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FAMILY MATTERS

Alexander the Great: A legend is born

When your birthday coincides with the burning down of a temple, you can’t help but appreciate the symbolism.

My father Philip’s shadow

Growing up, I could not help but watch my father with envy and pride. Ancient Greece was far from a united empire. At best, it was a confederation of numerous city-states. While the Greek city-states bickered with one another, my father saw a looming opportunity to divide them and conquer one another in order to wield greater authority. He accomplished this goal.

Equally adept in military scenarios as he was in diplomatic settings, his kingdom had soon become the dominant force in the region, moving down from Macedonia in Northern Greece to Central Greece by 339 BC.

Philip consolidates power

Despite being Macedonian, Philip became the ruler of the Greek city-states. As Macedonians, we considered ourselves to be Greeks by virtue of being descendants of Dorian Greeks. Greeks however viewed all non-Greeks as Barbarians; with Macedonians categorized as half-Barbarians. Our Macedonian dialect was different, rendering it hard for the Greeks to the south to understand us well.

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