Yesterday
After the death of King Phillip, Alexander's father, all the tribes and cities that he had brought under his control began to rebel and revolt. Alexander, gaining control of the throne, found himself on the brink of losing his father's Kingdom. Knowing he had to act fast, it took him only three months to re-subdue the tribes to the north. Then he turned his eyes south, to the real threat: Athens, Thebes, and Sparta.
Alexander did not want to fight his fellow Greeks. He admired them for their culture, their arts, and their intelectual achievements. He wanted their support, not their wrath. But Alexander knew that he had to do something, or his ambition of invading Persia would never unfold, for he could not begin his campaign without a secure home front.
The standing army of Thebes posed the most immediate threat. They wanted nothing more than to destroy the Macedonians and declare themselves the new power amongst the Greeks. Alexander marched on the city and surrounded it with his own Macedonian infantry. He tried to settle the score through diplomacy, Alexander truly did not want to fight them. The Persian was the enemy of the Greek, not Alexander. But the Thebans were too proud and spurned all his requests to surrender and unite under his banner. He had no choice left to him, so he ordered the attack.
It wasn't long before the city walls were breached. Once the Macedonian soldiers began to pour into the city, Alexander's generals turned to him for orders. He stood there, pensive, without paying them any attention, wrapped within the folds of his bright red cloak, for what must have seemed an eternity. Then in a soft, calm voice, he said "Destroy them." And so not a Man, Woman, or Child was spared. Fortune favors the bold, and with one bold stroke, the rest of the Greeks were brought into line. All revolts ceased. Every Greek city proclaimed Alexander as the legitamate power of the region.
That dawn after the holocaust, Hephaestion, walking along with Alexander amongst the charred ruins, amongst the piles of corpses, looked on Alexander with grim horror and said "Yesterday... I could not have believed you capable of this."
Alexander stared back at Hephaestion. He was Alexander's closest friend and always would be. Of all his generals, Hephaestion was the most noble and good hearted. The other generals hated him for it, but Alexander loved him.
His reply to Hephaestion was simple: "I was not capable of it... yesterday."
After the death of King Phillip, Alexander's father, all the tribes and cities that he had brought under his control began to rebel and revolt. Alexander, gaining control of the throne, found himself on the brink of losing his father's Kingdom. Knowing he had to act fast, it took him only three months to re-subdue the tribes to the north. Then he turned his eyes south, to the real threat: Athens, Thebes, and Sparta.
Alexander did not want to fight his fellow Greeks. He admired them for their culture, their arts, and their intelectual achievements. He wanted their support, not their wrath. But Alexander knew that he had to do something, or his ambition of invading Persia would never unfold, for he could not begin his campaign without a secure home front.
The standing army of Thebes posed the most immediate threat. They wanted nothing more than to destroy the Macedonians and declare themselves the new power amongst the Greeks. Alexander marched on the city and surrounded it with his own Macedonian infantry. He tried to settle the score through diplomacy, Alexander truly did not want to fight them. The Persian was the enemy of the Greek, not Alexander. But the Thebans were too proud and spurned all his requests to surrender and unite under his banner. He had no choice left to him, so he ordered the attack.
It wasn't long before the city walls were breached. Once the Macedonian soldiers began to pour into the city, Alexander's generals turned to him for orders. He stood there, pensive, without paying them any attention, wrapped within the folds of his bright red cloak, for what must have seemed an eternity. Then in a soft, calm voice, he said "Destroy them." And so not a Man, Woman, or Child was spared. Fortune favors the bold, and with one bold stroke, the rest of the Greeks were brought into line. All revolts ceased. Every Greek city proclaimed Alexander as the legitamate power of the region.
That dawn after the holocaust, Hephaestion, walking along with Alexander amongst the charred ruins, amongst the piles of corpses, looked on Alexander with grim horror and said "Yesterday... I could not have believed you capable of this."
Alexander stared back at Hephaestion. He was Alexander's closest friend and always would be. Of all his generals, Hephaestion was the most noble and good hearted. The other generals hated him for it, but Alexander loved him.
His reply to Hephaestion was simple: "I was not capable of it... yesterday."
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crissi:
Thank you for your sweet comment on my set 
iampeeder:
wait, free bjs? where?