Q1.
Why do you think Alexander wanted to rule over the entire world? What would he have gained from it?
Answer
Several motives at once — and the chapter has already listed most of them on page 89 as the reasons any king wants to become an emperor.
Why he wanted it:
- Revenge, to begin with. He campaigned against the Persian Empire “to avenge earlier Persian invasions of Greece”. What began as revenge turned into conquest.
- Glory and posterity. ‘Ruling the entire world’ is a metaphor for controlling vast territory and being remembered forever — and Alexander is, in fact, still remembered 2,300 years later.
- Curiosity about the ‘end of the world’. The chapter says he was “eager to reach the ‘end of the world’”. Greeks of his time believed the inhabited earth ended somewhere past India.
- Wealth and resources. Persia's treasuries, and then India's fabled riches, meant more money, more soldiers, more power.
- Momentum. Each victory made the next campaign look easy and made stopping look like a defeat.
What he would have gained: immense wealth, the world's largest empire — his lands spread over three continents, one of the largest in world history — the spread of Greek culture, and a name that no later king could equal.
Why it is worth arguing about: Look at what he actually gained. He was seriously wounded in battle; his soldiers, tired and homesick, refused to march to the Ganga; his retreat through the coastal route and Iran's deserts cost heavy losses from thirst, hunger and disease; he faced rebellions in Persia and died at 32 in Babylon; and his empire was carved up by his own generals within a few years. The chapter's quiet verdict is in the Gymnosophists' reply — a man is most loved “if he is most powerful and yet does not inspire fear”.