Alexander the Great

Essay by g1mm1eac0wb0yCollege, UndergraduateA-, May 2004

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No person can deny that Alexander the Great accomplished many things for the Greek Hellenistic period. The controversy comes to play when deciphering just how great of an impact he had. One historian, William W. Tarn, holds Alexander the Great to be a man who changed the course of history. In one document that Tarn wrote he claimed, "He (Alexander) lifted the civilized world out of one groove and set it in another; he started a new epoch." Alexander started the process of unification world wide, expanded trade and created more opportunity for all people. The issues that he addressed and solved for the time sparked no question, but whether they would have happened with or with out Alexander provokes incongruity amongst historians.

Tarn stretched the impact that Alexander the Great had on the course of history. Tarn says that Alexander lifted the civilization into an entirely new groove. Accelerating the old path in a new direction is a bit more appropriate when addressing the influence Alexander had over Greek history.

Towards the end, the Hellenic period of Greece had begun to transform itself and concentrate on different issues. The inhabitants of Greece took action to move forward before Alexander the Great came into existence.

Tarn even said it himself in his own document. He wrote, "Even if much of the work was done by his successors, he broke the path; with out him they would not have been." Tarn gave too much of the credit to one individual of the time. Alexander received help from many people; he did not accomplish his dreams alone. He probably derived the credit from some historians with the fact that he was a great leader. He made an example of himself for people to follow. He was a hands on leader who gained...