Weekly 5

Grace Leung

3/4/11

Western Civilization

Question: Does Power Corrupt? How or How Not? Why or Why Not? Do you think Alexander was corrupted? And who influenced whom the most: Did Persia become more Greek or did Alexander becoming more Persian?

Power corrupts when it because the focus instead of the tool for achieving greatness, and this was exemplified throughout Alexander the Great’s life. Although born to a well-known ruler, King Phillip, Alexander was influenced most by his mother, Myrtale, and tutor, Aristotle. King Phillip was a successful ruler of Macedonia, but paid little attention to his son while away on campaigns. His mother was ambitious and spent much of Alexander’s younger years focusing him on his destiny as a great ruler. Aristotle was hired by King Phillip to tutor Alexander. Throughout his life, Alexander was pushed to become something great, and focused on achieving power and greatness beyond his father’s rule. Both Myrtale and Aristotles’ influences were evident in Alexander’s campaigns and actions. In the end, the pursuit of power ended up corrupting Alexander’s life as it was the focus of those around him, and eventually his own.

Because King Phillip was busy running a kingdom and pursuing other marriages beyond Alexander’s mother, the influence of Myrtale was quiet intense during Alexander’s formative years. His mother constantly reminded Alexander that he was destined to be great. She also manipulated situations to assure that her son would remain in line for the throne. Many historians believe that it was the influence of Myrtale that prevented Alexander from having a more normal relationship with his father and women. Myrtale passed on her strong desires for power and influence to her son.

Although only with Alexander for a few years of his teens, Aristotle’s influence was strong with Alexander throughout his adulthood. Aristotle was a famous and influential intellect who sparked Alexander’s interest in sciences, especially medicine. Aristotle also had a great respect for hedonism which proposed self-denial and self-control.  He also guided Alexander in viewing outsiders or non-Greeks as barbaric and deserving of slavery status. It was not until Alexander spent time with the Persians that this perception would change.

The influences of Myrtale and Aristotle, and the corruption of power was most obvious in Alexander’s campaigns. Alexander pursued the expansion of his territory with intense focus due mostly to his mother’s influence on him becoming great. Just like his mother pursued Alexander’s rise to power and position, Alexander sought power and expansion. Aristotle’s influences were seen in how Alexander interacted with his troops, often giving them food before eating himself. Aristotle’s greatest influence involved Alexander’s campaign against the ‘barbaric’ Persians. Ironically, it was after Alexander spent time in the company of the Persians and eventually married one that he would come to realize that they were not barbarians. Through Alexander’s marriage and time spent in Persia, he inevitably began to have more respect for Persia and its culture. Although, some Greeks resented Alexander’s new Persian outlook, they were overruled by his authority.

Alexander became ‘Alexander the Great’ because of the corruption of power which was present in his mother and Aristotle who sought to instill ‘greatness’ in Alexander. They both sought power for Alexander, and he came to seek it, too. Alexander the Great spent much of his time in campaigns pursuing the elusive goal of ultimate control over everyone. In the end, Alexander the Great’s life was filled with corruption because of the power-hungry people who influenced him, and his own ambitious thirst for power.