"Alexander and the Brotherhood of Man"

Author Bio - Plutarch (ca. 46-119 CE) - influenced, and basically created, the biography and essay genres; Moralia - a guideline for ethical behavior; Parallel Live - brought together Greek and Roman history by comparing famous citizens of each; an Athenian citizen originally, but later was granted Roman citizenship; supported Alexander’s conquests

Speaker - See above

Date/Context: Alexander had conquered all that he would and died; written far after Alexander’s death - approximately 300 years; attempts to address the questions of if Alexander was a megalomaniac or if he had larger, cultural motives

Summary: Originally, Aristotle told Alexander to deal with barbarians as less than human and the other civilizations as followers of Greece. He refused and instead believed himself to be divinely sent to unify the world. He obviously succeeded and asked all conquered peoples, militarily or otherwise, to imagine all of Greece as their home. He wanted everyone to think of every single citizen as a person if they did good and only to think of others as barbarians if they committed vile acts. As a goal, he looked for the blend of all cultures by marriage, and therefore created a state that was in no way divided by bloodline. Instead of land or money or power, Alexander conquered to combine all of humanity into one collective force. If he had not died so soon, the entire world may have experienced this enlightenment: the thought that all of humanity together can do so much.

Key Quotation: 

• “…he bade them all look on the inhabited world as their native land, on his camp as their citadel and protection, on good men as their kinsmen and evil doers as aliens, and not to distinguish Greek from barbarians by the… shield… but to associate Hellenism with virtue and barbarians with evil doing and to regard their… [customs] as common to all…”