Though he was a Macedonian king, he must be counted as one of the great Greek heroes, for he spread Greek habits and manners all over Asia, and so made the Greek nation one of the most widely known in the world.

His father and mother were both remarkable people. His father was a great soldier, and still more a clever and cunning statesman, and in whatever his mother did she showed herself to be very much cleverer than any other woman of her day. But she had a violent temper, which was soon seen to be in her son, and as he was a young prince, he was not checked as other boys would have been.

The July day on which he was born was a very happy day for his father Philip of Macedon, who had just taken an enemy's city after hard fighting. Early in the day came the news that his chief general had won a great victory; later on he was told that his racehorse had won a prize at the great Olympic Games; and last of all, a messenger came at full speed from his palace at Pella to say that a baby boy was born to him.

The wise men told him that Alexander, as the baby was called, was sure to be a great man, born on such a day of victories. Alexander was a remarkable boy, though not very amiable, and he seems to have caused his father much trouble by his frequent outbursts of temper. But all the people about the Court spoiled him so completely that it was a wonder that he had any goodness left in him at all.

His mother Olympias used to tell him that he was sprung from Achilles, the bravest of the princes who fought against Troy, of whom Homer sang. She wished him to grow up like Achilles. And his first tutor, Lysimachus, pleased him by calling him Achilles, and himself Phoenix, because that was the name of Achilles' tutor.

His head tutor, Leonidas, was one of the few who did not spoil him. He made him rise early every morning, and take a walk before breakfast, so that he should have a good appetite for very simple food.

Leonidas used to look into Alexander's wardrobes and chests in which his clothes and bedding were kept, to see that the pillows were not too soft, or the covers too warm, or that the clothing was not too soft and fine. He was afraid that Alexander would grow fond of things soft and comfortable, if he were not watchful.

He must have been pleased with the result of his care; for until nearly the end of his life, Alexander always liked simple food best, and plain clothing, and just enough of it to keep him decently clad.

Alexander was very fond of all outdoor sports, hunting, racing, swimming, and riding. But he never could be persuaded to try wrest ling himself, nor to give prizes for wrestling at the games. His father, who was very proud of the handsome boy, with his deep-set blue eyes, and masses of curling golden hair,

and his supple, well-made limbs, once said to him, "Alexander, will you not run in the Olympic races for a prize?" "Yes," said the boy quickly, "if I had kings to race with me, but not else."

Alexander must have been about fourteen years old, when one day a Thessalian came to the palace at Pella leading a very fine black horse. He asked £2600 for it. He hoped King Philip would buy it, and at first the King thought he would. That afternoon, with his grooms, some friends, and Alexander, he went outside the city to try the horse. But it had a dangerous temper, and would let none of the grooms nor the King nor his friends touch it. Philip was vexed, and told the Thessalian to take the horse away. Alexander had been looking on all the time, and had taken a great fancy to the horse. He now said loud enough for his father to hear, "What a horse to lose, just because they are not clever enough to manage him."

Philip pretended not to hear, but as Alexander kept repeating this in louder and louder tones, he said angrily, "Boy, do you suppose you could manage the horse better than your elders?"

"Yes, I could," said Alexander proudly.

"And what forfeit will you pay if you cannot?" said Philip, now laughing at the confident tone in which the boy spoke.

"As much as the horse is worth," Alexander answered quickly, at which every one laughed loud and long.

Alexander, more determined to manage the horse than before, went up to it, and turned it to face the sun, for he had seen that the creature was frightened by its own shadow. He patted and stroked it till it stood quiet, and then jumped into the saddle. The horse shied and tried to throw him, but Alexander set him off at a canter, which he soon turned into a hard gallop right across the country.

The King and his attendants were very anxious, and when Alexander came galloping back at full speed, all the crowd cheered. But when the boy suddenly stopped the horse, and jumped off, Philip burst into tears of joy at his safety, and cried out: "Macedon is too small to hold you and me any longer."

He gave Alexander the horse as a present, and it was Alexander's chief favourite till its death. Bucephalus, as he called it, lived nearly as long as his royal master.

That afternoon's doings made Philip think that Alexander was a very wonderful boy indeed, and that it would be worth while to take more trouble about his education.

So he invited a very wise man called Aristotle to be his tutor. Aristotle was quite willing to come. Philip gave the two a nice large garden all to themselves, where they could walk and talk together, and for the next few years, Alexander learned much from his famous tutor. Among other things, he learned a great deal about people who lived a long way off from Pella. When one day some Persians came to see King Philip on business, and found King Philip away from home, they were very much surprised at the lad of sixteen who came to welcome them. For he asked them all sorts of clever questions. He wanted to know what their king was like, and how he treated his friends and enemies. He asked what sort of roads they had, and which would be the best way to travel through Asia, and other things of the kind, which do not usually interest a boy of sixteen.

Alexander's friends noticed at this time that whenever he heard of his father's great victories he was not at all glad. He used to sigh and say, "If my father goes on conquering at this rate, there will soon be nothing left for me to do."

And while he practised all outdoor sports very eagerly, he did not neglect his books, but read poetry, history, and all words of wise men very eagerly. His Homer he knew almost by heart, and used to sleep with it under his pillow, beside his sword, both now and till the end of his life.

While his father was away just then, one of the hill tribes in Thrace rebelled, and he led an army against them. He conquered them, and built a new city in their land, which he called after himself,—Alexandropolis, which means Alexander's city.

King Philip was much pleased when he came home, and after that he took the boy with him in his expeditions. But at last they quarrelled, because Alexander thought that his father had ill-treated his mother Olympias, whom he loved very dearly. So he carried Olympias off to a safe place, and went off himself to another, and it was some time before he would go back to his father.

Meanwhile some of Olympias's friends who were angry with Philip for his treatment of her, met a young noble called Pausanias, who hated the king for some reason of his own. This man they egged on, until at a marriage feast he sprang out of a corner upon King Philip, and stabbed him to death.

So at the age of twenty, and when every one was panic-stricken at this horrid murder, Alexander became King of Macedon.

But the "stripling," as Demosthenes the great Athenian orator called him mockingly, had some very hard work to do at home, and near home, for the next year and a half. He was so proud and often so cruel that he soon made people forget that he was so very young.

When he started on his great march against Persia, the terror of his name had spread into many lands. The Greeks held a Council at Corinth to see how many soldiers they could send with him, and a great many famous men came there to meet Alexander.

While he was waiting there to learn what the Greeks would do, he went to see a wise man named Diogenes, who thought it wrong to have many possessions, because it wasted time to take care of them. He lived in a tub, to save himself the trouble of housekeeping. When Alexander came near, with many people crowding after him, Diogenes stared at him, but said nothing. At last Alexander said, very politely, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes," grunted Diogenes, "stand out of my light, so that I may get the sunshine on me." And not one word more would he say.

Alexander's attendants asked if they should not punish so insolent a fellow, but Alexander liked him so much, that he said, "If I were not Alexander, I should wish to be Diogenes."

But he soon forgot all about Diogenes and his tub, in the hurry and bustle of preparing for his long march. As he said "good-bye" to his dearly loved mother, and the palace at Pella, on that bright spring morning before his twenty-second birthday, he knew that he was not likely to see Pella again. For he meant to conquer the whole of Persia, and to set up his throne far away from Pella, in some city which should be in the middle of the world when he had finished fighting.

By the month of April he had reached the spot where Troy had once stood, seven hundred years before. There he visited the tomb of his ancestor, Achilles, or what was thought to be his tomb.

And then with his head still full of Homer's stories of Achilles' bravery, he went forward to do battle with the Persians at the river Granicus. The Persians were across the river on flat land, and Alexander had to make Bucephalus swim the river before he could get at them. When he and his troops scrambled up the other bank, the Persians rushed upon them. Alexander was easily known by the white plume in his helmet, and by his splendid horse, and several Persian princes attacked him. One of them hacked the white plume off his helmet, and another was just going to stab him in the back, when he was cut down by Alexander's friend, Cleitus.

After a little more hard fighting, the Persians turned and ran, and the battle was won.

But Alexander still had much fighting to do before that summer was over, and his victories were not easily gained.

In the winter he reached Gordium, in which town there was a very old chariot. About this chariot a very interesting story is told.

Long, long years before Alexander was born, the people in Phrygia were in great trouble. They asked the Oracle for advice in their distress, and were told that soon an old waggon would come along the road to their city, carrying a man inside it. This man would be their king, and would save them from all their distresses.

Soon afterwards a man called Gordius came among them in a waggon, and they all hailed him as their king. Gordius then consecrated his waggon to Zeus, and fastened the pole of the waggon to the yoke by a knot of bark. This was called the Gordian knot. Gordius prophesied that whosoever unfastened that knot should be king over all Asia.

Alexander had heard of this saying, and he went to the old temple to look at the knot. He did not see how it was to be untied, as there seemed to be no loose end of bark to pull at; so he drew his sword, and cut it through. Hardly had he done this when a storm of thunder and lightning burst upon the town. This made the people think that the gods were glad that Alexander had cut the knot, and that he would be king of all Asia.

Soon after this Alexander fell ill, and was sick unto death. None of the ordinary doctors could do anything for him. He had been feverishly hot, and, wishing to cool himself, had bathed in the river Cydnus. This made his fever worse. At last, as he was not getting better, a doctor, named Philip, promised that if he would do exactly what he was told, he would cure him. Alexander promised, and Philip went away to get ready some medicine for him. While he was away, Alexander's chief general, Parmenio, sent him a letter, telling him not to trust Philip, who meant to poison him. Alexander hid the letter under his pillow, and when Philip came back, bringing with him a cup of medicine, he took the cup. Then he felt under the pillow, drew out the letter and gave it to Philip to read.

As Philip read, Alexander drank the medicine quite calmly. But Philip's eyes flashed with anger at the cruel things said about him, and flinging himself down by the side of the bed, he begged the king to trust him and the cure he meant to work.

The medicine was so very strong that it made Alexander speechless and unconscious for three days. A story spread to the camp where the soldiers were that the king was dying, and the men would not believe anything else until Alexander was able to rise on the fourth day, and go out to the door to let them all see him. Soon after his recovery he met Darius in battle near Issus. Alexander had been busy conquering the province of Cilicia, and Darius feared that Alexander would give him the slip. So he took his army away from the large open plain, in which it would have been very easy for so large an army to crush the much smaller force of Alexander, and followed him until the two met in the narrow rocky gorges of Issus. Alexander saw at once that the conditions favoured him, as there was not room for all the Persian army to be drawn up properly. In fact the lines of the Persian subject troops blocked the road for miles behind their front line. Alexander's men filled up the two miles only between the sea and the hills.

Alexander, as usual, led the cavalry on the right wing, and soon broke up the enemy's left wing by several brilliant charges. Then he made for the Persian centre, where King Darius sat in his chariot. Darius grew very frightened as Alexander and his horsemen drew near, and soon leapt from his chariot, mounted a mare which was kept ready for him, and fled. He hardly rested till he reached Thapsacus, on the Euphrates River.

When the Persians saw the King's chariot was empty, they thought he was dead, and that all was lost; and the flight became general.

Alexander, who had been wounded in the thigh, but not severely, was left in possession of the Persian camp, and the harem. In the harem were the mother and queen of Darius.

He was very kind to the Persian ladies, and took the greatest care of them, so that they hardly felt like prisoners.

Alexander had not lost more than four hundred and fifty of his own men.

After this great victory many tribes came to make friends with Alexander, for fear he might turn against them too.