Alexander The Great Motives

Every person in the world has a motive for something, whether for materialistic things or for survival purposes, people will always be motivated to do something to gain something. Alexander the Great was no different. He was raised by both his parents, however at times unbeknownst to him, his parents had motives of their own regarding what they wanted from Alexander. Additionally with his father’s background of military and “Hellenic Alliance” (Lane Fox, p.229) it is not hard to see that Alexander was immensely influenced by his father’s actions.

Alexander’s values were shaped by his father. “the more a king conquered, the more secure his personal kingship became, and the more his resources for yet more conquest” (Lane Fox, p.230). Alexander’s
230) naively thinking that he would reach the edge of the world. Being a student of Aristotle it’s a wonder that people thought the world was flat, but then again Alexander “modelled himself on the supreme hero of Homer’s epics, Achilles” ( Lane Fox, p. 235), and at one point bellowed that he was “the begotten child of a god” ( Lane Fox, p. 235). Surely one of the motives for his “innate energy and boundless ambition” ( Lane Fox, p. 235).

Nevertheless Alexander still in fact conquered many cities due to his “edgy relationship with his father” (Lane Fox, p. 235) who inspired Alexander to defeat his father’s goals of conquering many cities. Alexander did “inherit [from his father] the aim of freeing the Greeks from Asia” ( Lane Fox, p. 236) which Alexander did, however inheriting the Persian system of tax, did not give Alexander the peace of mind he was hoping for.
Maybe the saying “ the apple doesn't fall from the tree” rings too true when it comes to Alexander’s drinking; drinking heavily like his father, another contributor and possible motives behind the method to his madness. Whether it was the gods or his father that moulded Alexander the Great he had riches to fulfill his every materialist need and survived epic battles that live on