Alexander The Great Hero Or Villain Essay

Hero or Villain?

Alexander the Great is undoubtedly one of the most famous leaders and Kings in our history. This one man miraculously led his armies into countless battles and created an empire nearly as large as the Roman Empire. Men and women all over the world have clearly heard of the amazing things that Alexander accomplished in his times; however, the question of whether his deeds were heroic or villainous still remains. To answer this question, Alexander the Great was unmistakably a villain.
To begin, his attack on the city of Tyre is a perfect example of his villainous ways. Tyre was a city located on an island that was well protected by large walls (Green) Tyre is a perfect example of a civilization that clearly wanted to be left

alone and mind its own business; however, Alexander the Great took a look at it and decided that he wanted it. In his efforts to overtake this mindful city, he lost countless men and used loads of resources to build a bridge to the island (Green). Once his forces finally broke through the Tyre’s walls, Alexander and his men hacked and slaughtered every person in sight. Numerous buildings and homes were burnt to the ground, and at the end of this brutal attack, he and his men had killed off over seven thousand Tyrians (Green). Tyre had a rival city called it not too far off called Sidon. Although they had their differences, Tyre’s arch enemy came to the rescue and smuggled around 15,000 Tyrians to safety because even they couldn’t stand by and watch the brutality of Alexander’s army. Sidon’s initiative in this situation is what defines a hero. Alexander clearly represents the sheer opposite of this heroic behaviour.
Secondly, many refer to the Legend of the Helmet as a sign of Alexander’s respect for his men; however, regardless of what it seemed like, the story just shows how disrespectful and wasteful Alexander was.

In this legend, Alexander is leading his army through a desert. All if his men are already under equipped judging by how miserable they all were in the story. All of his men are agonizingly suffering from dehydration; meanwhile, a few loyal troops search for a source of water (Arrian). The soldiers finally find a miniscule source of water. They take what they can in a helmet and rather than drinking it, the devoted men bring it to their leader. Alexander takes this breathtaking gift in their miserable situation and poured it onto the ground. The men that took the initiative in finding the water in the first place could have drank it and regained some strength. Or if Alexander really did not want it, he could have just as easily given it to another higher ranked leaders. This story goes to prove that the great Alexander made people more miserable than they needed to be for no decent reason. In reality, no hero would this careless and lavish in a situation like this; therefore, this is yet another representation of how Alexander is not a hero.
Lastly, Alexander was an incredibly poor sport when it came to his victories over other cities and/or countries. There are multitudes of people who think of Alexander the great as an outstanding leader and respectful

king.