Daily 22

Do you think Alexander honestly felt like he was avenging Persian wrongs? Or was that just propaganda to mask his goal of conquest?

I think that Alexander the Great was not honestly avenging the Persian wrongs. I think that the Persian wrongs definitely were a factor, but not the main factor. Alexander the Great was a young, ambitious leader. He was traveling around Asia Minor conquering land. While he was doing this he was creating his own mythos. Alexander the Great fought the Persians several times. He was always fighting Darius, too. I think that the wars and battles could have been a rivalry between these two leaders. Darius always turned his back on a battle though. Alexander was creating his own mythos throughout his journey. Especially in Egypt, Alexander went to an oracle and was “told” he was the son of God. No one knows how true this really is though. The people of Egypt regarded him as a god. He was loved by the people because he was against the Persians. Alexander the Great truly wanted to conquer. When his father died, he asserted himself and decided to take control and conquer his enemies. Alexander the Great definitely had a goal of conquest, specifically in Persia, but in general he just wanted to rule everywhere. I think Alexander the Great wanted, in part, to avenge Persian wrongs, but he truly wanted to conquer land. So, in the end, he probably did mask his own goal with avenging the Persian wrongs for conquest. The man had many followers and people who would fight for him, so he could do whatever he wanted. Alexander the Great was going to avenge the Persian wrongs through his own conquests.