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Alexander's Early Conquests

Alexander first subdued rebellious city-states and tribes in northern Greece like the Thracians and Triballians through surprise attacks and routing their armies. He then defeated the revolt of Thebes supported by Athens. Alexander ordered the complete destruction of Thebes and the enslavement of its citizens as a lesson to other city-states not to defy Macedonian rule. While he destroyed Thebes, he spared Athens which had also participated in the rebellion, likely because of his father's fondness for the culturally prominent city.

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120 views2 pages

Alexander's Early Conquests

Alexander first subdued rebellious city-states and tribes in northern Greece like the Thracians and Triballians through surprise attacks and routing their armies. He then defeated the revolt of Thebes supported by Athens. Alexander ordered the complete destruction of Thebes and the enslavement of its citizens as a lesson to other city-states not to defy Macedonian rule. While he destroyed Thebes, he spared Athens which had also participated in the rebellion, likely because of his father's fondness for the culturally prominent city.

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ALEXANDER'S ACHIEVEMENTS BEFORE GOING EAST Naturally as soon as word spread around Greece that Philip was dead,

most of the subdued city-states hoped to throw off the yoke of Macedonia. But Alexander was determined not to give them a chance to do this. He first marched against the The Thracians in Northern Greece and reconquered them. In one famous episode in this campaign, the Thracians sent carts crashing down on the Macedonians from a height. Instead of running away, Alexander persuaded his men to lie down and let the carts run over their shields, they then stood up and routed the Thracians. Next he attacked the Triballians up near the River Danube.This involved crossing a river at night and surprising the enemy at dawn on the island where they were camped. They fled in terror and later submitted to him. When asked what their greatest fear was, they said that it was of the sky falling on their heads. He then defeated the Agrianes and the Paeonians in northern Greece and finally had to tackle the biggest threat of all, the revolt of Thebes with the support of Athens. A rumour had spread in Thebes that Alexander was dead. So he marched south incredibly quickly and was within 6 miles of Thebes before they realised it. He went to the gates of Thebes and offered them terms but they did not accept. So the Macedonians attacked. At first they did very badly but at one stage the Thebans panicked and rushed inside the walls forgetting to close the gates. A massacre followed. In one of his most criticised and dramatic acts, Alexander ordered the complete destruction of the city and had all its citizens sold into slavery. There is one story in Plutarch of his leniency towards a widow who was attacked by one of his soldiers, after which he forced her to show him where her money was. She showed him to a well and then pushed him down it. Alexander spared her. Plutarch speculates that Alexander later regretted his actions at Thebes and thought that the god Dionysus was angry with him over it and caused him to do something dreadful later on. This is not certain. So why did he treat so leniently Athens which had taken part in the rebellion? Perhaps it was because his father had been fond of the city and maybe Alexander also greatly admired its cultural pre-eminence. It did have a certain aura due to its

role in the defeat of the Persians also in the 5th century whereas the Thebans had fought on the Persian side. Certainly Alexander used the Thebans to give a lesson to the city states of Greece that he was not to be trifled with. They took this to heart. It was around now that he visited the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi on a day when the priestess was not speaking. He tried to drag her to the temple and when she said "You are invincible", he was satisfied.

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