In short, Alexander is great because others decided he was great because they chose to admire and emulate him. Yes, Alexander was a great general. Yes, he conquered a lot of land. The situation is also really good at picking up girls of a certain type. And Kim Kardashian is good at... Stan, what is Kim Kardashian good at? We made Alexander great, just as today we make people great when we admire them and try to emulate them. History has traditionally been in the business of finding and celebrating great men, and only occasionally great women.