Alexander the Great was antiquity\'s greatest commander

[Ghostmojo]

Alexander's place in history is absolutely assured - as not only the greatest Greek captain-general ever - but as one of the greatest warrior leaders of not only ancient times, but any era. His is a remarkable tale and one that is continually worth telling. Perhaps his greatest qualities were his absolute conviction about his own abilities, confidence in the capabilities of his own forces and of course a shrewd understanding of his enemies and how they would fight. As a commander he was first rate - as a human being, however, he left a lot to be desired. But as with Napoleon and a handful of others - his world view (both the spreading of Hellenism and incorporation of the best of what he discovered from other cultures) and interest in trade, architecture, law, geography etc. make him a serious contender for not only the greatest commander and conqueror, but perhaps the greatest of antiquity's 'renaissance' men. That is no doubt a point that can and will be argued. I often wonder, however, how he squared his apparently belief in his own divinity with his weakened state on his death bed in Babylon. The Makedonian Achilles having discovered his heel ...

It is always interesting to conjecture what might have happened if he had returned to Greece and then set off aconquering westwards meeting a nascent Rome and Carthage.

He was undoubtedly the product of some social engineering by both his parents though, and his birth into one of the northern Greek feudal territories had much to do with his opportunities. Pyrrhos was similar in that respect (although their careers quite different). To be born into the upper stratas of the nobility in places like Thessaly, Epeiros or Makedon was to be a different type of Greek than those who appeared into the central and southern states. The status of autocratic leader didn't sit happily with many Greeks at that time, and without that cultural background - historically unchanged in Makedon, and reinforced by Phillip II - his talents might never have had the opportunity to shine.

That's why it is worth considering how many other ancient Greek commanders possibly had the genius of Alexander III, but lacked the path to glory that he was destined for.

In (quick) response to what has been said previously, I would place the Spartan king Leonidas I as one of history's bravest commanders and agree that apart from that, we know little about his abilities. In fact, we know precious little about him, full stop. I would also add Agis III as a very brave (and optimistic) king/commander. Hannibal Barca (one of my faves) was somewhat akin to Alexander I think, but lacking the complete power (and support at home) again was always restricted - but his brilliant victories demonstrate a quite unique talent (certainly amongst Carthaginians).

Back to my own favourite topic - the Spartans - I guess I would have to say historic circumstance really prevented us from seeing what Brasidas might have been truly capable of given the narrowness of his strategic operations; but I think he was potentially every bit as capable as Alexander or Hannibal. Perhaps this is also true of Kleomenes III who was a victim of timing and circumstance as much as anything else. If Sellasia is viewed as being far from a certainty in its outcome, who knows how far this commander might have projected his power, if he had been given more chance to consolidate and grow it? And then there is the curious case of Xanthippos who gave the Romans a bloody nose at the Bagradas. There are far too many of these guys who get just a few brief footnotes and then disappear...