utual. To be sure, Alexander loved his father but also did everything in his power to distance himself from Philip. Even when he was older, and having achieved great success of his own, Alexander would minimize the influence and down-play the achievements of his father.
             Philip II was killed on the second day of his daughter's wedding. In an attempt to make it look like he wasn't a petty tyrant he was dressed in a white robe. After placing his bodyguards far behind him, one stepped forward and slew the king with a dagger. The assailant was then descended upon immediately and slaughtered in a hail of javelins.
             According to Plutarch, Alexander was born on the sixth of Hecatombaeon (July) in the year 356 B.C. Supposedly on the day he was born the temple of Artemis burnt down, signifying his future glory.
             Alexander is supposed to have been fair skinned, with a ruddy tinge to his face and chest. Plutarch stated that he had a pleasing scent. Like all Macedonians, Alexander liked his liquor; his fondness for wine also caused some of his outbursts of drunken rage. Alexander liked drama, the flute and the lyre, poetry and hunting. What he truly wanted in his life was glory and valor, rather than easy living and riches. He was not fond of athletic contests, according to Plutarch. To say the least, young Alexander matured early. A famous anecdote describes Alexander skillfully receiving Persian envoys in Philip's court while Philip was out inspecting his troops. Alexander is said to have impressed the envoys more than Philip would have. This incident would have happened when Alexander was about five or six.
             Philip and Olympias saw the potential for greatness in Alexander and arranged for his education. His first teacher was the harsh Leonidas, a relative of Olympias, perhaps her uncle. Leonidas was a strict disciplinarian who instilled in Alexander his ascetic nature which became famous during his Persian and Indian expeditions, ...