inherited from his mother, along with her volatile and emotional temperament. As a father, Philip was proud of his son, but Alexander was always closer to his mother. One thing that Olympias definitely wanted for her son, was that he become heir to the throne. This is important, for without her protection, Alexander could have very possibly never have been able to claim the throne and accomplish conquering the world. Alexander was born on or around July 20, 356 B.C. His parents realized the potential that their son had and arranged to start his education. His first teacher was Leonidas, who was a strict disciplinarian who instilled in Alexander an ascetic nature. Later, he became famous for living like his soldiers did, very simply. His next teacher was Lysimachus, who taught Alexander to play the lyre and taught him to appreciate the fine arts of music, poetry, and drama. His most famous teacher was Aristotle, who taught him philosophy, ethic, politics, and healing, all of which became very important to him in later in life. Aristotle also gave Alexander his precious copy of Homer's The Iliad, and this was the book that Alexander carried with him to India. It has also been said that Alexander looked up to him "like a father". One point that the two differed on was the status of foreigners. Aristotle saw them as barbarians, like what most Greeks thought of the outside world, while Alexander tried to merge Macedonians and foreigners together. It seems that Alexander was influenced greatly by each teacher's strength, but also was able to form his own ideas. Alexander matured very quickly, which his father noticed. In 340 B.C., when his dad was fighting rebels in Byzantium, Alexander, at 16 years old, was left in charge of Macedonia as regent, with power to rule in Philip's name during his absence. During this time, the city of Maedi revolted and Alexander put down the revolt, captured the city, drove the rebels up north, and established ...
