Free sample essay on Alexander the Great:
With all of his accomplishments came the knowledge and influence of the different people in Alexander’s life. Alexander III was the son of Philip II and the Epirote princess Olympias. He was twenty when he succeeded the throne of Macedonia. Alexander followed in Philip’s footsteps with spectacular success but he did not stand in his fathers shadow. His mother Olympias was a great help in this. She was an iron willed woman who did everything in her power to protect her son and advance his career. She was an incredibly determined mother. It was Olympias who put the idea in Alexander’s mind that he would become successful in his own right, not just because he was the son of Philip.

The relationship between Alexander and his mother was an important aspect in Alexander’s life. According to John Maxwell O’Brien’s ‘Alexander the Great “The Invisible Enemy”, “The is little doubt that she was one of the dominant influences in his early life.” Even after Alexander succeeded Philip’s throne, their relationship was always marked by affection and loyalty. When Alexander crossed the Hellespont to Asia in 334 BC, Olympias stayed in Europe and remained as his supporting backbone the whole way, even throughout all his victories and conquests. Alexander’s profound dedication to his mother never wavered. However, he was desperately requested by his viceroy in Macedonia to rid of her interfering ways. This is when Alexander is said to have remarked, “that Antipater did not understand that one tear shed by [my] mother would wipe out ten thousand letters such as this”. Alexander also expressed some thought on his mother’s deification. He told close friends “the greatest reward for my efforts and my labours will be if my mother Olympias be granted immortality on her departure from life”. Continue Reading »