From the time
Leonidas led 300 Spartan men
The heroes at Thermopylae
To Leuctra with the last stand
Of the Sacred Band
Greeks knew what was important
And it was not glory
It was not heroic tales
It was defense of the land
And your shield man
They understood their world
The states of ancient Greece tried
The experiment in Democracy
And they created a wondrous thing
Only to be dominated by Phillip
And his son Alexander
Greece had still created a legacy
For the future
Democracy was worthy of the fight
And worthy of dying for
We remember them now
For the acts of the conqueror
Alexander the Great
Because he was a genius
For killing enemies in large numbers
And for holding together an army
That marched across the known world
Ancient Greece was not perfect
But when the city-states were faced
With domination or annihilation
It was the Persians who were slaughtered
Instead
At Marathon
At Salamis
At Plataea
They preserved our gift
Democracy
One person, one vote
We have it still
Because of their blood
But we remember them most
For the acts of a man
Who declared himself
Born of the blood line of Achilles
Born with blood of Heracles
Alexander the Great
Believed it was his destiny
To destroy the Persian Empire
But his desire burned more in him
Than in all of the subjugated states
His quest was one of invasion
Not of defense
Greek culture was spread
As a result of the conquerors sweep
But it was not from intention
Inside Alexander was fire
But greatness isn't about that
The ability to kill
With ease
Instead the ability to lead
Requires sharing the fire inside
An almost righteous ire
To defend all that matters
But especially the home
The Persian empire surely died
Only to be replaced by other empires
Of similar design
Without direction or stability
Or desire for anything
Outside of the ability to survive
