What had it all been for? That would be Socrates. Others, as today, would shout all the platitudes of the day, defending what ever decisions, however apparently harmful, the present administration was taking. This little civilization on a hill was surrounded by ignorance or power.

All citizens of Greece needed to be on their alert. As at Gettysburg two thousand years later, the fate of democracy could some times hang by threads. Socrates made the leaders of ancient Greece jealous and was forced to die.

The immediate response was that the people of Athens arose as one and hounded those Governing 30 out of Athens: death, rejection, forever out of any inner council of wiser gentler Athens. This was the Athens Alexander arrived in, and took note.

Heroic to a fault, he saw his chance for immortality, I think, and I have seen no published thoughts on this motivation behind Alexander deciding with his life to go for it! No guts no glory, his inspiration would affect other people after his death, as with Socrates.

He must be good, he might as well be Great.It seems that Alexander, unlike most of us, had plenty example how life could end quickly, and unless that dying man had done good or evil in his life made a difference on how he could die, and expect to go to a better life with God, as Socrates told Aristotle, and as Aristotle told Alexander, and as I tell my grand children, his horse told me.

This really is about people and how they respond to the situations they find themselves facing, and how well prepared they are to effect change, and accept their fate. Socrates died quietly and told Aristotle, who told his pupil Alexander, that he was going to a better life.

Alexander almost died in the desert in Egypt seeking a Wise Holy Man : they blessed each other. 350 years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.Other ancient texts tell us that the disciples of Buddha were in Greece by about this time.

We know from history that Buddha had evolved the ancient Hindu faith of a caste system and his beliefs led him and his followers since to belief that a life of pure living and honest behavior towards others allowed one to enter naturally into a state of Nirvana at death, or Heaven.

But even our Bible speaks of the Three Wise Men of the east, and the only wise religion we can really think of out east was the teachings of Buddha, which fit well with the gentle teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Peace.