Alexander the Great

Karczewski 1

Kevin Karczewski

Professor Betty Sample

World Civilizations WOH 2012

27 May 2012

Essay 1: The Spiritual Influences on Alexander the Great’s Conquest

Alexander the Great was the most successful conquerer of his era, and possibly of all time. It is said that he never lost a battle. He ruled from Greece all the way south to Egypt, and then expanded east as far as India and the Himalayan Mountains. The Persian Empire was Greece’s ancient, sworn enemy. Persia engaged in two wars with Greece before Alexander was born. They were led by their Persian leaders, Darius, and his son, Xerxes. They both failed, once by land, and the other by sea. Alexander managed to conquer the entire Persian empire, a feat matched by no other Greek ruler. Alexander played his card right when conquering all of this land. He stayed close to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea when he was traveling south to Egypt, giving him control of every port he captured on his way. Alexander’s enemy was King Darius the III. Alexander had him on the run. During his reign to control all the land previously ruled by the Persia, he left behind a new Hellenistic culture in his path. Although Alexander was a great ruler, he was a spiritual man as well and the supernatural effected his conquest greatly.

First off, Alexander had a great passion for healing, which is a characteristic of Jesus in the bible. This is most definitely a supernatural and godlike trait that played a big role in his conquest for central Asia. He attained these ideas and feelings for healing from his mentor, Aristotle. Alexander studied under Aristotle from when he was a young boy until he was sixteen.

Karczewski 2

Mind you, Alexander only lived to be thirty, so for half of his life he was influenced and taught by one of the greatest Greek Philosophers, Aristotle. Plutarch, a Greek biographer, stated this about Alexander, “Moreover, in my opinion Alexander's love of the art of healing was inculcated in him by Aristotle...