"I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well."
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
"I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion."
~Alexander The Great
These quotes, to me, prove the incredible genius of Alexander The Great. They also prove that he was given an impeccable education by Aristotle in every possible subject matter. He is smart, ambitous, modest, clever, cunning, eloquent, charismatic, and logical. In other words, Aristotle created the perfect leader, instilled with the values and morals of Greece and taught to uphold them at all costs.
Monday, February 15, 2010
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I like the title. The Vitruvian man, or the man drawn with perfect proportions to fit some specific ratio, by Da Vinci, known to be an example of the synthesis of art and mathematics/science.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you would refer to Alexander the Great as the Vitruvian man, as if he is flawless in his ambitious ways, rather than his bodily proportions. Not sure whether or not you read the essay written to make him out to be an absolute "butcher", but he is certainly flawed.
He did seem the perfect conquerer/leader, though.
Exactly what I was thinking Em. Alexander may have been a great leader, perhaps perfect, but he was cruel, a war-monger, and sadistic. He took pleasure in the torture of the prisoners as he did it himself - that man is by no means perfect.
ReplyDelete"In other words, Aristotle created the perfect leader, instilled with the values and morals of Greece and taught to uphold them at all costs."
Values and morals of Greece. Perhaps they were power hungry and wished to own the world but I don't know if I would classify their values as being as cruel and horrid as Alexander. He was not a good man from the history surrounding him. That being said, it is impossible to know how he felt about his actions - for all we know it could be part of a plan to keep his troops afraid. Perhaps he did regret the lack of mercy.
Alexander committed the necessary evils to keep his troops in line and to make his enemies bow down to him. Their civilization had been living under the rule of brutal killers for centuries and if Alexander came in acting merciful and benevolent, then there would be uprisings against him. He was a man who understood public image and therefore knew that he had to conquer these people in the only way that they understood: brutal, merciless slaughter
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