Jacob Abbott

Alexander the Great Jacob Abbott

There were several circumstances combined, in the situation in which Alexander was placed, toafford him a great opportunity for the exercise of his vast powers. His native country was on theconfines of Europe and Asia. Now Europe and Asia were, in those days, as now, marked anddistinguished by two vast masses of social and civilized life, widely dissimilar from each other. TheAsiatic side was occupied by the Persians, the Medes, and the Assyrians. The European side by theGreeks and Romans. They were separated from each other by the waters of the Hellespont, theÆgean Sea, and the Mediterranean, as will be seen by the map. These waters constituted a sort ofnatural barrier, which kept the two races apart. The races formed, accordingly, two vastorganizations, distinct and widely different from each other, and of course rivals and enemies.