To this day, Alexander the Great remains the fascination of many historians and researches who devote their lives to deciphering his life, beliefs and motives. His life had been made into legends, which can be found in many different languages such as Indian and even Chinese. However, his factual life is legendary in itself.

During her pregnancy with Alexander, Olympias had a dream in which a snake slithered into her bed and mated with her, so that its seed mixed with that of her husband. Consequently, the queen sough interpretations of her dream by the Oracle of Dodona, at the most ancient sanctuary in Epirus. The priests there believed that they could hear the voice of Zeus on the wind as it passed through tree branches and the leaves. The priests claim that the child she will bear will be the mortal offspring of Zeus. This may be one of the main reasons Olympias believed that her son was a god. She knew that her ancestor, Achilles, had chosen a brief and glorious life over a long and uneventful one, and was reminded by the priests that this may also very well be her child’s future. At that time, there was a dust storm, after which everything was under a film of red. The priests were baffled, for they believed that the dust had come from Siwa, the second of the two most ancient oracles. They had spoken at once, in spite of being a very long distance apart. It seemed that Alexander was causing a stir even before he was born.

On the 20th July, 356BC, Alexander made a very memorable entrance into the world. He was born at Pella, Macedonia, where his father, Philip II was king. Phillip was away at the time of the birth, but once he was informed, he returned to his wife and child. From this moment, Philip loved his son and wanted only the best for him. As Alexander grew and began to realise his father’s status in the country, he began to observe his father’s meetings and listen to his conversations. (Massimo Manfredi, 1998). It was around the age of six that he had started to be tutored by Leonidas, Olympias’ relative, together with the sons of the court’s nobility. During this time, he met boys such as Ptolemy and Hephaestion, who was later to become his best friend and second-in-command. The two boys exchanged one of their teeth as a symbol of their friendship. There are beliefs that Alexander and Hephaestion were lovers and/or indulged in sexual activities, since homosexuality was widely accepted in the era. However, there is no doubt that the two were very close and loyal to each other. () Unlike most during the era, Alexander developed the belief that animals had souls while observing his dog, Peritas, an orphaned puppy. It was a start to his interest in ethics and compassion towards the less fortunate. As a surprise lesson, Phillip took him to Mount Pangaeos where men worked in the mines in appalling conditions. Alexander was horrified to see the filthy, dangerously thin people working in the tree-less, polluted landscape. He was then taken underground, where an even worse environment existed. It was Alexander’s first ultimate lesson in learning what fate can instil on people, and that one should be merciful when he has the power to do so. (Massimo Manfredi, 1998). Philip wanted his son to know more than the luxury he was born in, and this was perhaps one of the main aspects of Alexander’s upbringing that made him generous, even in war. To show his first act of mercy, Alexander rescued a servant girl from the place, not much younger than himself. The girl could not talk, but he later named her Leptine and taught her the Macedonian language. From then on she became his thankful servant and friend, and would sometimes share his bed.

When Alexander was thirteen, Philip decided his son should have an exceptional education different to that of his friends, in the belief that, for Alexander to be a leader, he must have knowledge uncommon to others. And thus he had arranged for his son to be tutored by Aristotle in Mieza. Alexander brought along his friends, including Leptine and his dog. He was given private lessons regularly, away from the other boys. Some of his lessons included anatomy, religion, ethics and philosophy. Most importantly of all, he was raised as a Greek – not because Philip intended for his son to be someone else – but because the king believed the Greeks to be the most civilized, and he admired their democracy and humanity. After all, Philip has said, “You will never be Greek nor Macedonian, you are Alexander.” (Massimo Manfredi, 1998). Aristotle introduced him to Homer and presented him with a copy of the Iliad, which Alexander carried everywhere he went. Once he had turned sixteen, Philip decided for his son to return home. When Philip comes to collect Alexander, he surprised him with a black horse that was particularly wild and untamed. Disapproving of the way the men were going about to break the horse, Alexander bet his father thirteen talents – the amount that Philip paid for the horse – that he would be able to tame him. And so he did, but it was a mystery how. It is believed that Alexander had noticed that the horse was afraid of his shadow, and so he turned him towards the sun and mounted him. He named the animal Bucephalus, after the white ox head shape on his forehead. Later he rode the same horse on his conquests, and when it died in India, he named a city Bucephala after his horse.

It was Philip’s dream to gain allies, unite the quarreling cities of Greece, and conquer Persia while liberating the Greek cities there. He wanted to be viewed as a leader, not the barbarian that many branded him as. When Philip went away to war and left his son as regent, Alexander was disappointed that he could not go with his father. From the moment he had learned of his father’s conquests, he had been worried that there would be no land left for him to conquer. However, in Philip’s absence, Alexander led an expedition to repress a Thracian rebellion and renamed the stronghold Alexandropolis, his first conquest. After this, at the age of eighteen, he commanded the cavalry section of Philip’s army in the battle of Chaeronea against Chares, Athenians and Thebans. Alexander commaned the Vanguard with enthusiasm, and Macedon was victorious. He convinced Philip to send all the dead bodies back to their families in respect to the effort they had put into the fight. When Philip paid no heed to a wounded Athenian orator, Demades, Alexander treated and dressed his wounds himself using the knowledge from Aristotle. When Philip learned of this prisoner, he made a deal with Athens that – if he returns the orator and all other prisoners, and returns the cities of Oropus, Thespiae and Plataea – they must become his allies and members of the pan-Hellenic league. The vast majority of Athenians agreed, and so a part of Philip’s mission was achieved.

Meanwhile, Olympias had been drifting away from her husband, both emotionally and physically. She became reticent and devoted to religion, spirituality, and her dreams. The king had taken several other wives, but when Philip planned to marry Eurydice, a girl his daughter’s age, jealousy, and fear for Alexander’s succession was sparked. Eurydice was from a noble, Macedonian family, while Olympias was a foreigner, and thus she also began to worry about her own position as the queen, which would in turn affect Alexander’s legitimacy for the future king. Earlier, she had expressed her concern about Amyntas, Alexander’s older cousin, who was a potential heir to the throne if Philip should die early. Alexander had seen no threat in his cousin and had refused his mother’s suggestion to somehow eliminate him, but now he was beginning to feel uncertain. And so Philip married Eurydice. At the wedding, her father made a toast, in which he wished that his daughter bore a good, legitimate heir. Alexander got extremely offended and upset, yelled out, “What of me? Am I illegitimate – a bastard?” (). A brawl started and Philip, embarrassed by his son’s outburst, lunged to stop him, but tripped over and fell in his drunken state. It was then that Alexander had said, “There’s my father who wishes to cross from Europe to Asia, and yet he cannot even cross from table to table without stumbling!” Right after this, he and his humiliated mother set out away from Pella before Philip could get to them. Later, Olympias had returned to Pella and Alexander was met by his friends, who had decided to join him in his exile. This lasted for almost a year, in which both stubborn father and son refused to forgive each other, but later managed to reconcile.

At twenty, Alexander lost his father during the wedding ceremony of Cleopatra. Philip was assassinated by one of his royal bodyguards, Pausanias, who stabbed him and then took off. Soldiers were ordered to take him alive, but a couple of them killed him as soon as they had caught up to him. It is thought that they were aware of who had planned the assassination, and had therefore killed him to stop him from leaking any information. Both Olympias and Alexander had been suspected of plotting to kill Philip throughout history, but since Alexander’s character had seemed to be one of honour and respect, and love for his father, this is very unlikely; while Olympias had been the one to feel the most threatened by Philip and his other wives and children. Furthermore, she is also suspected to be guilty of physically assaulting Eurydice and killing her baby boy. Olympias was strong-minded and would likely have been stopped by none; Alexander was the only one able to defy and order her.

On becoming the king, Alexander had had all of his rivals executed, including his cousin, while Olympias also eliminated those who were a threat to her. His plan was to take over Philip’s mission to conquer Persia. However, there was great unsettle still in the Greek states and in the surrounding barbarian tribes who were more than eager to liberate themselves of the Macedonian rule. Nevertheless, against advice that he best use lesser force to control them, Alexander set out with his army to the Dunabe and defeated the king of Triballi, Syrmus. (History in Action). During this, rumours stated that he had been killed in the battle, and so to seize the opportunity, the people of Thebes revolted and were joined by Athens. Alexander returned and razed Thebes to the ground, leaving only the house of Pindar (a poet whose work her appreciated) and the temples. Approximately thirty thousand residents were sold into slavery, and this action stifled the rebellion in some of the other Greek states. (Alexander the Great Biography) After this center of resistance had been destroyed, Alexander gathered thirty-five thousand, five thousand of which were cavalrymen. In triremes, they crossed the narrow strip of water that separated Europe from Asia (Hellspont). Alexander was the first to leap out and throw a spear into Asia to claim it as “spear-won ground” (Nasmyth, D. 1998) He was met by the Persians at Granicus River, and was victorious, giving him control of almost all of Asia Minor. However, the Persians then sent spies to watch his movements. In order to prevent Persia from using the coastal cities of Asia Minor for an attack in the Aegean Sea, he conquered them.

After recovering from an illness in 333 B.C, Alexander headed for Syria and defeated the Greek and Persian heavy infantry at Issus with his phalanx, even though the king of Persia, Darius III had had an enormous army and outnumbered Alexander’s about six to one. However, Alexander had his own strategies and enthusiasm, which affected his soldiers’ performance, making him a great leader. Darius retreated and his soldiers were left without a commander, so that most of them were either killed or surrendered. Afterwards, Alexander captured Darius’ camp, in which he found the king’s wife and mother. His generosity and gallantry to them is amongst his most famous deeds. The two women stood by him until the end, and when he died, Darius’ mother poisoned herself rather than live without him. (Nasmyth, D. 1998) Darius then wrote to Alexander to compromise, telling him to keep the western half of his empire if he agrees to stop fighting him, to which Alexander replied: “King, you offer me half your empire, but you are only giving me something I already have. I am on my way to take the other half too, and be sure that, wherever you hide, I will come and seek you out.” (Nasmyth, D. 1998) The fact that Alexander defeated an army that outnumbered his by so many men is remarkable, and shows how great his command was and how well thought out his strategies. At the forefront of the army stood the phalanx, about sixteen men deep (Nasmyth, D. 1998), with the spears getting longer progressively with each row, so that when pointed forewords, they reached the same point. The formations also changed my times, with Alexander at the front moving from flank to flank and giving out orders. What encouraged his men even more, and caused their devotion to him, was that he never held back during a battle; he always made sure to be in the midst of the fighting, and never did he ask his men to do something which he, himself, would not do.

After Darius’ defeat, Alexander moved onto Egypt where he was welcomed as their saviour from the ruthless rule of the Persians. There, between Lake Mareotis and the Mediterranean Sea, he founded a city called Alexandria. During the time the city was being built, Alexander marched to the temple and oracle of Ammon in the Libyan desert, called Siwa. The statue of the god sitting on his ‘throne’ was carried on the shoulders of several priests, who would then interpret the god’s words by the leaning of it on their shoulders. Alexander had not revealed to other’s what was said to him, but it is believed that he was told that he was the son of Ammon, not Philip, and that he would conquer the world. However, Alexander’s historian, Callisthenes, had stated: “He used to say that he had heard what pleased him.” (Nasmyth, D. 1998) This was perhaps just another trigger for his later obsession with power and conquering. Ruling Egypt was not enough for him and he continued his search for Darius and overcoming Persia.

Not desiring to be defeated once more, Darius chose his own battlefield at Gaugamela and had the ground flattened to make it easier for his chariots. His army was enormous: 400, 000 horsemen, according to a historian named Arrian. (Nasmyth, D. 1998) Darius underwent massive preparation of strategies based on his knowledge of Alexander’s usual battle formation. However, Alexander had also been in preparation for the army that outnumbered his by many men. Amazingly, Alexander was once more victorious, relying mostly on his intellect and the discipline of his men. Darius fled and called on a satrap named Bessus, who soon after murdered Darius, in the hope that this would please Alexander. However, Alexander was unimpressed and had Bessus executed for the murder. He was the king of Asia after Darius’ death and did all in his power to bring the cultures of Persia and Macedonia together; he encouraged inter-marriages and set an example by marrying a Persian princess, Roxane, himself. However, some of his men were beginning to get discouraged and antagonised by Alexander’s attitude. He drank and gambled and was beginning to turn into a megalomaniac. His men turned against him and began to fear him after a number of occurances: Alexander had executed a general and his son for their plot to assassinate him, even though it might have been clear that the general was not a part of the plot. () Furthermore, during a banquet when one of his men, Cleitus, confided in him due to his concern about his change, Alexander impetuously threw a spear in anger and killed him. Alexander had been drunk and had later regretted his action and had even wept for a number of days. However, despite this, his men had lost their trust in him and his control of them was beginning to fall apart. It is believed that Cleitus had offended Alexander by saying, “…you used to be a solider like us, but now you behave like the King of Persia you replaced.”

However, Alexander persisted and set out to India, and after a battle his army refused to go any further because they had had enough and it was a particularly vicious battle, even though they were victorious. They had defeated an Indian prince named Porus at the battle of Hydaspes. It had been a great challenge for Alexander’s horsemen to beat the Indians, who used war elephants. However, instead of killing the prince, Alexander made him governor of the parts of India that he had conquered, so much was he impressed with Porus’ effort. The journey back was particularly harsh and many of his men died, while the rest were sent by ship, led by an admiral named Nearchus. (Nasmyth, D. 1998) Even on the way back, Alexander fought a few small battles, one of them in which he was wounded by a spear through the chest. This almost caused his death, but he recovered and returned to Persia to find that some of the governors he had set were abusing their position – and so he had them executed. ()

In 324 B.C, Hephaestion died, causing much grief for Alexander who had loved his friend more than anyone else. However, soon after, Alexander turned towards Babylon, hoping to make it his capital. He also had dreams of conquering countries such as Spain and Italy, but he had died only two months after Hephaestion. It is believed that during a boating trip near Babylon, Alexander’s blue ribbon was blown away by the wind and settled onto a ruined building, a gravesite of an ancient king, and this was believed to be a bad omen. This was only a couple of days prior to his death. It is still not know for certain what caused his death, but it is generally believed that his life was taken by a disease – may have been malaria – that had killed him due to exhaustion acquired through his campaigns. It is also likely that he may have had some type of diabetes, since he as often described as having a sweet smell about him. However, in the recent years historians have began to believe the disease to have been typhoid. Roxane is thought to have been pregnant at the time of Alexander’s death, but both she and her son were killed in by the then-current king of Macedon in 305 B.C. Soon after Alexander’s death, the empire fell as a result of the struggles between the Diadochi (a collective Greek name for “successors”). Alexander was originally intended to be buried in Macedonia, but Ptolemy had hijacked the golden carriage in which his body was laid to be taken back, and taken it to Alexandria, in which Alexander the Great was placed in side a marble monument. (Nasmyth, D. 1998) However, his body has never been found, and even today historians are searching. Despite his early death and the imminent fall of his empire, Alexander the Great has left many lasting impressions upon the world: he has spread the Greek culture throughout Asia, and founded the city Alexandria, which has become the center of mathematics and philosophy.

Most of Alexander’s life has been well recorded, but there are still many speculations and contradictions from one text to another; information passed down throughout the centuries by historians and researches is rarely completely accurate. The consideration of both new and old texts may be useful in taking note of new discoveries and progress of research. However, relatively, the knowledge of Alexander’s life fairly high, but there is still so much more to learn. At times, historians’ visions can be obscured by the religious features of Alexander’s time: occurances may have been recorded erroneously from the beginning because of the fact that people believed in the supernatural, and today we have no actual way of knowing what really happened and why. The discovery of Alexander’s burial site and body would shed some new light on his life, and this search is still existent today. Perhaps Alexander’s life has been romanticized and blown up into fantastical proportions in some aspects, but there is no doubt that he had led an amazing life and accomplished some extraordinary things.