Alexander the Great

[snopes]

Comment: Is this true? There are several sites that have the following
rumor about Alexander the Great, told slightly different in each instance:

"Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military generals who ever
lived, conquered almost the entire known world with his vast army. One
night during a campaign, he couldn't sleep and left his tent to walk
around the campgrounds.
As he was walking he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty - a
serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some
cases, instant death; the commanding officer sometimes poured kerosene on
the sleeping soldier and lit it.
The soldier began to wake up as Alexander the Great approached him.
Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his
life. "Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?"
Alexander the Great asked the soldier.
"Yes, sir," the soldier responded in a quivering voice.
"Soldier, what's your name?" demanded Alexander the Great.
"Alexander, sir."
Alexander the Great repeated the question: "What is your name?"
"My name is Alexander, sir," the soldier repeated.
A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, "What is
your name?"
A third time the soldier meekly said, "My name is Alexander, sir."
Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the
eye. "Soldier," he said with intensity, "either change your name or change
your conduct." "

[charlie23]

Kerosene was first refined in 1846 by Abraham Gesner, post-dating Alexander the Great's CO by a few centuries or so.
This story seems to have originated in a Baptist sermon and got passed along after that. Seems to be a staple for preachers who can't think up anything original judging by Google...

[Pseudo_Croat]

Maybe the commanding officer used olive oil or petroleum to ignite sleeping soldiers?

- Pseudo "oil of 'Ow!'-lay" Croat

[ThistleS]

This has to have the worst "punchline" of any of these supposedly instructive history myths. Change your name or change your conduct? Wow, brilliant leadership.

Originally Posted by ThistleS

This has to have the worst "punchline" of any of these supposedly instructive history myths. Change your name or change your conduct? Wow, brilliant leadership.

Yeah. That's actually pretty ridiculous. I don't see how anybody could ever deliver that line without laughing.