Read the excerpt from Alexander the Great’s speech at Opis. These services rendered you by my father are substantial enough when
considered in isolation, but they pale into insignificance in comparison with my own. . . . An immediate first act was to open up for you the channel of the Hellespont, despite Persia’s naval supremacy at the time. My cavalry then defeated the satraps of Darius and I added to your empire the whole of Ionia, the whole of Aeolis, both Phrygias, and Lydia, and captured Miletus by siege. Other regions placed themselves voluntarily in my hands, and in every case I let you profit from them. How does Alexander develop the idea that he has served his people well? He criticizes his father’s accomplishments. He says other countries respect him as a leader. He lists ways he has expanded his people’s empire. He claims that his army and navy are the world’s strongest.
