Strength and Weaknesses

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Chris

Strength and Weaknesses

Post by Chris »

What would you say were ATG 3 greatest strengths and weaknesses?
JediBix783

Re: Strength and Weaknesses

Post by JediBix783 »

Strengths: charisma, intelligence-- for instance, not trying to make the cities he conquered live under Greek rules, ambition
Weaknesses: again, ambition-- he wanted too much, dependence on close friends (look at the generals closest to him), and umm...i really can't think of this one
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marcus
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Re: Strength and Weaknesses

Post by marcus »

Not sure I agree about 'dependence on close friends' as a weakness - as far as I can see none of Alexander's generals let him down.
I don't know what my choices for his weaknesses would be (I need to think a lot harder for a lot longer), but I would probably include an inability to gain acceptance of his 'medising' (which I think only didn't get him into more trouble because of the force of his personality and the army's dependence on him to "get them home"); his ambition I agree with - hence the mutiny at the Hyphasis, where he overestimated his troops' willingness to go as far as he wanted to go; and I would probably include also his arrogance as far as the Greek states were concerned - he rode roughshod over the terms of the Corinthian League (eg. the Exiles Decree) - which caused mainland Greece to be less stable than it might have been. In all these cases, however, he wasn't unduly troubled because of either the strength of his personality or the strength of his army.
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chris
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Re: Strength and Weaknesses

Post by chris »

When Alexanders' predominant personal strengths - high intelligence, incredible constitution, skills as a leader of men, a genius for strategy - are combined with his royal birth, education and an absolute belief in his place in history and personal destiny (he was worshipped as a God)it made him truly unique. His weaknesses? Judging him by the standards of today is fruitless, he was a man of his time, but as with us all, was flawed.
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Re: Strength and Weaknesses

Post by Nicator »

Hello,
I would say that his extraordinary ambition was not a weakness, but rather a unique quality which when combined with his royal-military upbringing, the Aristotelian education, and his nearly superhuman physical constitution differentiated him from every human being that has ever lived.He was the peak of a great wave of change which swept over history, and changed the world like no one before, and none since. Clearly, his ambition was a strength...that is the nature of Alexander...it was his "pothos".
later Nicator
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Thus, rain sodden and soaked, under darkness cloaked,
Alexander began, his grand plan, invoked...

The Epic of Alexander
chris
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Re: Strength and Weaknesses

Post by chris »

Pothos indeed. Alexander had such an impact on history one is tempted to consider a greater meaning to his exploits.
Trish

Alexander the Great's burial

Post by Trish »

Alright, so here it is. I am new at this. I'm majoring in history and stumbled upon this forum. I am delighted because like all of you, I am fascinated by this man. As a child I began hearing about him in stories. I even remember watching an 80's tv series with one episode devoted to "gadget guy" (let me know if you know what series I am referring to!) discovering his tomb, which was filled with traps. Later on I read that he was buried in a golden coffin filled with honey. Has anyone else heard of these legends?
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