ANCIENT GREECEAlexander the Great
Macedonia
Kingdom just north of Greece Greeks thought Macedonians were
barbarians Macedonians thought of themselves as
Greek Spoke Greek
King Philip of Macedon
From Macedonia Studied in Greece when he was young Macedonia was poor and divided
Philip united Macedonia Wanted to conquer Greek city-states
Created alliances with them by threat/bribe Built army stronger than Sparta’s
Conquered remaining city-states Athens and Thebes tried to fight Philip
338 BC Failed, and Philip took control of all of Greece
Alexander the Great
Philip wanted to conquer all of Persia next Assassinated in 336BC
Alexander the Great Philip’s son Became king at age 20 Had been educated in Greece by Aristotle Took Achilles as his hero instead
Vowed to visit site of Ancient Troy and lay a wreath on Achilles’ tomb
Achilles was the hero from the Iliad
Alexander the Great’s Conquests
Invaded Persian Empire Empire weaker than it had been Still huge
Egypt to India Success at conquering his own empire
Took Persia, Egypt, lands beyond the Indus River
Built cities wherever he conquered Named many after himself: Alexandria,
Alexandroupolis
Stretching Too Far
Success came from driving his army hard Didn’t lose battles
Troops refused to go on Soon after crossing Indus River
Alexander upset, but turned back Caught fever in 323 BC
Age 33 Died
Sickness the cause?
Hellenism
Kingdom split into thirds 50 years after his death Greece/Macedonia, Egypt, Persia Each ruled by one of his former commanders Greek cities formed in each of these empires
Modeled after Ancient Greece Language, architecture, entertainment
People moved from Greece to these cities Spread Greek culture
Hellenism Greek culture after the death of Alexander the
Great Hellas was the name the Greeks gave to their land
Alexandria
Greatest of Hellenistic cities Located in Egypt at the Nile Delta
Became capital Center of business and trade Lighthouse Library
Largest in the world 500,000 scrolls Used by scholars from all over the world
Math and Science
Euclid Developed geometry Geometric proofs explaining geometric shapes
Eratosthenes Calculated distance around the earth Very close to correct distance
Archimedes Developed the system of pulleys and levers for
heavy lifting Aristarchus
Believed sun to be center of universe, not the earth