pothos.org

Presumably Alexander has some relevance to people today as we are talking about him here. But what, and why? An interest in ancient history? But why is that relevant today - a yearning for a time of heroes, knowledge for the sake of knowledge, or because the past has shaped the present? Some options above. Vote for as many statements as you agree with.

As much as I admire Alexander's life and feats, I don't think that he shaped the Eurocentric world as we know it: even centuries and millenia after he died, the Arab califates and Ottoman Empire, Genghis Khan's Mongol empire and, later on, the USA, all became key world powers that were or are at least as important in as "traditional" powers such as France, Germany or Russia.
Plus, today, the balance of power in the world looks like it's swaying towards China, but that's a whole different topic already...

I voted that he changed the course of history, but his actions and achievements have been superseded by everything that's happened since. And I think that holds true for most things. The fall of Constantinople was an earth-shattering event at the time, but means nothing to us now. Hitler started a world war, but the map of Europe is little changed today.

Derek

I'm in two minds about the relevance of Alexander's achievements today. Up until the 20th century, Europe was fundamentally shaped by the Roman Empire and its successor, the Catholic Church, followed by Protestantism. Without Alexander's conquests, the New Testament would not have been written in Greek and it would not have been accessible to western Europe. Christianity might not have spread to be the world's biggest religion and ethical philosophy. So is that Alexander's legacy?