Thursday, May 14, 2020
How the epic poem Iliad influenced Alexander the Great Free Essay Example, 1500 words
/ If I voyage back to the fatherland I love, / my pride, my glory dies. . . .â⬠1 The famous Historian Plutarch comments that being pleased by Alexanderââ¬â¢s passion for Achilles, Aristotle himself prepared an annotated copy the ââ¬ËIliadââ¬â¢ and gave it to the young boy. This annotated copy of the Iliad accompanied Alexander till the last day of his life. He even slept with it under his pillow, as Chris Whitten says in this regard: ââ¬Å"Emulating the famous hero was apparently encouraged by his teacher, the great philosopher Aristotleâ⬠¦. Aristotle personally annotated a copy of the Iliad for Alexander. Alexander kept it with him throughout all his later travels, even sleeping with it under his pillow. â⬠2 Another event in Alexanderââ¬â¢s life inspired him to mould his life after Achilles. His mother, Olympias, had been able to convince young Alexander that he was the descendant of Achilles and Hercules. Though Olympiasââ¬â¢s story seems to be a shee r fantasy, it shook Alexanderââ¬â¢s young mind vehemently and prepared him mentally to keep the fantasized Achillean heroic family tradition intact. Iliadââ¬â¢s Role on Alexanderââ¬â¢s Conflict with Philip II From the very beginning of his career in the Macedonian Army, Alexander began to react against his fatherââ¬â¢s policies. We will write a custom essay sample on How the epic poem Iliad influenced Alexander the Great or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now He opposed his father not only because he was more freedom-loving but also because he had to uphold himself as the future king. Though he was greatly admired by the royal court of Philip II, he did not want to remain under the shadow of his father. Alexander himself would ââ¬Å"to imitate his father and react against his policies, to define himself as both another Philip and as an anti-Philip. â⬠3 Even some scholars think that he had lent a hand ââ¬Å"direct or indirect, in the murder of his father, so that he could lead the expedition to Asia that his father had organized. â⬠4 This father-son antagonism seems to have its root in the influence of the Iliad on young Alexander. The Book One of the Iliad generally deals the relationship of the younger heroes with the older ones. From the beginning, Alexanderââ¬â¢s hero Achilles always opposes the unjust and arbitrary king Agamemnon. Alexander might be inspired, by Achillesââ¬â¢ indepe ndently courageous role, to raise his voice against his fatherââ¬â¢s royal policies, though Philip II does not perfectly represents the character of Agamemnon. In this regard, Kallistos Alexandros comments: If Alexander envisioned himself as the new Achilles, surely Philip must have, however imperfectly, represented Agamemnon to him.
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