There is an element that few humans in history have ever received but those that have seem to have stood out in history. This element is power. It is unclear how the people who acquired it did so in the first place, but it seems to be a common trend that power changes a person for the worse. In this sense the phrase, “Don’t let power go to your head,” rings all too true. The people who have obtained power through force or other means seem to forsake this saying and go through some sort of funnel and emerge changed. Their old virtues are gone and replaced with different ones entirely. Many of the people that history has chosen to remember were in fact corrupted by power. There are few people in history who have actually risen to great power with commanding authority. But the few people that received massive attention in their times were not entirely pure people. Not all people with power ruled with iron fists but every ruler known as a great had some essence, or in some cases an abundance, of corruption. A man that stands out as being one of the most corrupt leaders in the sea of history is Adolf Hitler. Hitler was the horrible genius behind the persecution of six million Jews and other groups of people. When he scaled the mountain to power and glory, he became corrupt. In this particular case, the reason for his corruption can be traced back easily. His father was abusive and in a way it is hard to not become corrupt in those circumstances. When he officially entered into politics in 1920, he entered into the German Worker’s Party. He was intrigued by their anti-Jewish socialism and capitalist views. The other people in the party liked his charisma and he was appointed to a chairman position. Events transpired and Hitler was made Chancellor of Germany. He now had power and he was fully aware of this. This power let him unleash his formulated plans of many years (http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/adolf-hitler-8.php) Hitler’s rise to power in association with his rough childhood was a perfect equation for one of the most corrupt leaders ever known to man. Another man who was a seemingly natural leader corrupted by power was Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar did not start out from influential roots, though some of his relatives did have influential connections. Eventually he was appointed to a political position where he helped to shape the Roman Republic. Caesar sported an ego much too large for anyone’s liking. He is said to have divorced Pompeia saying, “The wife of Caesar must be above suspicion” http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html). Caesar was not necessarily corrupt in the definition of the word but he did let his power go to his head. For this and other reasons he was assassinated which is a prime example of how letting power get the best of someone can lead to their downfall. A third instance of power that corrupts is found in Alexander the Great. Son of Macedonian king Philip II Alexander clearly had noble blood in him already. It was obvious that he would be involved at government at the very least. Alexander had to work his way up to power just like most others who got it. He did have a bit of an advantage being a king’s son and that could have accounted for the fact that his people thought highly of him from the start. Even at a young age he was very commanding of his people. His reasoning behind going on his escapade of conquering was that he was revolting against the wrongs perpetrated by Persians. He does extremely well in his conquest and like Caesar begins to think highly of himself. He was told that he was a prophet, the son of a god and people revered him to a great extent (http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander00.html) He was a fantastic strategist who killed countless people with his imposing and he felt as if he was avenging Persian wrongs. At some point though, it became more than that to him. He had proved that he could defeat the Persians and smash them in to oblivion but he was not satisfied. Alexander began to conquer just to do it and that is what was corrupt about this man. The people in time who were corrupted by the power they obtained changed the world and had their names remembered. Each and every person who rose to power and realized that they could do so much more and everyone else was keeping them back can said to have been corrupt. Their virtues changed and they became shadows of their former selves. It is clear that when one receives so much power they change and become almost maniacal. Power does indeed corrupt. "Julius Caesar: Historical Background." VROMA :: Home. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. <http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html>.
"The ten-horned beast: Alexander the Great." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. <http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander00.html>.
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