Society's Views and Perceptions (Question #2)

     Greatness is measured in the way society views the beholder. Many leaders in history were dubbed "great" and each owner of the title contributed something crucial to their societies. Through this observation, we can infer that society deems a person "great" if he or she believes and works towards what any particular society feels is important. Alexander the Great was a prime of example of this idea.

     Alexander inherited the strong military forces of Greece from his father, Philip. The empire he now controlled valued military strength and expansion above anything else. Alexander conquered vast amounts of land, from at home in Greece to western India, in a mere 10 years time as ruler. The Romans were the first to call Alexander "great", because the Romans are hugely supportive of military strength and expansion, the very same areas Alexander excelled in. Here, because of the Roman societal approval of a military-based life, Alexander was considered great. In the same way, Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, was one of the most influential people in Roman history. After adopting the broken republic of Rome from his great-uncle Julius Caesar, he formed an alliance with Marc Antony and together, they defeated all their enemies in Rome, as well as conquering parts of Greece. He expanded the Roman empire, gained the support of all his people through clever planning, and expanded his empire even further, into Europe and northern Spain. Many people find faults in Augustus' ruling however, just as many people do not think Alexander deserves to be called great. Firstly, Augustus acted a bit like Hitler- he pretended to give up power and let his people panic when disasters struck. Then, he coyly took power of the empire, when the citizens were convinced he was the only savior. Hitler worked the same way, promoting his beliefs when Germany was at it's weakest after the World War. Even through his clever deception, Augustus still achieved many of his goals, ending a 100 year civil war, giving way to a diverse society, transformed Rome into a  major trading port, and never deliberately tortured his citizens.

     Many other leaders in history were considered great, and many times, for different reasons. Not every society was solely interested in military strength. Ramses II was also called "the Great", as well as a god. He lived to be 96 years old, unheard of at that time period. He built the most temples and monuments as of the Egyptian empire, as well as initiating buildings and founding the new capital of Egypt, Pi- Ramesse.  In ancient Egypt, culture and religion were an enormous part of both daily life and society. Ramses earned his title of "great" by aiding the flourishing of temples throughout Egypt. But Egypt's military was also a substantial threat to other empires and countries. Ptolemy I, a general under Alexander himself, fought with distinction in India, as well as becoming the Macedonian king of Egypt.  He also carried on the cultural aspect of Egypt's society, going on to found the library of Alexandria and patronized the literature and arts. Ptolemy's greatest accomplishment was the Ptolemaic dynasty, which lasted the longest of the Alexandrian empire, falling to the Romans in 30 BC.  The Egyptian society focused on the literature aspects of life, as well as keeping their empire safe through military and defense tactics. Ramses and Ptolemy advocated these, securing their respective titles.

     Keeping the economy steady while attaining goals can be challenging due to outside threats as well as those on the inside. Rebellion and treason were major issues during the Persian empire's rule. Cyrus the Great led the people of Persia in a rebellion against the current leader, Medes. He took control of the kingdom and moved on to Babylon and Central Asia. He conquered the most land and built the largest empire in history, up to that time.  Persia was also big on expansion, evident in their invasion of Greece later on. Cyrus' achievements in expansion were glorified, Cyrus hailed as a genius. When Darius I took control of the Persian empire, he focused internally, giving Persia internal structure and organization that lasted 200 years. Along with noting that tolerance rather than torture would get him farther with his people, Darius created over 20 provinces. He achieved impressive feats, maintaining communications, keeping his governors of the provinces in check, and adopting the title of pharaoh. Darius I provided solutions for the long-running problems of rebellion and treachery among officials.

     The title "great" was not just awarded to leaders who conquered the most land or won the most battles. Whatever aspects of daily life a society finds important will be the deciding factor in a leader's accomplishments. Alexander of Macedon proved his skills as a leader by conquering new lands and creating new cultures. He accomplished goals from his father before, as well as his own personal goals. When a leader proves his adequacy in achieving the goals of society as a whole, such as Alexander, he or she will truly deserve the title of "great".

Works Cited

Butler, C.. N.p.. Web. 19 Sep 2013. 
         <http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/pre/2/FC15>.

Werner, Robert. N.p.. Web. 19 Sep 2013. 
        <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/482132/Ptolemy-I-Soter>.

Egyptology and Archaeology through Images, . N.p.. Web. 19 Sep 2013. 
       <http://www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/people/pages/ramesses ii.htm>.

. N.p.. Web. 19 Sep 2013. 
       <http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/augustus.html>.  (no author mentioned)

. N.p.. Web. 19 Sep 2013. 
       <http://www.ancientmacedonia.com/PtolemyI.html>.  (no author mentioned)

Augustus xxxxx

Ramses II xxxxx