Book Review: “The Life of Alexander the Great” by Plutarch

I recently finished reading The Life of Alexander the Great by Plutarch. I read the John Dryden translation, which was from the 17th century, so even though the book was 72 pages long I took my time reading it because of the older form of English which isn’t as easy to comprehend as 21st century English.

The Life of Alexander the Great is a classic that covers the major events of Alexander the Great’s life, and gives readers an insight to the personality of this great historical figure who conquered much of the known world (known to the Ancient Greeks) while he was still in his 20s.

Though it is a comprehensive biography in that it gives readers all the significant points and events of Alexander’s life, it is not a detailed one as it rarely describes events in more than a few sentences or paragraphs. This may be attractive to readers who like short books that they can finish in a day, but less so for those who desire much more detail.

The biography also assumes that the reader has some prior knowledge to Alexander the Great and the customs and history of Ancient Greece, Macedon, and Persia, as it does not provide much background information on what would be considered common knowledge in the time of Plutarch, who lived in the first century AD in the Roman Empire. This was not a problem for me because I have always been fascinated by Alexander the Great and the ancient world ever since I was a child (I always loved reading history), but if you have some basic knowledge about Alexander and Ancient Greece from history class you won’t have much trouble either. Otherwise you can always look up background information on the internet while you read.

This biography is not just an enjoyable, and quick, read, but it unveils many of the traits of leadership that are as useful today as they were in Alexander’s time. Alexander the Great led from the front, fighting with his men and putting his life on the line throughout his campaigns. He suffered many battle wounds during his wars, alongside his men, and there were several instances where he was almost killed. This leadership by example is inspiring and powerful. People naturally follow the examples of their leaders, much more so than their words. Action is more powerful than words, and leaders should know and practice this if they want to inspire their followers.

Moreover, leading from the front gave Alexander instant glory, prestige, honor, and respect from his men. His acts of courage led his men to look up to him. Thus, leaders who demonstrate their qualities through their own actions, rather than relying too much on the actions of others, will gain greater respect and loyalty from their followers.

Of course, it was risky for Alexander to put his life on the line in battle, as his death would end the Macedonian campaign, but he was rewarded for it with much stronger loyalty and respect from his men than if he chose not do so.

In addition to Alexander leading by example, Alexander was also a great risk-taker, which led him to expand his inherited dominion of Macedon and most of Greece to include the entire Persian Empire. He even expanded his empire to include even more territories. His dominion stretched from Egypt in the west to northern India to the east, from the sands of Arabia in the south to the steppes of central Asia to the north. After defeating the mighty Persian Empire, he pushed forward to conquer the tribes of central Asia, in what is today modern Afghanistan. Afterwards, he pushed into India, conquering the kingdoms he faced until his army demanded him to turn back so they could go home. Even as they returned to Babylon from India, Alexander made plans for future conquests. His ambition was boundless and it came into fruition because of his willingness to take risks.

Likewise, any leader who wishes to achieve great things and to truly change the world must take risks and step into the unknown. The pioneers and revolutionaries of the world are all risk-takers, doing what no one has done before. Any great feat is risky and difficult, so those who are willing to face the fear of the unknown are also those who change the world. Of course, people can manage organizations successfully without taking risks, but those leaders who truly lead society in a new direction are risk-takers, and they are the ones who are remembered forever, with future generations learning about them in school, making movies about them, writing books about them, building statues of them, and immortalizing them in eternity.

Alexander was also a man of honor, returning favors generously, and often lavishly, and retaliating against offenses mercilessly. He always gave his loyal companions and soldiers large shares of the plunder from his conquests. He was also brutal to those who wronged him. One of the first things he did in his reign was to put down the rebellion in the Greek city of Thebes, and he did so ferociously, killing all the male inhabitants, selling the women and children into slavery, and burning the city down. Another famous incident of Alexander’s wrath was his killing of Cleitus the Black during a drunken argument, in response to Cleitus’ insults to him. Cleitus was a renowned Macedonian officer who saved Alexander’s life during the Battle of Granicus, cutting the arm off of the Persian officer who was about to kill Alexander. Alexander personally thrusted a javelin through Cleitus’ heart during the argument, but was later very remorseful and mourned for the death of his friend. This incident is one of many that showed how Alexander did not let an insult go unanswered.

Leaders should always return favors generously, and retaliate against insults fiercely. This doesn’t just apply to leadership, but to life in general. Some may disagree with me on this but personally I believe this is a matter of honor and works out for the best at the end. Not only will you uphold your reputation and dignity, but you encourage people to treat you well and disincentivize people from disrespecting you. Moreover, it creates a better culture because people will get rewarded for good behavior and suffer consequences for bad conduct.

I could go on about the leadership traits that Alexander possessed that led him to success, but many of Alexander’s qualities also apply to anyone who desires success, whether they are a leader or not. Traits like persistence, fortitude, courage, industriousness, toughness, etc. are all essential to great achievement.

I would highly recommend any ambitious person to study the life of Alexander the Great. Even after so much time has passed he continues to be known as a man of extraordinary achievement, and there’s a lot of value in learning about the lives of successful people.

If you would like to read The Life of Alexander the Great by Plutarch yourself, here’s a link to order it on Amazon.

Life of Alexander the Great: https://amzn.to/2UefXEK

Also, if you want to get some background on Alexander the Great’s life first, here’s a fantastic documentary on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7lb6KWBanI&t=2859s