Alexander III, better known as Alexander the Great, was a very confident young man and the son of Philip II. He was born in Pella, the capital of Macedonia in 356 BC. Although his life was quite brief, he accomplished many feats and was a military genius. His efforts have earned him the respect not only of his army and his people, but also that of countless others over the centuries. The existence of Alexander the Great had a significant impact on history and spread knowledge throughout ancient civilizations as he conquered more and more territories. The Hellenistic people are the direct result of his influence. Without his mother, Olympias, Alexander might never have become king. She was considered angry and mean, but to her son she was nothing but uplifting. His constant ego, telling Alexander that he was descended from the gods, etc., convinced him that he was better than everyone. In fact, historians consider him narcissistic. As a young boy, Alexander was described as polite, intelligent and courageous. Aristotle educated him at the Temple of the Nymphs at Meiza until he was sixteen. Aristotle's textbook was the Homeric poem "The Iliad", which the young Macedonian had memorized. Everyone seemed to notice that Alexander was destined for greatness; in fact, the ambassadors scorned his title by declaring that he was “great” while the king was only “rich”. The future conqueror did not see his father very often as he spent most of his time on the battlefield, but Alexander demonstrated his boldness and cunning to his father by showing that his fiery new horse was in fact tame. He observed that the animal was simply afraid of its new environment and even more so of its own shadow. Impressed by his action...... middle of paper ...... after a long life of battles, Alexander ended his conquests and everyone was freed from the fighting and able to return home. Ironically, even though Alexander was a strong man in his prime and undeniably respected and feared by many, he met an untimely death. He was struck by a disease that was fairly common at the time, today known as malaria or swamp fever, then known only as yellow fever. There is no known cure for this deadly disease, and the king, not being divine as he believed, was no exception to the consequences. He died at the age of thirty-three, after twelve days of suffering. His legacy lives on in the history books of modern times. He is considered, among other things, brilliant, courageous and ambitious. His name will live on and resonate in future history lessons and like him or hate him, you must respect him..