Alexander's ChildhoodAlexander was born on the sixth day of the ancient Greek Month
of 'Hekatombaion' which is approx the 20th of July 356 BC, but the exact date is not known but is very close to it. He was the son of Phillip II, and his second wife Olympias which is the daughter of Neoptolemus I. Phillip was 28 and Olympia was 18 at the time and is the one that gave birth to dear Alexander. At the time of Alexanders birth several legends surrounded his birth and childhood. His father Phillip had dreamed that Olympias womb was struck by a thunderbolt causing a flame that had spread far and wide before dying away a while after their wedding Phillip is said to have seen himself in a dream securing his dear wife's womb with a seal engraved with a lions image. People were starting to figure out that Olympia was pregnant before her marriage realising it by the sealing of her womb. On the day that Alexander was born his father Phillip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea and on that same day he found out that his horses had won at the Olympic games so it was all known as good signs knowing that Alexander was good luck to all. Later on from Alexanders birth as the little child he was he had been raised by a nurse for quite some time and after down the track going into his teens he had been tutored and had a lot of knowledge knowing what had been around him and what had been going on. Alexander was raised in ancient Greek youths which had been learning him to read, play the lyre, ride, fight and most importantly hunt. |
When Alexander was ten years old a trader from Thessaly brought his father Phillip a horse which he had offered to sell for thirteen talents. The horse to be owned by anyone so Philip ordered it away Alexander however felt that the horse had a fear of its own shadow, he kindly asked to tame the horse which eventually worked out for him which then the trader stated that Phillip had so much joy of Alexander from his courage and ambition and kissed his son tearfully saying 'My boy you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions Macedon is too small for you' and had brought the horse to him. Alexander had named his horse 'Bucephalas' which had meant 'Ox head'. Bucephalas the horse had brought Alexander all the way to India when the poor special horse died from the battle in India Alexander then named the city after him which was called Bucephalas. That horse had a special meaning to Alexander when he was a child till the time he grew up that horse had also made him show his 'Strength , Bravery, and Courage'. Later on when Alexander was thirteen years old his father was looking for a tutor and at last when he finally made the decision he decided to choose Aristotle to tutor Alexander and proved the Temple of Nymphs in Mieza as a classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Phillip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown which Phillip had to repopulate by buying and freeing the ex-citizens as his repay for tutoring his son.
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