Young Alexander.

[dean]

The Early Years.The biggest bulk of AlexanderGÇÖs documented life- begins well into his teens- taming of Bucephalus- the battle of Charonea etc which leaves practically fifty percent of his life left in total obscurity.In my humble opinion I strongly believe that we are to a large extent (not entirely) a creation of our upbringing GÇô our family and to sum it up in a few words- the first few years.We have but only a few scant and tentative details regarding the first ten years- the fact that he was brought up by OlympiasGÇÖ uncle- Leonidas(?)- with his decidedly Spartan attitude. Also we know that this affected Alexander, in for example his eating habits and general attitude towards hardship- the Spartans upbringing of children was completely geared up for war and the ability to deal with adverse conditions.Alexander, we also know, as a child, was immersed in the violent world of the Iliad and took it for fact- being told that even the hero was one of his ancestors.I suppose that also he must have been aware that he was born on the day that the temple of Artemis burnt down- and no doubt his mother must have fed him full of stories about his divine inception- the story about the snake and also of her other prophetic dreams.I think(we donGÇÖt really know) that Alexander, thanks to his mother, was always given to the mystic side of life- It is filled with colourful soothsayers and other mystics- the Syrian lady who he allowed to watch over him while sleeping. Calanus- the Indian mystic who tagged along on the journey back- and of course his sibylline words- GÇ£see you in BabylonGÇ¥- not forgetting Aristandros.Without wishing to go on too long I think it would be interesting to conjecture about the nature of his childhood and I would appreciate any comments, corrections or anything else.Best regards,
Dean.

[marcus]

Hi Dean,I have to confess that I've never spent much time speculating about Alexander's early years. Certainly a lot of things you say must have been very influential - the impact of Leonidas, and what he instilled in Alexander, must have been great (and, referring to some other threads, might have contributed to the fact that, eventually, he was able to stave off *natural* death for 12 days!).>>I suppose that also he must have been aware that he was born on the day that the temple of Artemis burnt down- and no doubt his mother must have fed him full of stories about his divine inception- the story about the snake and also of her other prophetic dreams.>I suppose that also he must have been aware that he was born on the day that the temple of Artemis burnt down- and no doubt his mother must have fed him full of stories about his divine inception- the story about the snake and also of her other prophetic dreams.>I suppose that also he must have been aware that he was born on the day that the temple of Artemis burnt down- and no doubt his mother must have fed him full of stories about his divine inception- the story about the snake and also of her other prophetic dreams.I suppose that also he must have been aware that he was born on the day that the temple of Artemis burnt down- and no doubt his mother must have fed him full of stories about his divine inception- the story about the snake and also of her other prophetic dreams.I suppose that also he must have been aware that he was born on the day that the temple of Artemis burnt down- and no doubt his mother must have fed him full of stories about his divine inception- the story about the snake and also of her other prophetic dreams.

[kate]

Like you,Dean. I've always been interested in Alexander's early years. The sources don't tell us much, but it is interesting to speculate. A lot of the rumours probably did begin after Alexander became so famous, but I suspect that Olympias did feed him stories of his brilliant destiny when he was young. She certainly seems to have been a strong personality and it is logical to imagine that she would have passed on her interest in religion. It's hard to tell if she really did dislike Philip, but to secure her own postion she probably wanted to bind Alexander to her even if she didn't go so far as to say Zeus, not Philip, was his father.
If nothing else, I suspect Alexander always knew he was a VIP. He would have been treated well by the court and the servants, which must have increased his confidence. In fact, by modern standards, he was probably a spoilt brat, at least until he was taken in hand by Leonidas, which would have been when he was seven if they were following the Spartan idea. By then, however, his personality would have been set and I think the amazing "can-do" attitude he displays in later years must stem partly from the treatment he received as a young child.
Cheers,
Kate

[John.]

Whether or not Artemis' temple burned down on July 20, at least we know for a fact that a rocket bearing the name of her brother Apollo "burned up" to the moon, landing the first man there on July 20 - a date when all the peoples of the world stopped what they were doing for a few moments, and let their minds be filled with wonder and amazement.I saw that the Chinese just launched their first man into space, on board "the divine vessel." I doubt they can best Apollo!John

[Polyxena]

Actually, we will never know for sure how much of "Alexander's life" really happened, and how much was later invention, but his divine inception and his later pretentions to be the son of Zeus can be connected with his mother Olympias as well. It's said that she "filled his head" with her invention that Philip is not his real father. Olympias claimed the partecipation of a divine partner (under the form of a serpent)in Alexander's conception. And, before Alexander left for Asia "she told him the secret of his birht and bade him behave himself with courage suitable to his divine extraction" (Plutarch). He really had an overly demanding mother that resulted with a competition with himself.And there are other events connected with Alexander's birth: Parmenion had overthrown the Illyrians in great battle, than Philip's race horse had won the course at the Olympic games and ... of course... the temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt while its mistress was absent....... and the diviners said that a son, whose birth was accompanied with 3 such successes, could not fail of being invincible.We should take into consideration Aristotle's influence on his personality, too. This outstanding student of Plato's Academy has transfered his intellectual abilities to Alexander. So, Plutarch informs us that "Alexander greatly admired Aristotle and he grew closer to him than to his own father" and "for the one, he used to say, had given him the gift of life, but the other had taught him how to live well". The other important influence over him had the disorder of his family caused by Philip's other marriages. Olympias became more violent, jealous and implacable and turned Alexander against his father.Regards

[Nicator]

...then of course, there was that quick step which he'd picked up from Leonidas. I always wondered if that was from copying Leonidas' own quick step, or a result of Leonidas impatiently dragging the poor little guy around...thus, forcing Alex to keep up with the longer legged adult by walking faster. If the latter (and I suspect it was), then I'd say that was a bit cruel. Of course, it could have been that Alex just had a high strung constitution, and he demanded a faster step from himself to show his metal. Nicator

[dean]

Hello,I suppose as you say Gail, he must have been by modern standards been quite a little brat and he must, I suppose, have been aware from quite an early age that, being the logical successor to Philip his life was in danger and I suppose that in Macedonia with a certain history of no king dying in his bed of old age then tensions must have been quite high- security for the little prince must have always been tight.He didn't want to win glory by any other means than his own hard work and courage - like Heracules, and I think that we can see this clearly as he escapes to Epirus. He fights in Ilyria and founds a city- Alexanropolis- while still a teenager? I suppose it was also in exile that he discovered the meaning of companionship- most of the friends who went with him were later key people in the eastern campaign.Nicator, never read about Leonidas and the quick step anecdote- although just as you are describing it- can imagine Alex being dragged round the class pulled by the ear.The question still remains- who taught him to be such a genius in strategy and tactics to be able to turn horrendous odds against him into an advantage? I suppose that we'll never know or maybe nobody taught him it. Philip, I suppose, gave him a few pointers and an excellent army but the rest was down to Alexander's decision and sense of timing.
Take care,
Dean.

[Polyxena]

Hi,There is no doubt ATG was one of the greatest military tacticians of all times and under my opinion that's how he "earned" to be Alexander THE GREAT. He was a true genius for war strategy and tactics.... But, there is one reasonable answer to Dean's question "who thought him that" ! He was tought by the best teachers in their own fields: Philip, his father, introduced him in war as a master of that art and Aristotle, the greatest intellect of that time, gave him a benefit of his wide range of knowledge.... and when we take into consideration that he inherited the best trained Army of that time, trained, equipped and ready to fulfill his dream... we can imagine how he succeeded be what he was. Alexander grew up around the Army, always watching his father's leadership and "by the way" displaying his own bravery. And we are not talking about "any" Army... we are talking about the best Army of that time, different from the others in many ways where each difference was one great improvement. Each unit was trained to respond immediately to commands on the battle fields. Moreover, they were trained together to coordinate their aims and they were very flexible. The reason that the army was paid, created an additional elan never seen before. The Army had 2 shock elements, the Companion Cavalry and the Phalanx. But, Alexander was a master of the leadership, of the initiative. It seems like he had some "invincible" innate feeling when and how to act.Regards