Stories from Greek History - E. Lemon

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

"...Though he was a Macedonian king, he must be counted as one of the great Greek heroes, for he spread Greek habits and manners all over Asia, and so made the Greek nation one of the most widely known in the world..."

"...His mother Olympias used to tell him that he was sprung from Achilles, the bravest of the princes who fought against Troy, of whom Homer sang. She wished him to grow up like Achilles. And his first tutor, Lysimachus, pleased him by calling him Achilles, and himself Phoenix, because that was the name of Achilles' tutor..."

"...The Greeks held a Council at Corinth to see how many soldiers they could send with him, and a great many famous men came there to meet Alexander..."

"...With the death of this hero ends Greek History in the strict sense of the word. Alexander had spread abroad the love for things good, glorious, and beautiful; and for this every nation in the world since his time owes him a debt greater than can ever be repaid...Nowadays we name all that he stood for, Hellenism—a short word that means a very great thing."

[Ethelwyn Lemon, Stories from Greek History, London 1907]

Source: Heritage-History