Good morning, today we are going to look at a two-part documentary on Alexander the Great. The first episode covers Alexander the Great’s growing up years. The run time for this first part is 43:54. This is a German-produced documentary that has translations.
Alexander the Great was history’s greatest commander. He came from a kingdom that would start as politically irrelevant, however, that would change with King Philip. King Philip’s son, Alexander the Great would continue to expand what his father started. Alexander the Great expanded Macedonia to Egypt and India. He was the world’s greatest conqueror of all time. He was the first European to establish an empire. He enjoyed the battle. So who was the real Alexander the Great? The story begins with Alexander’s birth. It was said that the gods announced the arrival of Alexander with thunder and lightning. He was the second son in the Macedonian Royal Family. Greece and Macedonia were changing. People were seeking scientific reasoning and not relying upon myths and legends. Macedonia was a peasant state. However, King Philip was about to change that. He reorganized the army, developed new weapons, and started expanding Macedonian territory. The Greeks called the Macedonians barbarians and King Philip wanted to change that. He promoted progress and the Macedonia capital became a stately seat of government. Alexander would have witnessed a period of massive change. He practiced combat daily, if he wanted to rule, he would have to fight. His mother Olympias watched over his upbringing. Alexander’s relationship with his father was complicated. His older brother would be characterized as moronic, so the throne would rest on Alexander’s shoulders. Olympias, Alexander’s mother, emphasized Alexander’s divine status. She told him that he was not of this world. She told him that he was the son of Zeus and had more royal blood than King Philip. Macedonians took their belief in the gods seriously. So the heroes of Greek mythology became Alexander’s heroes. Achilles was Alexander’s hero. Aristotle was Alexander’s tutor and he taught Alexander everything about Greek culture. Alexander would study the Iliad. Aristotle would try to help Alexander act according to wisdom and not passion. He was preparing Alexander to be king. The best-known legend from Alexander the Great’s life was the taming of Bucephalus. Bucephalus was a proud horse and many tried to ride the stallion. Only Alexander the Great could ride him. He understood why the horse was in a panic. Bucephalus would become the most famous animal of ancient times. Their connection was unique. One historian points out that Alexander the Great was a horse whisperer. Eventually Alexander the Great would rule Macedonia in King Philip’s absence. King Philip would go to war often, and Alexander cared for the Empire. They would be co-rulers of the empire. King Philip would clash with Athens. Athens would try to put the upstart Macedonians in their place. They did not like their freedom threatened by the Macedonians. The Athenians believed that the Macedonians were barbarians and did not want to ally with them to defeat the Persians. Delphi was the center of this conflict. The Macedonians were made guardians of the temple at Delphi during the Persian invasion. The Athenians took this as an insult. Delphi was the most sacred place in Greece. So Athens turned to all of Greece to fight Macedonia to get Delphi back. Alexander would fight in a battle during this rule. He was surrounded by the best men. They knew that whoever would emerge from this battle would shape the future of the Aegean Province. Alexander would lead the cavalry during this attack. Who would emerge from the battle victorious? Would his relationship with his father improve? Would Alexander ever learn to act with wisdom? Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more about Alexander the Great. The dramatizations of Alexander’s life were pretty good and provided insight into Alexander the Great’s childhood. The participating historians had an interesting perspective on the life of Alexander the Great because of the stories that surround him. This would be a good episode to show to a history class. Due to the discussion on the legends surrounding Alexander the Great, I thought it would be good for an English class, but then that discussion went nowhere, so it would not be good for an English classroom.
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