The Greatest Speech in History?

What I am about to say is not intended to stop you from returning home. As far as I am concerned, you can go wherever you wish. However, I want you to understand how you have behaved towards me and how I have treated you.

Let me begin, as is right, with my father, Philip. When he found you, you were mere peasants, living in hides and tending a few sheep on the mountain slopes. You could barely defend them from your neighbors. Under his leadership, you began to live in cities, governed by good laws and customs. He transformed you from slaves into rulers over the very barbarians who once plundered your land.

Philip conquered most of Thrace, seizing the best harbors to foster trade and prosperity, and put the mines to steady work. The Thessalians, who once terrified you, are now under our rule! The Athenians and Thebans, who constantly sought to attack Macedonia, have been so humbled—thanks in part to my small role in the war—that they no longer demand tribute from us; instead, they depend on us for protection.

My father ventured into the Peloponnese and restored order there. He was then declared the supreme commander of all Greeks for the campaign against the Persians—an honor not just for him, but for all Macedonians. This is what my father, Philip, accomplished for you. While his achievements are significant on their own, they pale in comparison to what you have gained from me!

I crossed the Hellespont when the Persians still commanded the sea. I defeated the satraps of the Great King Darius, making you rulers of Ionia, Aeolis, Phrygia, and Lydia, and I captured Miletus by siege. The rest of the land surrendered willingly, and their wealth became yours. All the riches of Egypt and Cyrene, which I won without a fight, now belong to you. Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Babylonia—all of these lands are now yours! The wealth of Lydia, the treasures of Persia, the jewels of India, and the riches of the outer sea are all at your disposal. You are now satraps, generals, and captains. What have I kept for myself, apart from this purple cloak and diadem? Nothing. No man can point to my riches—only the things I hold in trust for you all.

And what would I even do with them? I share in your meals and receive no more rest than you do. I have spent many nights on watch so that you could sleep soundly. Who among you believes he has worked harder for me than I have for you?Step forward! If you bear scars, strip and show them to me! I will show you mine. There is not one part of my body—at least the front—that does not bear a wound. My body is covered in scars from every weapon imaginable—swords, arrows, stones, and clubs—all for the sake of your lives, your glory, and your wealth.

Yet here I stand, leading you as the conqueror of land and sea, rivers, mountains, and plains. We have celebrated our weddings together, and many of your children will be cousins to my own. I have paid off your debts without questioning how you incurred them, even though you are well compensated and pillage every city we take.

Many of you wear golden crowns—badges of courage and honor bestowed upon you by me. Those who fell in battle, meeting a glorious end, were buried with full honors. Many now stand immortalized by bronze statues in Macedonia. Their families are honored and pay no taxes. Under my command, not one man has been killed while fleeing the enemy.

I wanted to send some of you—those who are wounded, crippled, or have grown old—back home to be welcomed as heroes. But since you all wish to leave, then go! Go home and tell them that your king, Alexander, conqueror of the Persians, Medes, Bactrians, and Scythians; who now rules over the Parthians, Chorasmians, and Hyrcanians as far as the Caspian Sea; who has marched over the mountains of the Hindu Kush, crossed the Oxus and Tanais rivers, and even the Indus—the first to cross it since Dionysus himself—would have crossed the Hyphasis too if you hadn’t cowered in fear.

Tell them that I sailed into the Great Sea from the mouth of the Indus, crossed the desert of Gedrosia, where no one had ever led an army, and took Carmenia while my fleet sailed the Persian Gulf. When you return to Susa, tell them that you abandoned me and went home, leaving me under the protection of the very foreigners you conquered.

Perhaps your report will seem glorious in the eyes of men and worthy in the eyes of the gods. Now, be gone!