Alexander the Great

And Hellenistic Greece

After the Peloponnesian War

• There was no city-state strong enough to rule over all of Greece

• Invaders were constantly entering Greece and causing more disruption

• Nobody from within Greece could gain enough power to rule over the entire empire

Phillip II of Macedon

• King of Macedon ( a region north of Greece), considered a backwards society by the Greeks

• Phillip reorganized the Macedonian army and made it really powerful

• He then attacked and conquered Greece and united the Greek city-states (except Sparta)

• Started a quest to expand his empire and crush his enemies

• Assassinated

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Alexander’s Rise to Power

• Became king after his father’s death, was only 20

• Highly educated and well-trained in the military, had been groomed to take over as king

• As soon as he took power people started to revolt around Greece

• He treated rebels harshly – when Thebes rebelled, Alexander Destroyed their army, sold the people into slavery, and burned the city to the ground

Building an Empire

• Was a unique leader, did not follow tradition

• Fought alongside his troops during battle, earned their trust and loyalty

• Led very smart military campaigns, crushed his enemies easily, even when greatly outnumbered

• Greatly expanded the Greek empire

Alexander’s Empire

How did He Create Such a Huge Empire?

• First he attacked the Persians, who had a very unorganized military

• He then liberated Egypt from Persian control (Egyptians loved him)

• He destroyed the Persian army and took over their entire empire

• He continued to conquer territory farther east to India

• Alexander built the largest empire the world had ever seen – it only took him 13 years

• He died without naming an heir

Alexander and the Hellenistic World

• Hellenic - Greek• Hellenistic - Greeklike• Alexander’s empire brought together

many diverse societies and changing the empire’s culture

• His empire was no longer Hellenic• Alexander purposely blended Greek,

Persian, Egyptian, and Asian cultures to unite his empire

• Built cities across Middle East and Africa, and Asia and encouraged Greeks to settle there

Building Greek Cities in the EastBuilding Greek Cities in the East

Where is This

City?

Where is This

City?

CosmopolitCosmopolitanan

CultureCulture

Trade in the Empire

• Much of the empire was along the Silk Road

• Directly connected to Asia

• Made Hellenistic Greece incredibly powerful

• Also made it an easy target for invasion

Daily Life in Hellenistic Greece

• Government changed from a democracy to a monarchy

• Women gained more rights, could own property and receive an education

• People were exposed to more ideas than ever before

Hellenistic Achievements

• New types of philosophy were created

• Cynicism, Epicureanism, Stoicism

• Art became more feminine and flowing

• Major improvements in science

Advancements in Science

• Euclid – formulated ideas about geometry• Eratosthenes – calculated circumference of

the Earth• Archimedes – used math and physics to

create devices that make life easier (compound pulley)

Library at Alexandria

• Largest library in the ancient world

• Contained some of the most important works in the world

• Reflects emphasis on knowledge

• Most of it was destroyed in multiple fires, which were common in libraries at the time

After Alexander’s death

• There was no clear leader so military generals split the empire into 5 parts: Egypt, Greece, Macedonia, Central Asia, and Persia

• Never as strong as it was when Alexander was alive

• New rulers were not powerful and each new territory eventually was invaded

The Breakup of Alexander’s Empire

The Breakup of Alexander’s Empire