Alexander the Great was the King of Macedonia.
In his lifetime, he was the subject of beautiful, inspiring stories. Over time, his conquests became etched in historical accounts.
The legendary personality is looked up to by many, even today. His quotes emphasized different themes, from love to success and war. Continue reading to read some of his iconic quotes.
Best Alexander The Great Quotes
Here are some famous quotes from Alexander The Great that will inspire you.
"I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living as well."
"When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back."
"Whatever possession we gain by our sword cannot be sure or lasting, but the love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable."
"Let us conduct ourselves so that all men wish to be our friends and all fear to be our enemies."
"True love never has a happy ending because there is no ending to true love."
"I will be glad, brothers, if I had all of you standing here next to me since we are united by the same language, the same blood, and the same visions."
"How should a man be capable of grooming his own horse, or of furbishing his own spear and helmet, if he allows himself to become unaccustomed to tending even his own person, which is his most treasured belonging?"
"I consider not what Parmenio should give but what Alexander should give."
"Shall I pass by and leave you lying there because of the expedition you led against Greece, or shall I set you up again because of your magnanimity and your virtues in other respects."
"When my casket is being carried to the grave, leave my hands hanging outside. For empty-handed, I came into this world, and empty-handed, I shall go! My whole life has been a hollow waste, a futile exercise, for one at death can take anything with them!"
"When you bury my body, don’t build any momentum and keep my hand outside so that the world knows that the person who won the whole world had nothing in his hand while dying."
Alexander The Great Quotes On Success
Alexander the Great's quotes on success and courage can help people power through the bitter fate they might be subjected to.
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
"I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my power and dominion."
"How happy had it been for me had I been slain in the battle. It was far more noble to have died the victim of the enemy than to fall a sacrifice to the rage of my friends."
"With the right attitude, self-imposed limitations are able to vanish."
"I will rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity."
"I send you a kaffis of mustard seed, and you may taste and acknowledge the bitterness of my victory."
"Without knowledge, skill cannot be focused. Without skill, strength cannot be brought to bear, and without strength, knowledge may not be applied."
"In the end, when it’s over, all that matters is what you have done."
"But truly, if I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes."
"There are so many worlds, and I have not yet conquered even one."
"The end and object of conquest are to avoid doing the same thing as the conquered."
"There is nothing impossible to who will try to do it."
"There is something noble in hearing myself ill-spoken when I am doing well."
"With the right attitude, self-imposed limitations vanish and leave your life."
"Toil and risk are the prices of glory, but it is a lovely thing to live with courage and die leaving everlasting fame."
"Remember upon the conduct of each depends on the fate of all."
"At Achilles' tomb, O fortunate youth, to have found Homer as the herald of your glory."
"You shall question not, find a way to the top if you diligently seek it; for nature hath placed nothing so high that it is out of the reach of industry and valor."
"Each moment free from fear makes a man immortal as they come."
"Glory crowns the deeds of those who expose themselves to toils and dangers."
"Those who have the courage to conquer fear are made free, and those who are conquered by it are made to suffer until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them."
"For my own part, I would rather excel in knowledge of the highest secrets of philosophy than in arms."
"The end and object of conquest is to avoid doing the same thing as the conquered."
"Toil and risk are the prices of glory, but it's a lovely thing to live with courage and die leaving everlasting fame."
"Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters."
"In the end, when it is over, all that matters is what you have done."
"Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories are to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?"
"As for a limit to one’s labor, I, for one, do not recognize any for a high-minded man, except that the labors themselves should lead to noble accomplishments."
Alexander The Great Quotes On War
"We of Macedon for generations past have been trained in the hard school of danger and war."
"Oh! Most miserable wretch that I am! Why have I not learned how to swim?"
"Youths of the Pellaians and the Macedonians and the Hellenic Amphictiony and the Lacedaemonians and of the Corinthians… and all the Hellenic peoples, join your fellow soldiers and entrust yourselves to me so that we can move against the barbarians and liberate ourselves from the Persian bondage, for as Greeks we should not be slaves to barbarians."
"On their side, more men are standing, on ours, more will fight."
"Through every generation of the human race, there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer it are made free, and those who are conquered by it are made to suffer until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them."
"Your ancestor came to Macedonia and the rest of Hellas (Greece) and did us great harm, though we had done them no prior injury. I have been appointed leader of the Greeks and wanting to punish the Persians, I have come to Asia, which I took from you."
"Soldiers, I had lately liked to have been taken from you by the attempt of a few desperate men, but by the grace and providence of the gods, I am still preserved."
"I am involved in the land of leonine and rave people, where every foot of the ground is like a well of steel, confronting my soldier. You have brought only one son into the world, but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander."
"Now you fear punishment and beg for your lives, so I will let you free, if not for any other reason so that you can see the difference between a Greek king and a barbarian tyrant, so do not expect to suffer any harm from me."
"How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens."
"I am dying from the treatment of too many physicians."
"My logisticians are a humorless lot… they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay."
"Holy shadows of the dead, I’m not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister’s nations and brother people to fight one another."
"Do you think it a matter worthy of lamentation that when there is such a vast multitude of them (worlds), we have not yet conquered one?"
"I foresee a great funeral contest for me which will happen in the near future."
"Who does not desire such a victory by which we shall join places in our kingdom, so far divided by nature, and for which we shall set up trophies in another conquered world."
"Now, the wars are coming to an end, I wish you to prosper in peace."
"I do not feel happy for this victory of mine. On the contrary, I would be glad, brothers, if I had all of you standing here next to me since we are united by the same language, the same blood, and the same visions."
"Our enemies are Medes and Persians, men who for centuries have lived soft and luxurious lives; we of Macedons for generations past have been trained in the hard school of danger and war."
Iconic Alexander The Great Quotes
These iconic Alexander the great quotes will inspire you when you are at your lowest.
"A tomb now suffices him for whom the world was not sufficient."
"For me, every virtuous foreigner is a Greek, and every evil Greek is worse than a Barbarian."
"Every light is not the sun. And I will not steal a victory."
"My treasure lies in my friend and no one else, and I have determined it."
"For as a newborn baby cannot be nourished without nurse’s milk, nor conducted to the approaches that lead to growth in life, so a city cannot thrive without fields and the fruits thereof pouring into its walls."
"In faith and hope, the world will disagree, but all mankind’s concern is charity."
"I want the road to be covered with my treasure, so everyone sees that material wealth acquired on earth stays on earth."
"My father will anticipate everything. He will leave you and me no chance to do a great and brilliant deed."
"I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal."
"A horse must be a bit mad to be a good cavalry mount, and its rider must be completely so."
"Shall I, that have destroyed my preservers, return home?"
"If we turn our backs on the Scythians who have provoked us, how shamefully shall we march against the revolted Bactrians."
"His father is governor of Media, and though he has the greatest command given him of all the rest of my generals, he still covetously desires more, and my being without issue spurs him on to this wicked design."
"So far as I am concerned, I could not be accused of having set eyes, or having wished to set eyes, upon Darius’ wife: on the contrary, I have refused even to listen to those who spoke to me of her beauty."
"Now that the wars are coming to an end, I wish you to prosper in peace."
"May all mortals from now on live like one people in concord and for mutual advancement?"
