AFTER the Peloponnesian War

• Both Athens and Sparta declined in power

• Thebes became the strongest polis in Greece

• There was still bitter competition between the poleis of Greece, which weakened Greece, and made it hard for them to unite.

•Macedonia was a kingdom north of

Greece

•The Macedonians were a hardy, warlike people, who lived in

villages ruled by nobles.

•The King of Macedonia ruled with

the support of the nobles

•Macedonians were less advanced than the Greeks, and the

Greeks regarded them as barbarians.

PHILIP II

• In 359 BC Philip II of Macedon became King.

• As a youth, Philip II had been a hostage in Thebes for 3 years, and had come to learn about and admire Greek ways.

• He also learned much about the army of Thebes and how it was organized.

Philip’s Army• Using the army of Thebes as a model, Philip II began to build a

powerful, well-organized and highly disciplined, professional army

• Borrowed the Greek idea of the phalanx, but made his phalanxes bigger-16 men deep, and the men carried longer spears, about 16 feet long!

• Also used heavily armed cavalry. Cavalry had rarely been used by the Greeks.

• Philip II’s army was now stronger than any Greek army

Philip II of Macedon conquers Greece

• Philip used his army to win control of several Athenian colonies in Northern Greece

• People of Greece had different views of Philip II– Some saw him as the man who could unify

Greece– Some saw him as a dangerous threat to their

freedom– The famous Athenian orator Demosthenes warned

the Athenians in his fiery speeches about the threat of an attack by Philip II. The Athenians finally began to listen to Demosthenes and tried to get the other Greeks to unite against him.

Philip II

• Athens and Thebes finally united against Philip II but it was too late.

• In 338BC Philip II defeated the forces of Athens & Thebes at the battle of Chaeronea. Now Greece was conquered & Philip ruled both Macedon & Greece. He dreamed of conquering Persia.

• In 336BC, before he could carry out his dream of conquering Persia Philip II was murdered at his daughter’s wedding. The throne passed to his son Alexander.

ALEXANDER

• Son of Philip II and his wife Olympias (Philip had several wives)

• Loved the story of the Iliad, and wanted to be like Achilles

• Philip II arranged for Alexander to be tutored for 3 years by Aristotle

• Aristotle gave Alexander his formal education, while his father gave him his military training.

Alexander & Bucephalus• When Alex was about 10

years old, someone gave his father a very wild horse & nobody could tame him.

• Alex decided to try. He realized the horse was afraid of his own shadow, so he turned the horse toward the sun, and was able to tame & ride him

• The horse was Bucephalus, the horse Alex rode throughout most of his military career.

ALEXANDER• At 18, Alexander commanded the

cavalry at the battle of Chaeronea. • At age 20, on his father’s death, Alex

became king of Macedon. • Thinking Alex was young and less

tough than his father, the Greek polis of Thebes tried to rebel.

• Alex put down the rebellion, and burned Thebes to the ground, sparing only the temples and the house of the long dead poet Pindar.

• Alex slaughtered or sold into slavery almost the whole population of Thebes.

• Greece had learned its lesson.

START OF ALEXANDER’S CONQUESTS

• Determined to carry out his father’s dream of conquering Persia.

• The Persian Empire under Darius III was now large but weak. It included Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Persia.

• 334BC: Alex crossed into Asia Minor and smashed a Persian army at the battle of the Granicus River.

• Turned north to visit the town of Gordium, where the famous “Gordian Knot” was located. There was a prophesy that whoever could untie the knot would rule Asia.

• Alex tried to untie the knot, got frustrated and slashed his sword through it.

Alex’s Conquests continue

• Darius III of Persia raised a huge army and faced Alex again near Issus.

• Alex was outnumbered by the Persians at least 3 to 1.

• Using a daring cavalry charge to break through a weak point, Alex won the battle.

• Darius III fled (leaving his mother, wife and children behind, whom Alex treated with great respect).

Into Syria & Phoenicia

• Alex marched south & took the cities of Phoenicia

• The city Tyre, which was located on an island near the coast and had strong walls, resisted.

• Alex actually had an earthen bridge built from the mainland to Tyre, in order to get to it.

• Alex used battering rams, huge siege towers with bridges, and the torsion catapult.

• After a long siege, Alex took Tyre.

Into Egypt• 332BC: Alex marched into Egypt, where he

was welcomed as a liberator by the Egyptians, who resented the Persians.

• Alex was crowned Pharaoh. Alex was even told by an Egyptian priest that he was the son of the Egyptian God Ammon! Alex liked this idea, and he was worshipped by the Egyptians as Zeus- Ammon!

• Alex. founded the city of Alexandria, Egypt, which would become one of the most important cities in the ancient world.

END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE• Alex. left Egypt in 331 and headed

north. Darius III, with a huge Persian army, faced Alex. one last time, at Gaugamela. Alex won.

• Persian emperor DariusIII fled & was now on the run

• Alex marched into Babylon and took it. Alex then took the Persian capitals of Susa and Persepolis.

• Alex knew that the Persian Empire was not completely defeated, as long as Darius III was alive and free. He pursued Darius.

* As Alex approached, Darius III was killed by his own men, and his body was left on a roadside for Alex to find. – Persian Empire collapsedDarius

ALEXANDER’S AMBITION• Alexander continued to march eastward.

– Convinced that it was his destiny to conquer the world, although some of his men did not like this plan.

– Also did not like the way Alexander had gone native

» Wearing Persian clothes, adopting Persian rituals, appointing Persians to important positions, adding Persian contingents to the army.

» Alexander marched east into Bactria (Afghanistan). There he married a Bactrian princess, Roxane.

• Several conspiracies were launched to overthrow Alexander. He discovered all of them and executed all those involved

Alex marches east

TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD• Marched east through Bactria

(Afghanistan) • Crossed the Hindu Kush

mountains and reached the Indus River

• He fought a fierce battle at the Hydaspes river against King Porus (an Indian King).

• Alex won this battle, even though the Indians used 200 war elephants, which Alex and his men had never seen before.

• However, Alex’s horse Bucephalus was killed during this battle.

Alexander turns back

• Alexander’s men refused to go any further

• Alexander cried!

• He sent part of his men back by sea, taking a water route up through the Persian Gulf

• He led the rest of his army back across the desert.

• The two parts met back up in Babylon

ALEXANDER’S PLAN– Wanted to create a new

Macedonian/Persian ruling class which would permanently join East and West

• Ordered officers to marry Persian women and conducted a mass wedding ceremony

– By blending conquered and conqueror, he hoped to install an element of stability in his empire

DEATH OF ALEXANDER

• In June 323BC, in Babylon, Alexander got sick. He had a raging fever. He died at the age of 32

• Exact cause of death is unknown.

• When Alexander was asked “To whom do you leave your empire?” The dying Alexander replied,”To the strongest”

SUCCESSOR KINGDOMS

Ptolemy took Egypt

Antigonus took Macedonia and Greece

Seleucus took over

Syria, most of Asia Minor,

Mesopotamia, and western

Persia

HELLENISTIC AGE• “Hellas” is the Greek word for Greece. “Hellenistic” means “Greek-like”

• “Hellenistic culture” was Greek culture combined with Persian and Egyptian: a combination of the cultures of conqueror and conquered.

• Everywhere Alexander had gone, he spread Greek culture. This culture blended with Persian and Egyptian cultures. Hellenistic culture spread across western Asia and Egypt

• “Hellenistic Period”: Period from the death of Alex (323BC) to conquest of Greece by Rome (146BC)

• “Hellenistic World”: The whole area conquered & ruled by Alexander: Macedonia & Greece, Western Asia, Egypt

•

Hellenistic Age-Economy & Commerce

• Hellenistic Society-small group of wealthy people, small middle-class groups, large group of poor people

• Hellenistic Society helped the middle group thrive and grow

• Trade, which was mainly based in cities, grew in the Hellenistic World

• Alexandria, Egypt-largest Hellenistic city & center of trade

Alexandria, Egypt• Most important city in the Hellenistic World• Had a great center of learning called the Museum, which

means House of the Muses. The Museum included lecture halls, laboratories, and a great library which contained thousands of papyrus scrolls.

• Had the famous lighthouse, the “Pharos”

Hellenistic Age-Education

• Cities (especially Alexandria, Egypt) became centers of learning as well as trade

• Alexandria, Egypt, had a huge library with thousands of papyrus scrolls

• Greek became the 2nd language for all educated people

• The middle class began to get more education & freer lifestyle

• Women appeared more often in public & got more rights

Hellenistic Age- Religion

• Hellenistic rulers encouraged “ruler worship”. Devotion to the ruler replaced devotion to the polis (the polis no longer existed).

• “Mystery religions”, including the worship of Isis (which had originated in Egypt) and Cybele (originated in Asia Minor) spread throughout the Hellenistic World.

• “Mystery religions” involved secret teachings that had to do with life after death and immortality

POPULAR PHILOSOPHIES

• They developed partly in response to the mixture of Greek and non-Greek culture

• Most important: Stoicism, Cynicism, Skepticism, Epicureanism

CYNICISM • Believed that the main source of unhappiness

was that men were too concerned about social status and material possession

• People should live simply, without regard for pleasure, wealth or social status.

• Diogenes –most famous cynic– Lived in Athens– Plato called him “A Socrates gone mad.– Totally rejected social conventions & lived in a tub. – Diogenes “lived like a dog”; to the term“Cynicism”

comes from the Greek word for “dog”. – Often wandered around with a lantern; when people

asked him why, he said he was “looking for an honest man”

Skepticism

• The universe is always changing, so all knowledge is uncertain

• People can find peace of mind by accepting this fact

STOICISM • Believed that divine reason rules the world

• Believed that people can achieve inner peace by accepting their place in the universe and not trying to change it;

• People should accept whatever happens to them without complaint

• You can’t control what happens to you; you can only control your reaction to it.

• Every person has a “spark” of the divine within him/herPeople should do good without expectation of reward, and should show respect to all other people

• Founded by Zeno

EPICUREANISM • People should avoid pain and pursue simple, moderate pleasure

(not excessive pleasure, because this eventually brings pain)

• The best way to avoid pain is to eliminate fear and excessive desire.

• The only realty is the physical world. Death is final and there is no life after death.

• Founded by Epicurus

• “Epicurean” has come to mean a person who has a great love of good food, but this is not the historical meaning.

Hellenistic Science

• Scientists learned a lot using very simple instruments

• Showed little interest in turning their discoveries into labor-saving machines

• Much of the scientific research was centered at the great “Museum” in Alexandria

Hellenistic Age-Scientists & Mathematicians

• EUCLID– Developed geometry as we know it– Started with axioms, self-evident truths, and

used them to prove “theorems” – Euclid’s “The Elements” is still the basis of

many of today’s geometry books

Hellenistic Scientists-Archimedes• Greatest scientist of the Hellenistic World• When he figured out that you can determine the

volume of an object by the amount of water it displaces, he said “Eureka”!

• Calculated the value of π• Many cool inventions:

– Archimedes Screw-pulled water up– Built devices to help his city, Syracuse, try to fight the

Romans, including a huge “claw” that grabbed enemy ships and flipped them over.

Hellenistic Medical Science

• Research and teaching was centered at the “Museum” of Alexandria.

• Greek and Egyptian medical knowledge came together.

• Hellenistic doctors learned much about anatomy from the art of Egyptian embalming

• Also dissected the bodies of executed criminals• Cataloged the parts of the human body• These medical advances allowed them to

perform delicate surgery.

Hellenistic Astronomy-Eratosthenes

• Hellenistic scientists already knew the earth was round

• Eratosthenes (276BC-194BC)was the head of the library of Alexandria.

• Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth with amazing accuracy

• Used geometry. Knew the sun was directly overhead at noon on the first day of summer at a city in southern Egypt. Calculated the angle of the sun on the same day at the same time in Alexandria. Measured the distance between the cities.

Eratosthenes-circumference of the earth• At Syrene, the sun was at

zenith (directly overhead), at mid-summer

• At Alexandria, the sun was 7.2° from zenith at mid-summer

• That meant the distance from Alexandria to Syrene was about 7.2/360 of the circumference of the earth.

• The distance from Syrene to Alexandria was 5000 Stadia (800 km)

• Therefore the circumference of the earth was about 250,000 stadia or 40,000km (less than 2% error)

Hellenistic Astronomy & Geography• Most astronomers believed the earth was in the center

and the planets and stars moved around the earth. This came to be called the Ptolemaic system

• Aristarchus correctly believed the sun was in the center, but few people believed him.