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96 THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT Leading Lessons What might possibly be the modern equivalent of a great ‘‘untamable’’ steed? A beautiful car, a boat, office furnishings, a house, a spouse? The closest parallel we have today is purchasing an expensive car, though it is not remotely as powerful in identity building as Bucephala. Symbols help promote identity. But one person’s symbol is another’s identity. Wise leaders use symbols only to manipulate others’ perceptions to their own advantage. This could mean driving a humbler car to work and saving the exotic car for private consumption. We all know people who drive exotic cars and can afford them. However, this often, ironically, lessens our perceptions of them. They are just ostentatiously showing off their wealth. We also all have friends who drive a nicer car than they can afford, because they really love driving a fine car, but they cannot afford it and have to give up other luxuries. Our image of such people is enhanced.
Leadership Process Three: Establishing Identity 97 22: Sycophancy or Obeisance? How shall we be known? How shall we be called? How shall we expect our subordinates to address us? What appearances shall we portray to the world? Most important, how we answer these questions will determine who we are or are known to be. By the time the conquest of the Persian Empire was complete, Alexander was indisputably the greatest king in the known world. He sought outward recognition of this fact. Proskynesis was the traditional form of obeisance offered as a matter of course to the Achaemenid king. The details are not well known, but the greetings of veneration ranged from a slight bow for high-level nobles to abject genuflection for peasants. Alexander instituted proskynesis, though the Macedonians strongly resisted. To them, it was humiliating—their king was ostensibly an elected equal. One cannot be certain, but it would have made sense to maintain this practice for the local populace, given their accommodation to it; but to the Greeks, it was just one more example of Alexander’s becoming too self-elevated. This transgression of propriety (setting himself up as a god) lowered the Greeks to the level of the ‘‘barbaric’’ Persians. Inferences and Allegations Alexander sought to unify cultures, countries, armies, and governments. He apparently thought that traditional symbols, gestures, and actions, while insulting to his own coun-
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THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT E
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CONTENTS Foreword .................
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CONTENTS vii 33: Ablutions, Celebra
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FOREWORD Alexander the Great as a l
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PREFACE Leadership cannot be taught
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PREFACE xiii Sources: How Do We Kno
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PREFACE xv Alexander’s exploits a
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Books are not the w
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xix Dickerson, Andy
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RÉSUMÉ Alexander the Great SIGNIF
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156 APPENDIX 326 Battle at River Hy
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158 BIBLIOGRAPHY Fildes, Alan, and
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164 INDEX Alexander the Great (cont
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166 INDEX integration of cultures,
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168 INDEX Sogdiana, Rock of, 65 Sov
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