"Alexander's Greatest Mistake?" Topic

What was the worst error made by Alexander the Great?

going too far east

To have "just 1 more drink".

Not producing a heir before crossing the Hellespont

This again! I cannot believe that gamers believe they can out think Alexander with their now knowledge. To create lots of posts just return to "where should Historicon be?" or "all about me?"

He who has made no mistakes in war has never made war (Turenne)

Doing that movie.

Well,at least letting Oliver Stone do it.

not inventing the internet

Gods don't make mistakes.

Probably has to do with a woman

Yeah, But I still blame the French.

getting involved with alcohol

Never get involved in a land war in Asia.

Ron

Not sure. Dying young might have been a good thing for his legacy.

Going boating in that Mesopotamian swamp where the mosquito bit him imparting malaria.

Not naming enough cities after himself!

Killing all his generals who knew him when he was just a snot nosed punk and weren't afraid to remind him of it didn't seem to hurt. That much.
Going way further than the army really wanted to go didn't hurt all that much. It kept him from conquering Siam, but that's about it.
Forcing his army to marry hot Persian babes was probably a positive.

None of those mistakes resulted in his army revolting and killing him.
It was alcohol, accumulating many wounds you never really shake off and some fever. Hard living probably accelerated a mild fever, but I'm no doctor. It just seems that every disease specialist in the world wants Alex to have died from what he is studying.

He died young and full of glory. Just like his hero ancestor (?) Achilles. I doubt Alex would have considered his life a failure.
"Mistakes. I've made a few
But then again, too few to mention….
I did it my way!"

I've gone from having him as my wargaming hero to considering him a murdering thug back to wishing I had never sold off my Macedonian armies.

Cleitus The Black made a bigger Mistake.
He came rushing back into the tent in a drunken rage to tell Alex what he didn't have time to say before mutual friends rushed him out.
I can identify with that. My one and only bar fight eerily followed that script.

William Shatner …

he was a great Alexander!

Winston Smith for the win.

He was the son of Zeus and greater than Achilles.

Not having matching cuffs and collars…..in the movie that is!

Yep. Not producing a half dozen heirs early on was his worst mistake.

Dan

He did have heirs. The Successors killed them all.

But then, since when do Gods need heirs?

Yes, but wasn't Alex IV still just a little kid by the time his father died? Plus he should have been a full Macedonian, to increase his chances.

Dan

As a King it probably was his lack of care of his lineage, at the very least he should have banged out (so to speak) a few Macedonian heirs before he went off on his world tour.

So while Alexander was a greater commander, Philip could certainly claim to be the better King.

I just want the land that borders mine.

This whole thread is based on the assumption that Alex made ANY mistakes.
By his own way of thinking, he didn't.
He died blazing with Glory.
Did it matter he didn't provide for the succession? Does the son of Zeus worry over such trivialities? I think not.
Quick. Without looking it up. Who is the son of Achilles? What Empire did he inherit? He was just another dude with a name non scholars stumble over. But we remember Achilles.

Getting up one morning. ;^)

@Winston: Neoptolomus/Pyrrhos, another mythical figure, who killed King Priam (at least in Vergil's Aeneid). And he inherited Epirus; it was through him that Olympias claimed descent.