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Who Is Alexander's Heroic Hero?

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Through his early years Alexander was educated by Aristotle in literature, art, and philosophy. At the forefront of Alexander’s studies was the book Iliad . This literature, among others, contributed to the formation of Alexander’s morals and more importantly, which figures he modeled himself after. In Aristotle’s Hymn to Excellence he speaks of Alexander’s ancestors: Heracles, Achilles, and Aias –who became Alexander’s heroic models . This was good for Alexander because it allowed him to relate himself to popular figures, however this was merely one of the root factors for his pursuit of deification. Additionally, Alexander forged friendships with individuals such as Hephaesion, who was a guard for the king Philip, Alexander’s father, and shaped his morals from the morals of those around him. Alexander had adopted from Aristotle not only his education, but also Aristotle’s morals, knowledge of politics, and additionally some …show more content…
His victory at Thebes was propelled by Athena showing him the fall of the Persian Satrap, and moreover Zeus confirming his strategy to take down the Persian fleet . While his decision to go on a conquest may be accepted at the time, how people viewed him changed because he conquered so much land, and so many people. Around the 320 BCE, Alexander the Great began to think that the only logical explanation for his divinity was that Zeus assumed the form of his birth-father Philip and thus Alexander is the product of both. His ascendency over the Macedonians may be attributed to this hubristic nature because in 324 BCE with the crushing of the Macedonian mutiny –“civil war”- Alexander reached a position of clear dominance over his people . Just prior to this Alexander was confirmed in Siwah by the god that he was birthed from Zeus, thusly Alexander believed that, because of his achievements, he should be worshiped “as magnificent as that of Dionysus”

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