The Big Question
Notability is a status achieved by very few. It is a status of power, and goodwill. Only leaders, warriors, and heroes can become truly timeless and achieve the sought after title of notable. To be truly notable is unobtainable for many, and there is no figure more deserving of this status than Alexander the Great. Throughout his life he achieved what no-one else has. He brought wealth and prosperity to his nation and spread western culture, greatly increasing the Greek influence. And yet not all of his achievements where military. He overturned many of the precepts of his teacher Aristotle, not treating the defeated Persians as slaves, but as fellow people. And if you are not yet convinced this true titan civilisation deserves the status of notable, than you need only read on.
To answer the question proposed I will start at the beginning. Alexander the Great was born in the July of 356 BC into the Argead dynasty. He grew up in Pella, a city in the kingdom of Macedon, and soon was beginning his journey towards notability, impressing his father, King Philip the Third, by training the horse Bucephalus when no one else could. He would later ride this horse into battle. As a teenager he was tutored by Aristotle, one of the legends of philosophy and the sciences. This true master of warfare's early life can be described as nothing short of wondrous as he observed his father defeat enemy after enemy and grow Macedon's power. He grew up in the shadow of his father's achievements, dreaming of the moment when he would rise to power and fulfill the legacy left by his father. None could imagine the glory and power this young boy would soon possess. The sheer scale of the kingdom he would amass defied imagination. And while this portion of his life alone deserves notability, it is dwarfed by the scale of what was to come.
His early twenties brought Alexander the Great much note and glory, as he begun by leading a cavalry charge against the Sacred Band of Thebes. During the battle of Chaeronea, he saw an opportunity to put his bravery and vigor on display and capitalized, leading his cavalry in an attack on a supposedly unbeatable military group comprised entirely of male lovers, the Sacred Band of Thebes. His troops decimated the band and his notability only continued to grow. Then his father was tragically assassinated and Alexander took the throne, and executed those who allegedly murdered him. Now was his chance at glory. His moment to prove himself. And he seized it. In the following years he defeated every opponent he could. Compounding upon the other rulers that he alone ruled the military world and that those who challenged him would face his blade. And so when the time came for Greece to march on Persia, the obvious choice to lead its forces was Alexander of Macedon. Now began the true reason for which he should be remembered.
The third and final chapter of Alexander's life was the pinnacle of his existence, the reason for why his story has survived millennia. In this period Alexander the Great earned his name as he became the King of Persia and thus the majority of the known world. His journey began in Greece and he began his march virtually unopposed. Destroying any enemy that he came across. It continued like this until he reached Halicarnassus, Mylasa, and Miletus and led some of the greatest sieges of all time, a feat that could alone give him notability. But with time the cities fell, as was inevitable, however this interruption in Alexander's process allowed the King of Persia to amass an army. He then entered Egypt and thus begun the end of one of the greatest military achievements in history. Upon the sands of Egypt he would become truly invincible. Upon the sands of Egypt he would spill the blood of Persia's armies. Upon those sands he would finally fulfill his true potential and give the world one more idol to aspire to. And then the moment came and the Battle of Issus commenced. The Macedonians were greatly outnumbered in men but not in courage and soon the Persian's were in retreat, leaving Alexander the Great one step away from ruling Persia.
An artists impression of Alexander The Great training Bucephelus.
An artist's impression of the Battle of Issus
An artist's impression of the Siege of Miletus.
The challenges in Alexander the Great's life where numerous from when he was only a boy to when he ruled Persia. Here I will outline the main ones. When he was a teenager, his parents divorced and he went to live with his mother, who was the Queen. A few years later she died and he reconciled with his father but this time away made his succession unclear. He obviously encountered many obstructions militarily such as meeting resistance at Halicarnassus, Miletus and Mylasa and also the battle of Issus where he was greatly outnumbered. Overcoming these challenges in his life shaped Alexander and made him into the hero he was.
In Alexander the Great’s life he was indeed lucky. It has to be said that he achieved a foothold from his father, King Philip the Second, who grew Macedon’s army and earned its reputation. However, you do not inherit notability. Alexander did not just ride of his father’s hard work, he built his empire from the ground up, earning every bit of his title and his power. He is notable not from the luck he inherited from his father, but from the luck he made for himself as he led his armies fearlessly into battle and became an inspiration for generations to come. It was his knowledge and his bravery that allowed him to succeed become a hero because as he grew his empire, he led his armies into battle and he kept their spirits up even when defeat seemed inevitable. An example of this can be seen at the battle of Issus. The stage was set for the most important battle of his campaign as King Darius of Persia and his 600,000 strong army took up a position on a wide and open plain, Alexander’s army of fewer than 40,000 opposed them. At first Alexander hesitated to move and King Darius took this as fear, pushing forward, it is said Darius claimed he would trample Alexander the Great with his cavalry. So, Darius’ massive army was chasing Alexander and his men, however this was his plan. Alexander had led Darius into a narrow area where his greater numbers were less significant and Alexander’s more experienced troops were victorious.
The key point that discerns the true heroes from the others is their attributes. These are the building blocks upon which they may place their achievements. Alexander the Great displayed much attributes throughout his time, each adding to his character and allow him to fulfill all of his potential. His perseverance meant he never wavered in the face of any challenge, vital to his success. His courage and valor gave him the strength to lead his men into battle, earning their respect and trust. And above all his ambition. His drive to achieve something truly great, to build a mountain upon his building blocks. His other traits opened the door, but his ambition saw him run through it whole heartedly. His attributes are some that we should all try to emulate in our own lives, in whatever form that may be. You may use your courage not to lead an army to war, but to simply give your all in a soccer match. Notability cannot be achieved by those of weak, or even average qualities, but only by one with characteristics that are powerful, and inspiring. And this is why, again, Alexander the Great is notable.
Some may say that Alexander the Great's real impact on the world was minor, that all he did was temporary and has now been washed away by the relentless river of time. However this could not be further from the truth, because while it may seem that all that remains of Alexandria is legends and memories, its culture still thrives. While his military greatness was temporary, that is not why he deserves to be notable. He deserves to be notable for his philosophical advancements as he made peace with the Persians instead of slaughtering them, and for spreading western culture over the world. His mark, while not corporeal or tangential, is deep and irremovable. You live on this planet as you are, likely because of how Alexander the Great influenced Asia, filling it with memories of Greece and the west. And the languages you speak and the food you eat is directly influenced by this man who lived in fourth century BC. His contributions to the world are long and so I will summarise it. Alexander the Great shaped the world we live in today. And I truly believe that that is to be notable.
Alexander the Great is notable for many reasons. He is notable because of his wit and military mind. He is notable for the empire he created. He is notable because he is an inspiration. And he is notable because he because he spread western culture. Each of these qualities along with is many achievements are why Alexander deserves to sit the throne of notability. He manages to fascinate the world to this day because of the empire he built, which is now only a whisper on the wind, having been whittled away by the millennia. Alexander the Great is notable because he changed the world.
"A tomb now suffices him for whom the world was not enough." [Alexander's tombstone epitaph]