Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC.
As one of the greatest military geniuses
in history he conquered much of the
civilized world of his time driven by
the ambition to establish a universal
kingdom.  From 13 to 16 years of age he
was given a classical Greek education by
the noted philosopher Aristotle and
ascended to the Macedonian throne at the
age of 20
upon the death of his father Philip II.  In addition to his philosophical
training under Aristotle, Alexander was a
student of military history,
drawing upon the legend of Achilles
courage at Troy and Xenophon's writings of
his march through Persia.  He believed
that Greeks were superior warriors even
when the odds were long against success.
The combination of Greek thought in
philosophy with military genius produced
the quest to not only conquer the world
in a military expedition but to spread
Greek cultural values in a noble mission
of civilization.
It was a great adventure on many levels.
His initial military thrust eastward was
justified as the liberation of Greek
city-states in Asia Minor.  With each
conquest his ideal became grander.  His
tactical abilities produced a series of
astonishing conquests, all the way to
India spreading Greek civilization into
the east and making way for cultural
diffusion that changed the world forever.
But years of continuous battle wore on
Alexander and his army -- to the point of
rebellion against his unquenchable
desire for expansion.  Near the end of his
brief life he apparently became
increasingly megalomaniacal and paranoid --
obsessed with fame, glory, and immortality
for himself --
pathologically suspicious and
distrustful of those around him.  When he
died in Babylon in about 336 BC at age
33 under suspicious circumstances, his
entire empire collapsed.
On June 23, 1936
Edgar Cayce gave a reading for a
two-day-old baby boy in which past lives
as Alexander the Great and Thomas
Jefferson were described.  The child was
the nephew of Cayce's personal secretary
Gladys Davis.  Cayce observed that as
Alexander the entity had been a great
conqueror of the earth yet depleting
others for his own self exaltation.  The
attitude that might makes right -- that
power justifies indulgences -- caused him
to lose during that lifetime.  A caution
was given to the parents that if these
tendencies were not dealt with, they
could run wild
even as they did in the life of
Alexander.  Despite an unstable family
life in which his parents were separated
and divorced multiple times, the child
had a fairly normal development due in
part to the positive influence of his
aunt Gladys.  Such is the pattern of
incarnation for many souls -- fame and even
greatness and some past lives --
interspersed with fairly mundane or even
unfavorable experiences in others, as we
have seen with Edgar Cayce himself.  In a
reading given in 1929 for a group of men
interested in creating a benevolent
world organization to regulate commerce
and social institutions, the entranced
Cayce cautioned against such a grand
enterprise, using Alexander as an example
of how such an idealistic venture can
become destructive.  Cayce noted that
Alexander had been educated by the
leading philosophers of his day and had
set out to conquer the world with
honorable intentions -- yet the ideal was
forgotten and Alexander became so gored
by greed of power, as to become a
loathsome body.  Gertrude Cayce, in a past
life as Normaline, the daughter of
Socrates, was said to have been a
caretaker or nursemaid for the infant
Alexander.  Five other individuals also
received readings from Cayce that indicated
past lives associated with Alexander, all
linked to military campaigns.
A six-year-old boy was told that he had
been a general named Uzela serving
under Alexander.  He functioned as a
military engineer who built machines to
break down the walls of cities under
siege.
His parents were told to observe the
child's first attempts at using a bow
and arrow, or battering ram, or such.
Cayce predicted that the child would
show an interest in mechanical devices
of every nature.  With guidance these
abilities and tendencies could be
directed into merciful rather than
destructive channels.  A reading for a
58-year old man also indicated a past
life as a military engineer under
Alexander.  As Arlebon the individual
diverted water ways to besieged cities
and built barricades and defenses to
further the conquest.  These past life
abilities helped explain the current
interest in mechanical devices.  His
reading even suggested that he would be
capable of designing a perpetual motion
machine, but suggested against the
endeavor given his age and resources.  A
44-year-old advertising
executive, who received the reading from
Cayce in 1938, was told that he had served
Alexander as a soldier named Xeria, who
was in charge of maintaining adequate
supplies of healthy food and water for
the troops -- an enormous challenge
considering Alexander's ambitious
venture.  Xeria's efforts were largely
unrecognized by historians, yet his
fellow soldiers depended upon him to
maintain their health and vigor under
difficult circumstances.  He was told that
these positive qualities could be
harnessed in his present life to assist
youth in attaining health or to recover
from physical deficiencies -- to find hope
in the midst of suffering.  Two individuals
receiving readings from Cayce learned that
they had been among the multitudes
conquered by Alexander.  A 41-year old
commercial railroad agent was told that
he had been a Persian officer to the
king's exchequer, in the name of Eoso.
Prior to Alexander's invasion Eoso
had performed a valuable service to the
king with his financial council.  After
the invasion he languished in a prison.
Thus in his present life he had a love
for the freedom of open spaces.
He also carried over the ability to
manage financial affairs efficiently.  The
other case involved a 65 year old woman
who was told that she had a past life as
Hannah, a woman living in the household
of one of the defenders of a city
conquered by Alexander.  She suffered
under the persecutions of the invaders.
Thus in her present life she had a dread
of invasion of any character, whether
physical or mental.  The story of
Alexander the Great raises some
important moral and ethical issues with
regard to war.  Of course we must be
careful about projecting our own values
on previous eras with different settings
and circumstances.
Yet even if we assume that wars of
aggression and conquest are improper and
that wars in defense of a homeland are
justified, what about wars of choice.
Specifically, in the case of Alexander, if
his ideal was to spread Greek culture
and values to those less advanced, or to
free the common people of foreign lands
from oppressive rulers, is this
acceptable?
Certainly this is a question that is
still relevant in our times.  There is
also the added dimension of involvement
at the individual level by foot soldiers
and officers who were simply following
orders.
What was their moral and ethical
obligation.  From the Cayce perspective it
all centers on the ideals of each
individual involved.  In the case of some
of the individuals serving under
Alexander, the services they rendered
were consistent with their ideals and
for the most part, provided them with the
opportunity for soul development.  In the
20th century Cayce gave many readings
for soldiers, including two of his own
sons who fought in World War II and
faced this dilemma.  In Alexander's case, he
may have started out with a high ideal
but apparently succumbed to
self-indulgent power lust --
a tragedy for his soul and
those he conquered.
