PHILIP of MACEDONIA and ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Creators of a new world

by Simon Perdikis

The end of the Peloponnesian war found Sparta and Athens, the traditional powers of Greece, in decline. The prevailing conditions showed that only if all the Greek city states were united under the control of a strong leader, would Greece be able to find its lost glory and cope effectively with the Persian threat.

The first one to perceive this fact was Philip of Macedonia, who then managed to realize this union and become the leader of the whole of Greece. He followed a very clever policy; threatening and fighting when judging it necessary, making peace and arranging agreements or even making his enemies fight one another through clever political manoeuvering. What’s more, he organised his state and army, minting new coins, inventing new strategies etc., proving that he was one of the brightest politicians the world has ever seen.

To sum up, Philip of Macedonia affected the world indirectly, in the sense that he set the basis for his son’s expedition against Persia, which affected the world directly. He was also an exemplary politician as well as being a great military leader, and his methods -both political and military- remain a shining example for future generations. Finally, his belief that he should create a united Greece was a very important and revolutionary concept, as till then, every country had been organised into city-states, without unity - a fact that caused a lot of problems (civil wars etc.)

Alexander the Great built on his father’s work, and managed to continue it in the best possible way. Using a lot of his father’s ideas in every field (army, politics etc.) and adding his own ambition and skills, he undertook the responsibility of the Panhelenic Expedition against Persia- the strongest empire of the time, although close to collapse. In this expedition we should try to search for Alexander’s effect on the world.

First of all, the character of this expedition was not only military. One of the main aims Alexander had in mind was the spreading of Greek civilization, Greek language and Greek achievements in the fields of science, to the various tribes that he would come across during his expedition. Thanks to Alexander the Great, all the tribes around the Mediterranean, and even deeper into the east (e.g. India), spoke the Greek language, as, through the Roman conquests, the western world was also influenced by Greek civilization, a fact that affected every field of social life. What’s more, the uncivilized countries became acquainted with science, art and literature, and as a result of this contributed to further development in these fields. Generally, it’s true that if Alexander’s expedition had never taken place, the development of the whole world would have been delayed for at least a century.

Secondly, Alexander introduced a revolutionary and very diplomatic plan in his expedition. He didn’t destroy the places he conquered (as was the habit of that age), and he behaved towards the conquered tribes as if they were his faithful followers, trying to make them feel so. In this way , he managed to make the conquered tribes accept Greek civilization, and himself loved by the people. Indubitably, this clever policy affected the world, as it was used as an example by a lot of other conquerors in the future and helped avoiding excess violence.

The strategies he used, and the fact that he managed to conquer the whole world as it was known at that time, put him among the greatest leaders of all times. He has been the subject of thousands of books and inspired artists and soldiers for centuries. His offering to the world is incalculable.

Summarising, Alexander’s and Philip’s contribution is that they set an important example to future generations; they contributed to the development of mankind, and were such great leaders and bright personalities that they became idols for their contemporary and future generations.

Simon Perdikis is a 14 year old student at the 5^th Gymnasium. His hobbies are music and basketball - he plays the piano and the accordeon. He passed the Cambridge FCE exam with a Grade B this year and was one of the students from Katerini invited to visit Brussels under the Erasmus programme of the European Union.