The following day a sailor shed a fresh ower in the sea calculations, because this was much more distant and would
and that was a marvelous sign. It meant that the caravels
had come close to a land with a ora and perhaps even a not have come alive because they would have nished water
and food much earlier.
fauna and maybe even humans. Two days later, a sailor
spotted an island called Guanahani by the people who lived
there.
He died at the age of 55, in 1506, in Valladolid, Spain.
Few had dared to sail and since they had not returned, it
was thought that the sea was inhabited by sharks and
marine killer whales, capable of destroying the boats.
But Columbus, who was very brave and very curious, when
Argiro Spyrogianni, Greece - Alexander
the Great
Alexander the Great, also known as the King of Macedonia,
the night was walking on the beach of Lisbon listening to the was a famous Greek king who came to the throne in the year
336BC. He is widely regarded as being one of the most
sound of the waves, he supposed that the ocean was
perhaps not so vast and horrible, and that a good sailor like successful military commanders in all of history and was
responsible for changing the face of the ancient world.
him could cross it and get Europe to Asia discovering a
shorter way to reach China and Japan showing everyone
that the Earth was spherical like a ball! Alexander the Great’s real name is Alexander III of
Macedon.
He was born in July 356BC in Pella, the ancient
capital city of Macedonia. His exact birth date is
He explained his great project to Don Juan Perez, a far- unknown as the Ancient Greeks followed their own
sighted priest who listened to him with curiosity and
attention and offered him a nice opportunity. Don Perez was calendar. Alexander the Great was born in the Greek
month of Hekatombaion.
a friend of the Queen of Spain and it was precisely because Alexander the Great became King of Macedonia in
of his intercession that the Spanish rulers decided to lend
three caravels to Cristoforo: the Niña, the Pinta and the 336BC at the age of 20. His father, King Philip II was
assassinated, leaving the throne for his son Alexander
Santa Maria together with a crew of 120 men. Some of these
were delinquents who had sailed on the galleys and were to take.
During his lifetime, Alexander the Great was also
forced by the king to accompany Christopher on his journey, known as the Pharaoh of Egypt, the King of Persia
because no one wanted to follow him in this venture so
risky. and the King of Asia as a result of his conquests.
Alexander the Great was taught by the famous
The journey was long and exhausting, after three months philosopher Aristotle between the age of 13 to 16
years old.
had not yet been sighted land, not even an island on which When Alexander took to the throne in Greece he
to rest. commanded the Greek army to continue his father’s
legacy and try to take control of the Persian Empire.
Food and water began to run low. Many sailors were upset The army was successful and after 10 years of battles,
by fear and implored Christopher Columbus to reverse the
route and return. The daring navigator then made a pact Alexander overthrew the King of Persia (Darius III)
and took on his title.
with the crew: - Keep on rowing, I promise that if within
three days we do not spot land, we turn the helm and go The Battle of Gaugamela (now in Northern Iraq) is
one of Alexander the Great’s most famous battles.
back home. In 326BC, Alexander the Great invaded India,
The following day a sailor shed a fresh ower in the sea declaring that he wanted to conquer the entire world
(the Ancient Greeks thought that India was the end
and that was a marvelous sign. It meant that the caravels
had come close to a land with a ora and perhaps even a
of the Earth). However, many people died and his
fauna and maybe even humans. Two days later, a sailor army decided to turn back.
Alexander the Great founded more than 70 cities in
spotted an island called Guanahani by the people who lived
there. the ancient world. He named more than 20 of them
‘Alexandria’ after himself.
In total, Alexander the Great led his army 11,000
Christopher had reached the Caribbean in America and not
in China as he had imagined. Together with his crew he miles and created an Empire that covered over 20
million square miles.
renamed that island San Salvador, because thanks to that
land they were saved. He was named Alexander ‘the Great’ because he and
his army had never been defeated.
His invasion techniques were so successful that
So it was that Christopher Columbus discovered America,
trying to reach China but he had made a lot of his
military academies around the world still teach some
of his tactics.