A young king who won every battle and built a huge empire.
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Before we read, let's learn the important words. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = C (a king) · 2 = D (an empire) · 3 = B (to conquer) · 4 = F (a battle)
5 = A (an army) · 6 = E (to defeat) · 7 = H (to run away) · 8 = G (famous)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
Alexander was born in 356 BC in Macedonia, a country in the north of ancient Greece. His father was King Philip. A famous teacher, the philosopher Aristotle, taught the young Alexander about science, books and ideas.
There is a famous story about him as a boy. A wild horse came to the king's court. The horse was strong and angry, and no man could ride it. But young Alexander watched the horse carefully. He saw that the horse was afraid of its own shadow. So he turned the horse to face the sun — and then he rode it! The horse was called Bucephalus, and Alexander rode it for many years.
In 336 BC, Alexander's father died. Alexander became king when he was only twenty years old. He had a big, strong army, and he had a big dream: he wanted to conquer the Persian Empire, the most powerful empire in the world.
1. Who taught Alexander when he was a boy?
2. How old was Alexander when he became king? What did he want to do?
1. The philosopher Aristotle, a famous teacher.
2. He was twenty years old. He wanted to conquer the Persian Empire.
Alexander took his army into Asia. He fought the Persian king, Darius, in two big battles: at Issus in 333 BC, and at Gaugamela in 331 BC. Alexander's army was smaller, but he won both times! Both times, King Darius was afraid and ran away. The great Persian Empire was finished.
Alexander did not stop. He marched east, year after year. He built many new cities, and he gave many of them his own name — Alexandria. In 326 BC, he reached India and fought another big battle.
But now his soldiers were very tired. They were far from home, and they had fought for eight years. They did not want to fight any more, so they refused to go on. Alexander was angry, but he had to listen to them. He turned back. In all his life, Alexander never lost a battle — but in the end, his own tired soldiers stopped him.
1. Who did Alexander fight at Issus and Gaugamela? What happened?
2. Alexander never lost a battle. So why did he stop and turn back?
1. He fought the Persian king, Darius. Alexander won both battles, and Darius ran away. The Persian Empire ended.
2. His own soldiers were very tired after eight years. They refused to fight any more, so he had to turn back.
Alexander started the long journey home with his army. But he never arrived. In 323 BC, in the old city of Babylon, he became very ill with a fever. After some days, he died. He was only thirty-two years old. People still do not know the real cause: maybe it was an illness, or maybe — some people say — poison.
Alexander had no grown son to be the next king. So after his death, his generals — his army commanders — fought each other for power. They broke the great empire into smaller kingdoms. The empire did not last very long.
But Alexander left something important behind. Everywhere his army went, it brought the Greek language, Greek art and Greek ideas. These mixed with the cultures of Egypt and Asia. This is called Hellenistic culture, and it lasted for hundreds of years. Today, more than two thousand years later, people still tell the story of Alexander the Great.
1. How and where did Alexander die? How old was he?
2. What happened to his empire after he died? What did he leave behind?
1. He died in the city of Babylon in 323 BC, from a fever. He was only thirty-two years old.
2. His generals fought each other and broke the empire into smaller kingdoms. But he left behind Greek culture (Hellenistic culture), which lasted for hundreds of years.
To compare two things, or to say which is number one, we change the adjective.
Compare the two things. Use -er than for short words, or more … than for long words.
1. Alexander's army was (small) than the Persian army.
2. Alexander was (brave) than King Darius.
3. The road to India was (dangerous) than the road home.
1. smaller than
2. braver than
3. more dangerous than (long word, so we use "more")
Say which one is number one in the group.
1. Alexander built (large) empire in the ancient world.
2. Aristotle was (clever) teacher in Greece.
3. Many people say Alexander was (famous) leader in history.
1. the largest
2. the cleverest
3. the most famous (long word, so we use "the most")
Choose the right form. Then read it out loud.
Alexander wanted to be (great) king of all. His soldiers were (tired) than before, but they were not (strong) as the young king. In the end, he won (big) victory of his life.
the greatest · more tired · as strong · the biggest
"-est / the most" = number one in the group; "-er / more … than" = comparing two; "as … as" = the same.
There is a real podcast about Alexander the Great. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast. About 50 minutes. Listen to a few minutes now, or all of it for homework.
Listen on Spotify →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Alexander the Great in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a young prince and his teacher Aristotle → the wild horse → king at twenty → two big battles against Darius → marching to India → the tired soldiers → his death in Babylon → the empire breaks, but his story stays.
As you tell it, compare him to other leaders and say what made him the greatest — use comparatives and superlatives ("bigger than…", "the greatest empire…", "the most famous king…") — and some of the key words (king, empire, conquer, battle, army, defeat, run away, famous).
We call him "Alexander the Great". Do you think he was really "great"? He won every battle, but war also hurts many people. Who is a great leader for you — from history or from today? Why?
Choose any famous person you like — a leader, a sports star, a singer — and compare them to Alexander. Who was greater? Who did more? Who is more famous today? Use comparatives and superlatives: "bigger / stronger than…", "more famous than…", "the greatest…".
Not sure who to compare? Choose one: