The Great Man may be more hagiography than history, and it's longevity could be accounted for by the close relationship that hagiography and history had for much of written time.
Alexander was a Great Man. Pan hellenism and conquest. We're told that the first was his fathers dream. It stands to reason that any child of philips would have been raised that way. They would have inherited an army and the conditions in and around macedonia that a military could exploit, as well. He had help there, too. It's not as if Alexander himself personally hacked down every foe or came up with every detail of every battle plan or it's execution. He was supposedly educated by aristotle, we can wonder how many of aristotles students would have been up to the job but..for aristotles cred as a teacher's sake..we can presume it was more than one.
In sum, Alexander was certainly exceptional. Generously, we can allow that he was one of just a few individuals so bred, so raised, so educated - and in that particular time and place with those conditions. That does seem to suggest that even when the individuals are rare, it's the even rarer case of their specific circumstances or opportunities that leads to us knowing these particular names at all. That history made them, even if they liked to write, or have written, that they made history.
Alexander was a Great Man. Pan hellenism and conquest. We're told that the first was his fathers dream. It stands to reason that any child of philips would have been raised that way. They would have inherited an army and the conditions in and around macedonia that a military could exploit, as well. He had help there, too. It's not as if Alexander himself personally hacked down every foe or came up with every detail of every battle plan or it's execution. He was supposedly educated by aristotle, we can wonder how many of aristotles students would have been up to the job but..for aristotles cred as a teacher's sake..we can presume it was more than one.
In sum, Alexander was certainly exceptional. Generously, we can allow that he was one of just a few individuals so bred, so raised, so educated - and in that particular time and place with those conditions. That does seem to suggest that even when the individuals are rare, it's the even rarer case of their specific circumstances or opportunities that leads to us knowing these particular names at all. That history made them, even if they liked to write, or have written, that they made history.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
