ABSTRACT
Alexander III is called ‘Great’ for many reasons: in little more than a decade he journeyed further than any single person before him (on distances, see Sources 1, 36, 37; cf. 60), he defeated opposing forces on a vast scale, he established a huge empire which stretched from Greece in the west to India in the east, he spread Greek culture and education in that empire, he stimulated trade and the economy, he died young (Source 84), and had he lived he would have embarked on a campaign to Arabia. Even the Romans (apparently) sent an embassy to him in recognition of his achievements and stature (Sources 12 and 115). There is no question that Alexander was a brilliant general, strategist and tactician; however, he was not merely a general; he was also a king. As such, it is necessary to consider the entire ‘package’ of him as king, general and statesman. When we do so, we see there is a downside to Alexander's reign and to him as a man, aspects of which have been outlined in the works of some modern scholars in the preceding chapters, and that there is a great difference between the mythical Alexander, in other words the image we have today, and the historical.
