Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox: A Complete Historical Breakdown
To understand Alexander the Great is to embark upon a search, not merely to recount a story. History has often been treated as the study of facts beyond our control, but the trajectory of the ancient world was irrevocably altered by the whims, passions, and brilliance of a single twenty-five-year-old man who ultimately ruled over two million square miles. Alexander's significance cannot be overstated. Before his campaigns, the philosopher Socrates likened the Greeks to "frogs around a frog-pond" clustered around the Mediterranean. Because of Alexander, Greek athletics would be performed in the burning heat of the Persian Gulf, the tale of the Trojan horse would be told on the Oxus, and Homer would be translated into an Indian language. However, the historical sources detailing his life are a labyrinth of myth, propaganda, and fragmented records. More than twenty contemporaries wrote of his career, yet not a single original manuscript survives. What remains are the writing...