Howdy, Words on Wednesdays.

Okay, I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Emily, I am a first year History student at Cardiff University, I enjoy reading, swimming, Doctor Who and the Eurovision Song Contest, and I have been asked to join this little team on a Wednesday. On my days I shall mostly be discussing my twin passions: literature and history.

This weeks theme is a tricky one; Why fit in when you were born to stand out - Dr Seuss. The obvious topic here would be to talk about Mr Theodore Geisel himself, undoubtedly talented writer, poet and cartoonist, adored by children worldwide. Yet, in light of the theme, I am going to step away from the obvious, and instead I will talk about a young Greek who was definitely born to stand out; Alexander the Great.

There is no denying that Alexander III of Macedonia was a young fellow determined to stand out from the crowd. His unrivaled military prowess took him from the city of Pella in Greece, to conquer an empire spanning across modern Greece, parts of Northern Africa and India, pakistan and many more places by the time he was thirty.

His desire to stand out started early. When our young prince was just ten, a horse was brought to the palace claimed to be unridable. A massive black beast with the best war breeding, but he refused to be mounted. King Phillip ordered the horse taken away, but young Alex stood forward from the crowd to examine the horse, offering to pay for it himself should he fail to tame it. He surprised all, slowly approaching the horse, letting his cloak drop to the floor and turning the beast into the sun. Miraculously, the horse let Alex ride him. 

Alexander had stood out by realising what none other had: the horse was blind in one eye, his own shadow was spooking him. According to the Historian Plutarch, King Phillip cried out 'My boy - you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions, Macedon is too small for you.' And Alexander was inspired to stand out.
The horse, Bucephalus (Ox-Head) lived amost to the end of Alexander's life, the Bassileus (King) died in 323BC, only three years after his beloved horse (Bucephalus died 326BC). Even then, Alexander was not ready to be forgotten, having named dozens of cities 'Alexandria' or 'Alexandropolis' for himself and even 'Bucephala' for his horse. Alexander had famously never lost a battle, and his legacy lived on to inspire other great European military leaders - General Pompey and Napoleon Bonaparte - both whom later invaded Egypt to emulate Alexander - Because in a long line of military leaders, Alexander the great stood out to them.

Like many figures in history, Alexander wanted to stand out, and his popularity and deeds show this to us, but unlike the other he didn't drift away into obscurity only be dug up by archaeologists years later. He was actually never forgotten. To quote author John Green:

 'Although Alexander was mostly just conquering territory for the glory and heroism... in his wake emerged a more closely connected world that could trade and communicate with more people more efficiently than ever before.' (1)

Alexander stood out because he made a difference, because he didn't just accept the boundaries passed to him by the generation before, because he used his own attributes (intelligence, strength) to become so memorable. And, broadly speaking, I think that is the point Dr Seuss was trying to make: Don't let yourself be restricted by what others simply accept or tell you is right.

I hope I haven't bored you with my first post, I have certainly enjoyed writing it. Let Alexander inspire you to go off and be an individual.
Emily


((1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LsrkWDCvxg )