The Greatest Speech in History? Alexander the Great and the Opis Mutiny

Alexander the Great is one of the most extraordinary individuals in history. He became king of the fringe Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 336 BC at the age of just 20, and before his death twelve years later, had imposed Macedonian overlordship on Greece, destroyed the mighty Persian Empire and led an army deep into modern Afghanistan and to the Indian frontier.

At Opis he faced a mutiny by his Macedonian troops, angered that he wanted to send some of them home, while appearing to give preference to his new Asian subjects, and adopting many of their customs. Alexander dealt ruthlessly with the ringleaders, before (according to 'The Anabasis' by Roman historian Arrian) making a speech to his army in which he berated his troops for their disloyalty.

The speech, as it has reached us, was no doubt written by Arrian rather than Alexander. His actual words are now impossible to ascertain. But Arrian had access to eyewitness accounts which are now lost (principally Ptolemy and Nearchus), and modern historians generally agree that the speech was a real historical event, and that Arrian gives a good representation of its likely content.

Putting its (contested and debated) value as a historical source to one side, the scene - as it appears in Arrian - is a brilliantly written moment of high drama and emotion, in which Alexander first highlights his debt to his father Philip, before launching into a tirade in which he lists his own astounding achievements and qualities of leadership.

The speech has been abridged and edited by myself for this video.

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[eamonmckirgan]

Alexander really invented the strategy of “I can’t believe how ungrateful you’re being right now” that’s still used by mothers to this day

[bigbadseed]

Everybody gangsta till Alexander start listing his accomplishments.

[oscarhaydenperditionbound]

Alexander- "You know you're all a bunch of ungrateful assholes, right?"

Soldiers- "Man's got a point."

[nathanfrancis]

“Under my command, not one man has been killed fleeing the enemy.” That line gave me chills, what a general

[trapical]

"A scar can be seen on every part of my body, though only the front."
What a brilliant line, the man's back bears no wounds because he never once turned tail.

[TheDejakal]

After a speech like that, even I felt like I owed Alexander an apology.

[CaroFEH]

Imagine giving a speech so good It still captivates people 2300+ years later, incredible!

[iwanttobelieve]

This man died 2000+ years before I was even born, but after hearing this speech, I feel the need to beg his forgiveness myself.

[radz]

Legends says that when Alexander delivered this speech, it also came with a background music..

[riverofblood]

Imagine making a speech and having it immortalized 1, 000 years later...

[trainwreck]

Love the subtle implication of the line "There isn't one part of my body, the front at least- that doesn't bear a wound."
The man never turned away from battle, leaving no chance for the enemy to lay a wound on his back.

[ArkamasRoss]

“We’ve celebrated our weddings together!”
These men seem to have shared an incredible brotherhood and they were about to squander it.

[ndowg]

“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War


edit: ok wow, thanks guys

[karensupreme]

He has no scars on his back because he never retreated!

[lethalwolf]

The last real commander was Napoleon, a soldier once proclaimed, “He’s not like the other generals, he’s covered in mud and blood” after Napoleon had taken over a cannon after its operater was shot through the eye. He also visited the severely wounded of his army after the battles and thanked them, removing his own medals to pin them on his men

[dgfk_lilly]

The fact that he did all of this before he even reached his 30’s is truly insane! You just cannot help but wonder how his mind works.. and that speech is strong and compelling— one of the things that tell you he was educated brilliantly by the great philosopher Aristotle.

[zanthimos]

In this speech, he didn't just flex to his men. He flexed to the entire world.

[ninjaswordtothehead]

Dropped the mic so hard it wouldn't be invented for another 2000 years.

[Nevezeniyeet]

I listen to this when I'm feeling down. I pretend that depression is just a foe that I will defeat and when I listen to his speech I gain confidence and morale or sum.

[gthpupc]

The greatest soldier and military leader in the history. Great respect for those who recorded this speech 2, 300 years back..