Alexander the Dreamer

Some of the best advice I was ever given I first heard as a senior in high school, when I was simply trying to pass a class on Christian ethics and leadership. Amidst discussion of categorical imperatives, stoic virtues, and various case studies that demonstrated the complexity of these and other philosophical ideals, our teacher said something that I have meditated on frequently ever since: “Everyone will tell you, ‘pick your friends carefully,’ but it’s just as important to pick your heroes carefully.” 

Those we admire will influence our actions. Think about this in its most simple forms: if the popular kids start wearing a certain brand, the masses will follow. If someone you are romantically interested in likes a certain book, it is natural that you might read this book for the purpose of discussing it with him or her  (and I highly recommend this tactic!). If a great leader—either one you know personally or one you admire historically—possesses specific qualities, you will want to emulate them. What modern orator – assuming he is properly trained – does not try to emulate Cicero? Cicero, in turn, allegedly tilted his head in such a way as to evoke the posture of Alexander the Great. And even Alexander himself lived his life under a self-imposed rivalry with the Greek hero Achilles—but for Alexander, this rivalry went far beyond cultivated image into identity. 

I have long been fascinated by that quality in human nature that drives us to admire and imitate others. I believe that the life of Alexander the Great, a man whose image was emulated and evoked all throughout the ancient world, is perhaps the best historic example of this because Alexander was a man who spent the entirety of his short life seeking to imitate his hero. In turn, Alexander became a hero to be imitated by others. 

The ancient Macedonia of Alexander’s childhood was a land immersed in Homeric ideals and imitation. While greater Greece had moved past the perceived “barbaric” culture of its Macedonian neighbors, Macedonian kingship, government, and conceptions of honor still bore a striking resemblance to their counterparts in the Iliad. Alexander, the heir apparent to the Macedonian throne, was raised to believe that he was descended from Homeric heroes and that he must become a Homeric hero to achieve true greatness. In many ways, he succeeded in his goal and arguably surpassed his idol Achilles. 

This success has an edge to it, however. Yes, Alexander did become great, but he did so at a terrible cost. As his campaigns progressed, his generals—most of them childhood friends—began to question, criticize, and even rebel against their leader’s inexorable lust for glory. Alexander died a young man, having lost nearly all those who were once close to him either by emotional alienation or death (some even being executed or murdered by Alexander himself), and the massive empire he had built for himself almost immediately crumbled into separate kingdoms ruled by his bickering generals.

Alexander’s life is a tragic one, his incredible successes eclipsed by their horrifying cost, and yet he was a source of fascination and inspiration for leaders well past even the time of the Romans. Why? Because he was able to achieve what all imitators of greatness seek—the immortality of fame (never mind what it cost him).

This, fundamentally, is what I believe to be the key flaw in seeking to imitate mortals – whether or not they are true heroes. Even those who succeed do so at a terrible personal cost, and those who fail suffer just as much from the pain of gnawing ambitions left unrealized. Examine what earthly greatness provides versus what it demands: the resulting temporary fame is never worth the loss of humanity. 

As Paul asks in Galatians, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

The desire to do well is good, but the desire for glory is a goal that can never be realized and will poison those who pursue it. So, pick your heroes carefully – and emulate them carefully within limits. Decide for yourself who you want to emulate based on not what you would achieve, but what you would become. Take the warning from high school, from history, from Alexander’s hero Achilles himself! Character is the first thing to be sacrificed on the altar of accomplishment, and it is a price too high for any amount of applause.