Day 25 + 26

1. Compare and contrast Alexander to Cyrus, especially in terms of their character. What stories of Alexander, or themes of his early life, remind you of stories we have read of Cyrus?

Cyrus and Alexander the Great were both monumental leaders of their time period that set remark standards and levels of dominance and power that was previously were unknown to the world. As young boys both were found to be placed in important roles in leadership of either battle, strategic planning, or complete governance of a land. Cyrus was an extraordinary leader. He conquered the largest empire the world had ever yet and was able to more importantly able to unify all the nations under one centralized empire. Honestly was able to form one the of first national scale multi-layered type government in the world. Appointing satraps as governors reporting directly to him.

Alexander on the other hand was also a defiant leader in terms his ability to lead. He is known as the greatest military geniuses of all time and was greatly emulated by numerous generals throughout history. He was able to conquer not only the original Persian Empire of Cyrus’ but he also got Egypt which cyrus did not and parts of Western India. He was the one of the primary causes for the the spread of Greek Culture to a wider influence throughout the world.

2. Select three stories from the Life of Alexander that seem especially implausible. How do you think these stories got started and were passed down to Plutarch four hundred years later?

The first story i believe is the most implausible has to do with the meth about the the wild untamable horse. There was a horse that not even the best trainer in the city could handle or tam. Alexander said that he could tam the horse and that if he couldn't then he would pay the sum of the debt that the horse brought unto its owner. No the part that seem very implausible is how quickly Alexander is able to not only tam, but saddle up and ride the horse. All the townsmen were in shock and in awe in the speed in which he was able to tam the horse. This story just seems implausible to me personally, i feel like this story was made up just to give the character of Alexander this superhuman ability to lead not only person but anything that was thrown in his direct where it be a horse, battle or person.

The second story, is when Alexander was making a expedition against the Byzantium. He was left behind as the leader in the Macediona and keeper of the royal seal. He drove out the Barbarians after taking the Maedi city. He settled there a mixed population named it Alexandropolis. Now all of these accomplishments seem to me as very possible for a well trained and experienced leader/warrior and also sounds very possible for this time period. now the part that make me second guess the possible that is could be true is the fact that the story goes on to say that Alexander was only the young age of sixteen at the time. To me at this age no young man would be able to not only efficiently lead an expedition in a foreign city but gain and hold control of that territory.

The last story that seem highly implausible to me personally at least is one about him being a paramedic. “For he was not only fond of the theory of medicine, but actually came to the aid of his friends when they were sick, and prescribed for them certain treatments and regimens, as one can gather from his letters.” This seems unlikely to me. Even during this time period the art and practice of medicine was remotely advanced and there was schooling and formal training that was needed to be completed in order to effectively practice medicine. All of these stories i believe were made and lastly hundreds of years in order just to give this character of Alexander the Great this platform to of recognition and honor to allude that he was a “superhuman” or really in touch with the divine powers.

1. Here is a job listing for the Dean of the college of arts and sciences at Clark University in Atlanta. Note that there is a long list of knowledge, skills, and abilities expected of the role. Do you think Alexander would make a good candidate? Why or why not? What other characters from the Life of Alexander might be more qualified? Would you yourself expect to be qualified for this role in 10–20 years?

I do believe that Alexander the Great would make an excellent candidate for this position, for the simple reason that his war record and military experience expresses his ability to lead. Being able to lead and conquer most of the known world at that time by the age of 32. Being a war leader all the following skills are necessary to be successful: problem solving, technical skills, interpersonal skills, teamwork, visionary leadership, ethics, judgement, initiative, adaptability, organizational support and the most important motivation. His father would be another character from the Life of Alexander that would be a great candidate for this position. He was able to build the empire tremendously previous to Alexanders rise to power. All the factors, knowledge, skills and abilities of kingship all equate equivalently to the position of dean of Arts and Sciences. Of course one most be adapt to from a position of war to a position of education

10 to 20 years from now i do believe that i will be qualified for this position of leadership. My aspirations are to eventually own and operate my own general construction and contracting company. Through the experiences and failures i go through throughout my career i hope to have the ability to obtain and receive the skills that would give the background possible to successfully fulfilling this position.

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Personally in leadership i believe there is one factor that is this most important to not only leading others but leading yourself into the correct path, that factor is motivation. Motivation is defined as: to give someone or something a reason to doing something. Motivation is the key to achieving all goals as group and personally. It is the reason i get up every morning and get to the daily grind of being a student here at Howard University. The following is one of the most inspirational motivational videos i have ever seen. This opened my eyes to things and put my life in perspective in way in a time when i was losing hope.