The Hellenicity of the “barbarian” Macedonians

The Greeks were cultural revolutionaries that held minds that changed the world, philosphophies that were beyond their time. They were truly the greatest Civilization producing innovations that were created with a single brilliant thought. However, they were wrong on their view towards the Macedonians. Alexander the Great was from this very kingdom and he was no where close to the concept of a barbarian. The story of Alexander and his horse, who i believe was a Unicorn, is an incredibly heartwarming one. The bond between the two was strong beginning when he received the wild Bucephalus (ox faced or Horned one) for his 13th birthday from his father. The creature could not be tamed, well that was until Alexander examined him. He soon realized that the reasoning behind the horse's fear was because of the shadow that was cast when the laborers would climb upon his back. But the young prince repositioned the gentle beast and showed him respect that a great horse(Unicorn) deserved and upon his back he mounted, and off into the future they rode. The two fought as one in many battles, and their friendship only growing stronger over the years. But then many years later when Alexander was around 30, tragedy struck at a grave battle and the mighty Bucephalus fell. This caused Alexander great grief and he named the city after his dear friend and had a statue made in honor of the noble Unicorn. Tragically, Alexander and his horse were connected through a bond much greater than the material world, for but a few years later he passed away as well and together Alexander and Bucephalus galloped away into the afterlife. The term Barbarian sounds like inhumane. But if one heard this story of Alexander and his horse(Unicorn) they would know of Macedonia's inner and outer humanity. And this is the conclusion that history can be interpreted anyway your heart desires, that is the beauty of the past itself, it may be set in stone, but there is still some carving needed to be done.