Chapter 6 Greeces Golden and Hellenistic Ages

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Chapter 6 Greeces Golden and Hellenistic Ages

• Section 3 Alexander the Great

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Section 3 Alexander the Great

• Through a brilliant career of military
• conquest, the Macedonian leader Alexander
• the Great built an empire that reached from the
  Mediterranean to the Indus River valley.
  
• To rule more efficiently, Alexander
• encouraged a blending of Greek culture with
• the customs of conquered peoples. An
• ancient historian wrote about Alexander,
• He understood that the sharing of race
• and customs is a great step towards
• softening mens hearts.

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I. Philip of Macedon

• After its golden age, Greece entered a period
• of struggle and competition among the city-
• states

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I. Philip of Macedon

• In 359 B. C., Philip II of Macedon became king
• of Macedonia, located north of Greece

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I. Philip of Macedon

• Philip organized a well-disciplined army and
• borrowed the Greek idea of the phalanx

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I. Philip of Macedon

• Philip conquered Athenian colonies in the
• north, then turned south to the Greek heartland

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I. Philip of Macedon

• Some Greeks saw Philip as a savior who could
• unify Greece while others, such as
• Demosthenes, opposed Philip

Demosthenes (384 BC - 322 BC) is generally
considered the greatest of all Ancient Greek
orators. He is best-known for his Philippic
Orations, urging the populace to rise up and
defend their country against Philip II of
Macedon, who was steadily gaining power and
territory for the Macedonian state.
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I. Philip of Macedon

• In 338 B.C. Philip defeated Athens and Thebes
• at the Battle of Chaeronea and united Greece
• under his rule

Philip's military zenith was at the battle at
Chaeronea in August of 338 B.C.E. Philip's army
was greatly outnumbered by the Athenian and
Theban forces, yet his phalanxes overwhelmed the
Athenians and Thebans.
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I. Philip of Macedon

• Philip planned to invade Persia but was
• assassinated in 336 B.C.

Philip was hosting a massive banquet as a going
away party before he left for Asia. Philip wanted
his march into the theater to be triumphant, and
so he asked his bodyguards to stand back and out
of the way to show to his people that he had
nothing to fear. At that very moment, however, a
man named Pausanias rushed forward from the crowd
and stuck a dagger in Philip's chest. During his
escape, Pausanias tripped and fell and was killed
on the spot.
Theater of Aegae, the theater in which King
Philip II was assassinated
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II. Alexander the Great

• Philip was succeeded by his 20-year-old son,
• Alexander

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II. Alexander the Great

• Alexander received military training in the
• Macedonian army and studied with Aristotle

In this 19th-century engraving, Aristotle tutors
Alexander in 342 B.C. in Macedonia at the
invitation of Alexander's father, Philip II of
Macedon. Aristotle spent seven years tutoring the
future general.
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II. Alexander the Great

• By 331 B.C., Alexander had destroyed Persia
• and conquered Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and
• Mesopotamia

Alexander the Great fighting Persian king Darius
(Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original
Greek painting, now lost).
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II. Alexander the Great

• By 326 B.C. Alexander had reached the Indus
• River, but his is army refused to go on
• and Alexander was forced to turn back

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II. Alexander the Great

• On the return trip, Alexander became seriously
• ill in Babylon and died in 323 BC at the age of
• 32

Death of Alexander
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II. Alexander the Great

• In 13 years, Alexander had conquered most
• of the known world

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III. The Spread of Greek Culture

• Alexander spread Greek culture by founding
• cities and settling them with Greeks and
• Macedonians

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III. The Spread of Greek Culture

• Alexander had Macedonians, Greeks, and
• Persians work together to govern the empire

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III. The Spread of Greek Culture

• He spread a new culture that was no longer
• purely Hellenic, or Greek, but Hellenistic, or
• Greek-like

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IV. The Breakup of Alexanders Empire

• After Alexanders death, his generals divided
• the empire into three main kingdoms
• Macedon, Egypt, and Syria

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B. The Breakup of Alexanders Empire

• In about 200 B.C. Romans invaded Macedon
• and eventually conquered the Hellenistic
• empire