Alexander the Great

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”
Alexander the Great King of Macedon  356 – 323 BC

Alexandros III of Macedon (an ancient Hellenic kingdom  in Northern Greece, and my birth place)  was born in July 356 BC  in Pella,  was one of the greatest military genius in history. He conquered much of what was then the civilized world driven by his divine ambition of the world conquest and the creation of a universal world monarchy. He was the first great conqueror who reached Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor,  Persia and Asia up to the western India. He is famous for having created the ethnic fusion of the Macedonians and the Persians. From victory to victory, from triumph to triumph, Alexander created an Empire which brought him eternal glory. He brought Greek ideas, culture and life style to the countries which he conquered, and assured expansion and domination of Hellenistic Culture which, together with the Roman Civilization and Christianity, constitutes the foundation of what is now called Western Civilization.

His parents were  Olympias and King Philip II of Macedon and according to some legends and oracles Alexander has divine origins: Zeus and Achilles. According to tradition, Olympias’ ancestor was the mythical hero of Iliad – Achilles, while his father Philip II of Macedon, was said to descent from the Zeus’ son – Heracles. Alexander was born on the same day the famous Temple of goddess Artemis at Ephesus  (more about  the story of Artemis – Ephesus on the next post) was destroyed by

 

 

 

____________________________________________

www.susannagalanis.com

____________________________________________

fire. This was a horrible omen for the Persian magi who foretold a great disaster for the Persian Empire. The legend however, begins even before he was born. His parents were in their dreams warned about his birth. They were initiated in the mysterious cults of Kabrina of Samothrace , and they had believed in the messages in dreams, so that they invited the most renowned prophet of that time Arixstandros Telmisy to interpret them. Olympias had a dream of a loud burst of thunder and lightning that had hit her womb, while in Philip’s dream, he was sealing her womb with the seal of a lion. Arixstandros determined that Olympias was pregnant, and that the child would have the character of a lion. The oracle of Delphi advised Philip to worship Zeus more than any other god.

Even as a young boy Alexander was fearless and strong. At the age of twelve, he tamed the beautiful and spirited Buchephalus, a horse that no one else could ride. Philip was so proud of Alexander’s horsemanship that he said:

“oh my son, seek out a kingdom worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee.”

Note: Alexander the Great’s story will continue with future gradual posts…