Alexander

Warm Up!!!• Please answer the following warm up questions in

complete sentences:– Who was the greatest Greek poet and what did he

write?

– What Greek historian was actually accurate when he reported history? What book did he write?

– What was Socrates method to examine personal beliefs, such as finding out what is ‘truth’ and what is ‘real’?

The Rise of Macedonia• King Phillip II developed a powerful

military north of the Greek city-states in Macedonia.– Created a seemingly unbeatable

army.• Took advantage of a weakened

Greece after the Peloponnesian War and conquered all of Greece.– Greek city-states refused to unite

against Macedonia - Athens and Sparta continued to fight after the Peloponnesian War.

• Planned to attack Persia before he was murdered in 336 BCE.

Alexander the Great• Phillip’s son, Alexander, came to power at the age of

20.• Alexander learned science, geography, and literature as a

student of Aristotle.– Was inspired by heroic deeds of Achilles in the Iliad.

Alexander the Great - Macedonia

• Built a more powerful military - expanded the army by including soldiers from the Greek city-states.

• When the city of Thebes attempted to rebel, he destroyed the city and killed 6,000 people.– The survivors were sold into slavery.– Caused other city-states to end any thoughts of

rebellion.

Alexander’s Empire• Launched an attack on

the Persian empire.–Despite being

outnumbered, Alexander's army defeated the Persians.

– Persian king, Darius III, offered 1/3 of his empire to end the war, but Alexander wanted all of Persia.

–Destroyed the Persian army and took over Egypt and was crowned pharaoh in 332 BCE.• Claimed that the Oracle of Ammon identified him as the true son of Zeus.• Established the city of Alexandria in Egypt.

• Alexander marched his army through Iran and Afghanistan to India, where his men refused to go any further.– They had marched from Greece to Egypt and onto

India, covering more than 11,000 miles during the 11 year campaign.

• On the return to Greece, Alexander died in Babylon (part of his empire) at the age of 32 in 323 BCE.

• It was said that Alexander had predicted his empire would go to the strongest of his generals and after his death it was split between three generals:– Antigonus - King of Macedonia– Ptolemy - Pharaoh of Egypt– Seleucus - Emperor of Persia

• Alexander’s conquests brought an end to the era of independent city-states and led to the emergence of Hellenistic culture.

Hellenistic Era• Time period between

Alexander’s death (323 BCE) and the rise of the Roman empire (approximately 146 BCE)-marked the high-point for Greek influence in the world.

• Hellenistic culture combined Greek, Egyptian, and eastern customs and spread throughout Alexander’s empire.

• Alexander wanted to spread Greek culture to help control his vast empire.– He had thousands of his men marry Persian women.– Used Persian nobles to administer his conquered lands.– He adopted Persian dress and had Persians join the military.

• Alexander established new cities where Hellenic culture (products and ideas) were exchanged through trade.– Alexandria in Egypt emerged as the major center commerce

and Hellenic culture.

Alexandria• Located along the

Nile-had access to peoples from across the Mediterranean region.

• Emerged as a center for scientific advancements -the first research library in the world -the Alexandrian Library.

• Rivaled Athens as a center for education.– Ptolemy argued that the sun and stars orbited the

earth (geocentric theory), which was accepted until Copernicus proved it wrong in the 16th century (heliocentric theory).

– Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth to within 185 miles of its actual size (24,860 miles).