More importantly, is that all the student knows about one of the greatest heroes to walk the earth?!

Understanding Alexander the Great and, frankly, his awesomeness is understanding where we are as human beings. In his good qualities, we celebrate and aspire, and in his failures, we grow wiser and therefore spiritually richer.

Alexander the Great

I’ve termed Alexander the Great an ancient Greek hero, though technically he was a Macedonian, coming from that nation just north of Greece. Yet the Macedonian culture is what we generally think of as Greek culture, including speaking the Greek language, worshiping the same gods, and viewing Greeks as their compatriots in the struggle against the menacing Persians.