Alexander the Great What’s in a name?

Philip II ● King of Macedonia ● Created a professional army

○ Used a phalanx ● Conquered Greece ● Assassinated

○ But by whom?

Phalanx ● Rows of soldiers ● 21 foot pikes ● Effective against

cavalry

Early Life ● Fought with Philip ● Taught by Aristotle ● Maybe assassinated

Philip

Conquests ● “Master of Greece” ● Defeated Darius III

to conquer Persia in 331 B.C.

● Pushed towards India ● Admired Achilles ● Gordion Knot

The End of the Earth ● Made it to India

○ Enslaved and slaughtered his enemies

● Army forced him to turn back ○ Made it to Indus River ○ Returned to Susa ○ Withdrew from public life

● Died in Babylon after battling a fever for 10 days

Legacy ● Empire broken into 3 kingdoms

○ Macedonia, Egypt, and Syria ● Accomplished:

○ Spread Greek culture ■ Alexandrias ■ Hellenistic culture

influenced Western Civilization

○ Cultural integration ○ God-king

Questions? ● Was Alexander the Great’s empire really a “one world”

empire? ● What factors led to the breakup of his empire? ● How has Hellenistic culture influenced Western

Civilization? ● Was Alexander the Great really great? Why or why not?

○ Compare his actions to the list we made at the beginning of class.