Alexander (III) The Great

        Home | Back | Buy antiques and coins from ancient Macedonia

Alexander was born in Pella, Macedonia, the son of Philip of Macedon, who was an excellent general and organizer. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus.
She was brilliant and hot-tempered. Alexander inherited the best qualities of both his parents. But he was even more ambitious than his father. He wept bitterly when he heard of Philip's conquests and said, " My father will get ahead of me in everything, and will leave nothing great for me to do." Alexander's mother taught him that Achilles was his ancestor, and that his father was descended from Hercules. Alexander learned by heart the Iliad, a story about the deeds of Achilles. He carried a copy of the Iliad with him, and Achilles became Alexander's model .Even as a boy Alexander was fearless and strong. He tamed the beautiful and spirited Bucephalus, a horse that no one else dared to touch or ride. Later, this famous steed carried him as far as India, where it died. Alexander then built the city of Bucephala on the Hydaspes River in memory of his beloved horse. Philip was so proud of Alexander's power over the horse that he said, "O my son, seek out a kingdom worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee."When Alexander was 13 years old, he became the pupil of Aristotle. He was always eager to learn. Aristotle inspired the talented youth with a great love for literature. He took part in sports and daily exercise to develop a strong body. Aristotle also inspired in Alexander a keen interest in other countries and races of people, and in animals and plants. Alexander's education was not all from books. He talked with ambassadors from many foreign countries, and with other noted persons at his father's court. When he was only 18, he commanded part of Philip's cavalry at the battle of Chaeronea. Alexander also acted as his father's ambassador to Athens.Alexander was 20 when he became king of Macedonia. The Greek states had grown restless under Macedonian rule. While Alexander was away making war on some barbarian tribes in the north, someone spread a story that he was dead. The people in the city of Thebes revolted and called upon the people of Athens to join them. Alexander soon appeared before Thebes with his army. His soldiers stormed the city. Every building in Thebes was destroyed, except the temples and the house of the poet Pindar. About 30,000 inhabitants were sold into slavery. Alexander's action broke the spirit of rebellion in the other Greek states.The army of Alexander was, for the most part, that of his father Philip. It was composed of light and heavy troops and some engineers, medical and staff units. About one third of the army was composed of his Greek allies from the Hellenic League.Macedonian battle formation, courtesy of The Department of History, United States Military Academy. Note that in this diagram Hypaspists are mis-labelled 'elite heavy cavalry' when they are in fact infantry.
The main infantry corps was the phalanx, composed of six regiments (taxies) numbering about 2000 phalangites each. Each soldier had a long pike called a sarissa, which was approximately 18 feet long (it would be increased up to 21 feet under the successors), and a short sword. For protection, the soldier wore a Phrygian-style helmet and a shield. Arrian mentions large shields (the aspis), but this is disputed, as it is difficult to wield both a large pike and a large shield at the same time. Many modern historians claim the phalanx used a smaller shield, called a pelta, the shield used by peltasts. It is unclear whether the phalanx used body armor, but heavy body armor is mentioned in Arrian (1.28.7) and other ancient sources. Modern historians believe most of the phalangites did not wear heavy body armor at the time of Alexander.Another important unit were the hypaspists (shield bearers), arranged into three battalions (lochoi) of 1000 men each. One of the battalions was named the Agema and served as the King's bodyguards. Their armament is unknown and it is difficult to get a clear picture from ancient sources. Sometimes hypaspists are mentioned in the front line of the battle just between the phalanx and the heavy cavalry. Moreover, they seem to have acted as an extension of the phalanx fighting as heavy infantry while keeping a link between the heavily clad phalangites and the companion cavalry. They also accompanied Alexander on flanking marches and were capable of fighting on rough terrain like light troops so it seems they could perform dual functions.In addition to the units mentioned above, the army included some 6000 Greek allied and mercenary hoplites, also arranged in phalanxes. They carried a shorter spear, a dora, which was six or seven feet long and a large aspis.Alexander also had light infantry units composed of peltasts, psiloi and others. Peltasts are considered to be light infantry, although they had a helmet and a small shield and were heavier than the psiloi. The best peltasts were the Agrianians from Thrace.The companion cavalry was equipped with metal helmets and various types of body armour. Some troopers wore linen or leather corselets reinforced with metal scales while others equipped themselves with bronze or iron breastplates. A number of horsemen may even have spurned the use of armour, either for reason of comfort or out of sheer bravado. Shields were probably only reserved for dismounted actions. The hetairoi usually carried a variety of heavy thrusting spears to act as heavy shock cavalry, though they were on occasion armed with javelins. A sword was at all times in use as a secondary weapon. These could be of the hoplite type as well as a curved slashing varietyOf light cavalry, the prodromoi (forerunners) secured the wings of the army during battle and went on reconnaissance missions. Several hundred allied horses rounded out the cavalry.

 Home | Back | Buy antiques and coins from ancient Macedonia