The wheel of the time moved on. King Phillip was now on mission of relentlessly engaged in vanquishing his opponents and foes. In a short period he ruled supreme in Greece as one of the most mighty rulers of the land. A feared name Phillip had become.
By 356 B.C., the Macedonia emperor had gained superiority over most other rulers of Greek kingdoms. One by one the lands of Corinth, Theebs, Athens, Sparta etc were dominions of Macedonia.
When this expansion of Macedonia empire was taking place the queen of King Phillips was also expanding through her pregnancy bulge. She was carrying the blessing of the Supreme Deity of Greece as the royal couple believed in their devotional spirit which was their imagination or some element of reality in a spiritual sense.
In due course of time the queen delivered a healthy male child to support their belief. A female child could have shattered them. The baby had a glowing skin and its features carried the stamp of impressive characteristics of his sire, King Phillip. In the child overwhelmed parents smelled divinity. It had tightly closed fist as if it were holding fast on his destiny. The king and the queen looked at each other meaningfully everytime they fondled or beheld embodiment of the blessing of Reigning Deity as they believed. With great awe they handled the child.
The arrival of the heir to the throne of Macedonia was royally celebrated in the palace, capital city and in entire kingdom and subordinated states. The royal treasury generously financed the festivities and the state organised functions. The citizens felt happy as they had now a generation of political peace and stability with the new born prince in place to obviate any succession conspiracies or ugly unsettling battles.
As per the wishes of the queen a birth ceremony of the prince was organised in the great courtyard of the temple of Lord Alexander, the Reigning Deity of Greece. The ceremony included christening ritual as well besides usual festivities of song, dance and martial art acts.
It was the main function of statewide ceremonies. A large number of royal clan folks, wellwishers, guests, invited dignitaries, priests, courtiers and officials were present as expected. The guests were touching the new born, making benedictions and presenting their gifts. The soothsayers were announcing the glorious destiny of the prince as they claimed to have perceived to the delight of the royal couple. On the same lines bards were coining verses of praise and rhapsodists were singing songs of great expectations sure of getting fulfilled.
After a worship ritual, the royal priest put the newborn at the feet of giant idol of Lord Alexander hailing the royal family and announced, “Folks of the great empire of Macedonia! Our newborn prince as you all know well is the embodiment of the blessings of the Reigning Deity to our honourable royal couple. For that reason I propose we name our prince after our lord. ‘Alexander’ shall be the name he should be known with. His name will carry the glory of our Supreme Deity far and wide all over the known and yet unknown world with his meritorious deeds.”
The announcement was greeted with thunderous applause. It also meant the suggested name was approved by the gathering. The ceremonies and the functions continued for seven days in the name of ‘Prince Alexander’. The people continued to gather outside the palace and the royal couple had to appear on the balcony to show the baby to the excited folks. It delighted every citizen.
The arrival of the baby turned the life of Phillip and his queen an endless celebration. Every day had become a new festival. The functions seemed for them daily rituals to multiply their joy. Prince Alexander began to grow up royally pampered and fussed over being a gift of the Reigning Deity as his parents believed. In that sentiment the royal couple treated their baby in awe and devotion. For them he was the manifestation of supreme deity.
The time passed by, Alexander progressed from the toothless smile to babble, crawler on knees plus hands, toddled, walked, and played childhood pranks to the delight of his sire and mother. King Phillip soon grew out of the mood of a fawning father and returned to his regal serenity. The responsibility of bringing up the future ruler of the empire of Macedonia was no mean business. He had to control his fatherly emotions and instil discipline into young Alexander. A tough and hard headed prince Alexander must become to face the future challenges. And for that emotional distancing was required. King Phillip understood his position and duties as a ruler which overrode all other factors. He began to treat Alexander as only a promising youngman of his kingdom who had some privileges due to royal connection.
Alexander was born with an ample sense of regal discipline. As he grew up he desplayed princely reserve and independence. He would not cry for parental attention or fussing over. Alexander was more interested in learning from the regal conduct of his parents and how others conducted themselves with dignity and poise. He imbibed a lot of manners from them and developed his own princely behaviour and grace.
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