As a military leader, Alexander the
Great (356 B.C.-323 B.C.) was undefeated in battle, conquering the
Persians and stretching his empire from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He became a
hero akin to the ancient Greeks such as Achilles and Odysseus. He is the general from
which all other commanders are measured, and his tactics are still taught in military
academies around the world. But his true legacy became evident in the cultural diversity
that he brought to the conquered lands.
Alexander's spread
of what became known as Hellenization (the Greek language and
culture into the Persian Empire) existed for centuries, instilling Athenian-influenced
education, art, government and town planning throughout his new lands. Alexander also
greatly influenced the Roman Empire and was revered by Julius Caesar and Pompey the
Great. His legacy even stretched to India, where Greek culture meshed and flourished
with local traditions, even serving as an inspiration for Buddhism. Other testaments of
Alexander's cultural legacy can be seen in the many temples erected in such places as
Delphi, Delos and Ilium; the building of roads, ports and shipyards in North Africa; and
the building of cities where he could
"transplant of populations from Asia to
Europe and in the opposite direction from Europe to Asia, in order to bring the largest
continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family
ties."
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