| Alexander set out to conquer the world and created the largest empire in history up to that time. His conquests, of course, were really nothing more than one immense raid for plunder. But he was also the great disseminator of Greek culture. And that turned out to be a good thing. The Greeks invented the idea of freedom. Historically, personal freedom belonged solely to royalty, aristocracy, or the strongest male warriors. The Greeks expanded personal and political freedom to the majority. As Pericles wrote, "In Athens, we live exactly as we please." This notion existed nowhere else in the ancient world. True, the Greeks owned other Greeks as slaves. Women were denied basic rights. And political freedom was limited to male citizens. But remember, this was the ancient world. It was a start. Perhaps the defining feature of Athenian culture was intellectual freedom. The Greeks were the first to idealize the development of the mind, not for the good of the government or the state but for the benefit of the individual. Everything was open to argument and discussion, including religion and government. The Greeks' curiosity, relentless questioning, and intellectual rigor led to enormous achievements in logic, physics, mathematics, rhetoric, and analysis. They made rational inquiry - rather than the pronouncements of authority - the royal road to truth. Empirical research and the application of mathematics liberated us from myth and magic, leading to unimaginable progress in science, technology, engineering and medicine. Today, we bemoan our fast-paced, technology dominated lives. But no one wants to return to the era of chronic pain, early death, malnutrition, disease, superstition and everyday suffering that was our ancestors' destiny, and the fate of billions in the Third World today. Yes, there have been countless contributions from other cultures along the way. But it was the Greek emphasis on reason - and the Judeo/Christian emphasis on ethical monotheism - that gave the Western mind its distinctive shape. The Greek legacy of reason, investigation and individual freedom led to the remarkable ascendancy of the West. That is why the British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley observed, "We are all Greeks" now. Good investing, Alex | 
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