The history of human civilizations since the dawn of man is told not only by the great conquests that have shaped history, but also by the men and women whose legacies will be remembered as as long as there are people to relate to. Arguably, one of the most important of those great personalities was Alexander III of Macedonia, commonly known as Alexander the Great. This article will examine Alexander's life and achievements and describe the different ways in which he shaped both the era in which he lived and how he altered the course of human history. Alexander was born around July 20, 356 BC in the Macedonian city of Pella. Her parents were King Philip II and Philip's third wife, Myrtale, commonly known as Olympias. Numerous legends surrounded Alexander's birth. One such tale was that of a Persian Magi, who interpreted his birth and the almost simultaneous destruction of the temple of Artemis at the hands of Philip as an omen for the destruction of Asia. Another story states that Olympias was seen mating with a serpent said to be an incarnation of the god Zeus-Ammon. In Alexander of Macedon, Peter Green and Eugene Borza state that these legends had a very specific purpose, as follows: "to attack or defend Olympia, to give Alexander's conquests and his supposed divine relationship with Zeus-Ammon, the retrospective approval of Destiny.” A competing theory is that the legends were created to give Philip reason to doubt Alexander's legitimacy as his heir. Despite such suspicions, Philip raised Alexander in a manner appropriate for a future king: classically trained and educated in the arts, sciences. and in philosophy. Alexander's first guardian was Leonidas, a relative of Olympias, so as not to be mi...... of paper...... dominion of Macedonia and Greece unified under a single flag. It was the leader most memorable and important military man in history and subsequently conquered Persia and much of southern Asia in an eleven-year campaign that brought Hellenic culture and language to Asia and the Near East. He founded a vast empire, founded several cities on his wake, and his legacy and achievements inexorably shaped the course of human history for millennia Works Cited Anson, Edward M. Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues Huntingdon: Bloomsbury Publishing,. 2013Green, Peter and Borza, Eugene N. Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 BC: A Historical Biography. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012Kets de Vries, Manfred FR Are leaders born or made? : The case of Alexander the Great. London: Karmac Books, 2004Stoneman, Richard. Alexander the Great. New York: Routledge, 2004