Quick questions on Alexander the Great's background, accession and securing of power: HSC Ancient History

From about 343 BC Philip engaged the philosopher Aristotle to tutor the adolescent Alexander at Mieza, at a precinct known as the Nymphaeum. Alexander studied literature (famously the Homeric Iliad, which he is said to have kept with him on campaign), philosophy, ethics, politics and natural science. The education left a lasting mark on his intellectual curiosity and his self-image as a bringer of Greek culture, though we should be cautious: much of what later writers say about the relationship is coloured by hindsight and by Aristotle's own fame.

Several episodes were remembered as signs of Alexander's early ability. Plutarch (Alexander 6) tells the famous story of the boy taming the great horse Bucephalus, which no one else could mount, by noticing it feared its own shadow and turning it toward the sun. Whatever its literal truth, the anecdote reflects a tradition of precocious boldness.

In 336 BC, at the old capital of Aegae, Philip staged a magnificent festival to celebrate the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Alexander of Epirus (Olympias' brother). As Philip entered the theatre, he was struck down and killed by Pausanias, a member of his own bodyguard, who was cut down as he tried to flee.