Feb 28th Daily

How did Alexander create his own myth?

Alexander created his own myth by making himself seem as if he was eternal and godlike. His quotes that he was said to have spoken to his army made him seem as if he was a philosopher rather than a regular person. He built himself up by the myths and legends to be godlike, like he was better than everyone else and could be everyone and anyone he battles. Yes, he was a great leader and fighter for his empire, but he was not, by any means, godlike. I think that Alexander created his own myth by having his own personal note-keeper about everything that happened during his rule and when he attacked Persia. I think that he was able to make himself seem so extraordinary because this man was working for him, getting payed from him, so I think that if Alexander wanted to tweak some stuff up a little bit, he would do that for him. I am not saying that he changed everything and that this is all one big lie, but I feel like maybe this note-keeper could build Alexander up with his words if Alexander said so. I do believe, however, that Alexander was a great ruler. He could fight as well as all of his soldiers, he messed with the mind of many leaders, and he was very smart with how to beat an army like the Persians. The Persians greatly outnumbered the Macedonian army, but the Macedonians still ended with the victory. I believe that this is thanks to not only the soldiers, but Alexanders great thinking skills on how to beat such a colossal army and empire. This is how I think Alexander created his myth, being an amazing leader,  but maybe a little tweaks of the writing here and there to make him seem even better. He also had the confidence of a legendary man though, so maybe the way he told the note-taker to take notes is actually the way he truly and honestly thought of himself. 

Feb 24th Daily

Describe relations between Egypt and Persia before Alexander came on the scene.

Egypt and Persia were not on good relations before Alexander came and took over their empires. They were neighboring empires, they did not get a lot at all. They were always fighting, and never got along. Since Alexander came into the two empires with his army, they could chose to be defeated by them with no fighting, like what the Egyptian leaders did, or fight for a victory, and later end with defeat and a large amount of killing, like the Persian army. The Egyptian leaders were very smart and figured that they couldn't beat the Greek army under the rule of Alexander, so they decided to welcome Alexander into their empire taking him in as a king, as if he had already won over their empire. And since Egypt and Persia hated each other at the time, Egypt was able to give advice, weapons, and soldiers to their new emperor and army which lead the Greek empire under Alexander's rule to victory against the Persians, who continued to fight them. 

Feb 23rd Daily

Based on what you know about Aristotle, do you think Alexander had listened carefully to his tutor?

I  have been researching Aristotle and his teachings towards Alexander, and it seems as if Alexander listened to Aristotle very much. Alexander was a very well educated man and Aristotle was one of the smartest people of his generation. He had written about 150 philosophical treatises in many studies like philosophy, zoology, science, and even some meteorology. He has made many theories without error, and he was considered an icon of difficult philosophical thinking. Since Aristotle is considered to be an icon of thinking, I am sure that Alexander listened very carefully to his tutor. Aristotle knew a lot about how the mind works and how people think, so I am sure that Alexander listened to his tutor. Alexander turned out to be an extremely intelligent man who was an excellent leader and thinker about fighting and taking over empires, I am pretty positive that he got some of his thoughts about how to take over large empires and lead an extremely successful army to success from his tutor, Aristotle. Alexander knew exactly what to do under a lot of pressure, he knows exactly what was right from wrong in the war sense, and he was an unbelievable leader. I am sure that Aristotle not only educated him with math and science work, but also ideas in philosophy and how to deal with right from wrong, since he was forced to take power at such a young age. Aristotle must have had a great deal of advice and education that he gave to Alexander at a young age so he could be a good leader without knowing that with Aristotle's advice, Alexander would create the largest empire known at that time. 

Feb 22nd Daily

Do you think Alexander honestly felt like he was avenging Persian wrongs? Or was that just propaganda to mask his goal of conquest?

I honestly feel like Alexander meant to land himself into Troy when he began his conquest to take over the Persian Empire. I think that his mindset was to show the Persian leaders that he was here to fight just like the Greek empire did against them thousands of years before ending with a large victory on the Greek side and complete destruction of the city of Troy on the other side. I think that he was determined to claim back what land was rightfully theirs and also take some more land during his conquest. Since the Persian had defeated the Greek army in the Persian War years before this, I think that Alexander purposefully came into Persia into an area where Greek took over and destroyed to show that their attack is not a joke, and they are here to win back land and restore the honor, confidence, and land that was taken from them in the previous wars. I honestly think that Alexander was seeking avenge towards the Persian people for taking over their land before, but I also think that Alexander was trying to be a good leader and try to expand his empire, and Persia just so happened to be the empire right next to them. To answer this question before me, I think that he was thinking of both when he planned the attack. He had a mission to become the largest empire of that time and maybe even ever, and in order to reach that goal, he had to take over the Persian empire. These are the facts, but I am sure Alexander decided to take over them first to show them that they can come back from total loss and defeat and end up with total power and wealth. Revenge is sweet, and I am sure that Alexander felt the same way. 

Feb 21st Daily

What compels someone to lead others?

I personally think that there are a lot of characteristics similar to all leaders which compel them to lead others. You have to be confident in yourself in order to be confident as a leader and lead people into the right direction. If you are very self-conscious and care a lot about the opinions of others, you will not be a good leader. You also have to be very wise in order to be a good leader. You need to know what you are talking about, give good advice, and help out the people who follow and look up to you as much as possible. I think that being a leader on a sports team and being a leader like Alexander the Great are very similar jobs. No, sports teams don't have to go out and take over an empire, but they have to win games. Winning games requires focus, desire, strength, support, leadership, everything that taking over an empire. They are obviously different, but they are alike in the sense that they both have the same ambition, and that is to win. In order to win, you need leaders who help your team significantly through their actions, advice, positivity, desire, and so many more qualities. Alexander the Great had all of these qualities when he had the desire to create one of the largest empires known to date. He was compelled to lead his army and followers because he was focused and had a ambition to win. He help out his army so much by being such a good leader, just like a captain helps their team by being a good leader and leading by example. 

Weekly: Pelopponesian War Dialogue

Click Here to Read My Dialogue On the Peloponnesian War

Feb 17th Daily

 Explain how the origins of theatre in Athens are tied to both religion and politics.

The origins of theatre in Athens are tied to both religion and politics in many different ways. First of all, a lot of the plays reflected their themes back to religion and politics since that was their main focus at the time. The Athenian people had many gods that they worshiped, and they used the theatre to please their gods before them. The people who performed the plays and the people who watched both loved tragedy plays. Tragedies are dramatic plays that usually end in a sad or disastrous way. All of their plays had to be approved by the god Dionysus. Most of their plays reflected back on religion or politics. When the actors messed up plays, it was considered a huge sign of disrespect towards the gods. There are so many strict rules that  needed to be followed in order to perform a good play. Politics is involved with the theatre because the actors are payed by the government to perform in the plays. The government charged people with some admission fee, like todays theatre.