Rocking Alexander the Great

Music has always made us feel emotions. Artists express their emotions through music to communicate through space and time and reach new generations with the same feeling. Some experiences have been enriched by a song and many of them have inspired us to change our minds, feel good about ourselves or just make us dance like nobody is watching. 

Hearing Iron Maiden may seem like a kind of rebellious action that we tend to do when we are young or we feel like an outcast, but when we listen to what most rock bands are playing we might learn a thing or two about culture, history and the actual situation we are living. 

There is a purpose in music, and that is to deliver emotion and tell us something about the world. In this case, Iron Maiden may seem a band heard only by rejects or by rebels, but when we listen to the lyrics we can find meaning and history, especially in the song: «Alexander the Great». 

«My son ask for thyself another kingdom, for that which I leave is too small for thee»(King Philip of Macedonia – 339 B.C.)
Near to the east

In a part of ancient Greece

In an ancient land called Macedonia

Was born a son

To Philip of Macedon

The legend his name was Alexander
At the age of nineteen

He became the Macedon King

And he swore to free all of Asia Minor

By the Aegian Sea

In 334 B.C.He utterly beat the armies of Persia

[Chorus:]Alexander the Great

His name struck fear into hearts of men

Alexander the Great

Became a legend ‘mongst mortal men…

Writer(s): Stephen Percy Harris 

This song shows us a more human idea of what Alexander had in mind when he conquered the ancient world. In addition, this song shows us nowadays that we can be great if we are able to make a difference with the things we have in our control to dominate the world around us.