Alexander as a child

 Preface: these are first drafts written some time ago.  I have not taken to rewriting any of these yet.
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Writing attempt #4.

Olympias was a devotee of the cult of Dionysus.  When she attended the mysterious rites, she joined in the ceremonies through her own feverish dancing, whirling and twirling.  There was a kind of madness to the dance that followed drinking huge drafts of wine.  Both at the rituals and in her apartment, Olympias handled snakes which were not only ceremonial, but linked to the belief in the divine origin. 

Young Alexander often accompanied her to the altars where she made sacrifices and pledged her devotion to Dionysus.  He watched her intently as she carefully lit a fire, danced around it, sang her song of love and duty, and then bowed to her great god, kneeling on the ground, bemoaning all her sins and sorrows, and asking for divine guidance for her child.

When she was finished she returned her attention to the child, and pulled him close to her.  "Alexander, my son, " she said to him, " someday you too will make sacrifices to the gods, and you will obey and ask for their guidance and their help.  Watch Mama now.  See how I do it, and then when it is your turn,  you will do it in the same way. Understand?"

"Yes, Mama, I understand," Alexander would thoughtfully reply.  "I will do it myself."

Although Alexander was only three years old, he had already startled his parents with his quickness in learning all that they had been teaching him.  Because he had been imitating the soldiers, Alexander demanded that he be given a uniform of his own, a shield, and a spear too.

"Papa, I need my own uniform. I want my own shield and spear," he had cried out to Philip when Philip observed him practicing his lessons. 

"Why, Son,  there will be time for that," Philip answered. "Next year I will suit you up.  Right now, you are growing so fast that I think you should wait."

"No, Papa, I  want to wear my own suit of armor now . I want to be a soldier like you."
Alexander responded tartly.

Philip touched his jaw with his hand as he rubbed it thoughtfully. "Hmmmm."  He bent his head looking down at his child.  "Well, I may do that for you, but you will outgrow it fast." Philip surrendered to the boy's pleas.

Philip thought to himself that maybe all those omens and forecasts may have had some merit after all.

"I will help you, my child." he said, and quickly gathered the child up into his massive arms and pitched him high into the air.  Alexander squealed happily,  "I will be a soldier too."

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Writing attempt #5

Alexander, at three years old, was finally wearing his own custom made cuirass, greaves, and carried his own shield and sword. He had grown into a young lion cub.  His thick golden curly locks floated about his head and shoulders.  He was a strong, sturdy boy with muscles developing in his arms and legs. He played in the grassy arena where special gymanastics were taught, and he tumbled and rolled with the other children in his age who were also being specially trained for their future warrior years.  Alexander was naturally set apart from the other boys.  He was treated a bit differently from the others since stress was made that he would be the leader of the group.  Because he was the Prince, his regime was far more demanding than the other boys who practiced in the gymnasium, in the grassy arena, or in the military compounds. 

At the age of three he was learning to read and write the Greek alphabet.  His mother would sing songs to him, composed of alpha, beta, gamma, delta...He learned to make the letters so that he could assemble them together and make a word out of them.  He learned quickly that letters combined together made word forms.  He amazed even his mother with his early perception of the way letters became words, and words together made sentences.  Though only three, he was learning at the rate of a child of 6 or 7. Olympias realized that Alexander was already a challenge for her to teach.

At the stables, he would follow each and every aspect of the grooming and preparation of the horses.  He watched as a man would brush the horse's mane, inspect his hooves, and open the mouth to check for bad teeth or abcessed gums.  Alexander's interest was such that he would often rub his own tiny fingers into the horse's gums and gently relieve the horse of any object that could be stuck in his teeth.  He liked to feed the horses apples and grains.   He would rub their legs kindly and gently so that the horses came to love and adore his presence there.

He whispered to his favorite bay horse who he favored, "I am taking good care of you now so that someday you will take care of me."  The horse swished its tail up and down, happily, acknowledging that he would care for Alexander when he was on his back.  Alexander studied the horses as they walked so that he intuitively knew which horse was feeling good on a given day  or which was feeling tired, ill, or hurt.

When he was on the military training ground, Alexander would march alongside the soldiers who were practicing inside the field.  He stayed outside the fenced area, but followed along side, imitating their movements as they drilled.  He committed to memory every movement, every turn, while his guardian tutor watched him carefully.  Little by little, day by day, Alexander was becoming a disciplined warrior.

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