Lesson: Make an example of one person and others will fall in line... In 336 BC, when the 20-year-old Alexander the Great ascended the throne of Macedonia, following his father's sudden demise, some Greek city-states his father had subdued saw it as an opportunity to rebel. However, the first to openly do so was Thrace – a collection of "barbarian" tribes to the east. Without hesitation, Alexander set out to pacify them! So while he was away fighting the Thracians, Thebes, a Greek city-state also took their chance... First, they attacked a garrison of Macedonian soldiers stationed in Thebes, killed the officers who lived outside the citadel and besieged the rest. To their surprise, Alexander quickly subdued the Thracians and made straight for them. To reports of Demosthenes, the Athenian politician and orator, calling him a boy and riling up the other city-states to oppose Macedonian dominance, Alexander famously said, “They say I am a boy. I am coming to teach them that I am a man.” When Alexander arrived at the walls of the city, he first gave them a chance to surrender, but they refused. He eventually defeated their army and sacked the city. Since everyone was watching the young upstart, after pardoning many, he sold 30,000 into slavery and smashed the city into ruins. After Alexander dealt with Thebes with an iron fist, for the other city-states – especially Athens – all consideration of rebellion vanished from their thoughts. "Punishment is not for the benefit of the sinner, it is for the salvation of his comrades." ––– General George S. Patton
