western civilization- Greece essay

Matt Kramer

October 24, 2012

Fall 2012

Lessons in Leadership- Pericles and Alexander the Great

Pericles and Alexander the Great lead their respective empires to superfluous grace through determination, passion, and ambition. Alexander the great ruled one of the most expansive empires of the ancient world, mostly inherited from his father Phillip of Macedon, and conquered many kingdoms and consumed almost innumerable countries. He went to dire extremes to take what he desired, with an almost manifest destiny sensibility. He achieved such feats through marriage, conquest, battling alongside his warriors, overcoming personal issue while giving unexpected respect to his defeated adversaries, such as the Indian king, King Porus.

Pericles was a great leader who brought Athens to their golden age, the height of its’ brilliance as a civilization. Pericles improved upon the democracy in Athens, solidifying democracy as their form of government. Pericles was a Greek statesman, orator for the ecclesia, and General of Athens. Athenian Imperialism can be attributed directly to Pericles; who, ironically brought Athens to its Golden Age and also created the previous mentioned Athenian imperialism, which led to the ruin of Athens.

Pericles was a highly decorated general and had many accomplishments as a statesman. He brought Athenian democracy to a new level. All citizens, regardless of social class, were equal and at one time or another held office and had a voice. The ecclesia, which was the assembly of all male citizens over eighteen held at the Pynx,, the assembly hall, is an example of Athens’s social equality. Although, Pericles passed a law limiting citizenship to those having parentage on both sides, creating much controversy. The controversial law was a more socialist idea and his populist policies along with his imperial policies regarding Athens colonies, is said to be the cause of the regression of the city after Pericles death. He set up a Pan-Hellenic colony in Italy representing all Greek’s. Although, there was not much success with the committee it gave the Greek city-states a sense of “nationalism”.

His military career is his best legacy being general for many years. Pericles was reelected fifteen times as general and had many remarkable victories. His last major campaign became a model for which later Athenian generals measured their own achievements. In this last campaign an Athenian ally, Samos, revolted against Athens. Despite Samos having a bigger fleet than Athens prevailed under Pericles. Another great feat of Pericles was securing the grain route from the Tauric Chersonese.

Pericles quote, “ Wait for the wisest of all counselors…time.” Is in itself wise. Essentially, Pericles is saying time is the greatest of all insights, and only time will and can tell. Only Time can show the outcomes of any political strategy or social implement. Also, I feel that he is pressing for patience- to wait and see what come of the issue at hand. Looking upon history over time is a true foreshadowing of events to expect.

“Trees, though they are cut and lopped, grow up again quickly, but if men are destroyed, it is not easy to get them again.” Pericles is stressing the irreplaceable nature of the individual man; his personality, morals, his loved ones, and who the person is. He is using trees as an analogy. Trees will grow back and are renewable, but a man is not. Not one man can replace another, unlike trees. I also feel that there is some ambiguity to this quote. Pericles could also be referencing a man’s psychological well being. Once a man is brought to his knees, his wits end, there is no recovering them from the void in which they slipped into, this being the mental realm.

There are many things one can learn from Pericles. One thing in regards to looking at politics, especially the upcoming presidential election, is that trying to please everyone with policies for the people is not good for the country as a whole. Pericles policies show that giving every citizen a chance to be in office for a very short term does not work out well. Personally qualms and predispositions get in the way. Another thing to learn from him is that there is negative outcome for creating laws that have qualifying restrictions for citizenship. Also treating one area of your country in hirer regard than another is very detrimental, I.E. Athens colonies.

Alexander the Great Had many accomplishments and his vast empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the pacific across three continents. Upon inheriting the throne from his father Philip II of Macedon, he acquired the generalship of the Greece army and with that started a ten year campaign to expand his empire. During this campaign he over threw the Persian Empire by overthrowing king Darius III. These lands included: Asia Minor, The Levant and Syria, Levant, Tyre, Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, including the Macedonian Empire, inherited from his father king Philip III. Upon the time of his death Alexander’s Empire covered 2,000,000 sq. mi with 20 cities named after him, the greatest being Alexandria in Egypt.

“ remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all”

Each person’s conduct and their actions affect everyone and their fates. So remember each person’s actions because ones actions will cause another to act in such a way and so on and so forth.

“ There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”

By this Alexander means that nothing is out of reach as long as you try your hardest and put everything you have into your aspirations. There are no boundaries except the ones you put upon yourself.

From looking at Alexander’s accomplishments, he would of had to take risks which would mean he was at times reckless, impulsive, and stubborn. He grew up watching his father win countless victories. These first hand experiences led to a great knowledge of war and leadership, feeding his stubbornness. With all of the killing and battles he had to be violent in nature. Looking at his quotes and from his interests he seemed to have a calmer more logical and calculative side. Also, to be a great leader one has to posses a lot of charisma. With all of this success and wealth he must have been very arrogant and bombastic. It is said that he thought he was son of Zeus. 

Based on my studies of Pericles and Alexander III of Macedon, I feel I have a good grasp on what type of personality it takes to rule a large empire and have it thrive.

The leader must need to be for one ambitious with a strong passion for his/her goals. They need to be assertive and have a violent temperament to be taken seriously. Yet, have a calm collected somewhat nurturing side to be loved and admired. Intelligence is key to ruling an empire along with wit, to stay one step ahead of those around him and especially his adversaries. Also, Self control must be strong to resist any temptations and to be able to view things not with emotions yet with logic. One last trait I believe should be shared by all leaders is paranoia. To be wary of all those around him; a ruler of a great empire cannot be too safe in regards to watching his back.

I look towards Alex the great with much inspiration to achieve my own personal goals, them being my ambitions to be a successful musician. His ambitious nature and charisma are templates for what I need to achieve my own personal goal. Also, his ability to think logically and also be able to be rash and reckless seems to be a perfect balance of temperament. In regard to the theme of the class “ The only thing new in the world is the history you didn’t know.” Leaders of the past fit into this quote because the leadership qualities of leaders of the past will help an aspiring leader to learn the mistakes that kings and emperors before them have made and be sure not to repeat history in that area. Also, on the other end of the spectrum to look at their triumphs and how they achieved such heights in their empires, would help them be a successful leading figure.