GreeceGreeceThe Golden AgeThe Golden Age

AgendaAgenda6.3 Outline

OutlineOutlineA.  Philip of Macedon

1.     359 B.C. he becomes king of Macedonia – after being captive in Thebes as a youth.2.     recruited and organized the best disciplined army in Macedonian history3.     organized his infantry into phalanxes ( rows of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder)

a.     they carried pikes or spears that were about 18 feet longb.     phalanxes were extremely effective vs. cavalry charges

OutlineOutlineA.  Philip of Macedon

4. Goalsa. Restore order in Macedonb. Control Athenian colonies in the

northc. Conquer all of Greece.

Outline (Continued)5.     Demosthenes – spoke out against Philip II

a.     tried to get Athens to fight for liberty from Phillipb.     his attempts failed because the other city states

would not follow and were crushed by Phillip.6.     Philip defeated Thebes and Athens at the

Battle of Chaeronea which united Greece under Phillip’s rule.

7.     Philip was assassinated before he could invade Persia.

8. Philip’s son – Alexander – took over for him after he died.

Outline (Continued)B.  Alexander the Great (son of Phillip II

of Macedon)1.     Alexander received the best training

possiblea.     military training in the Macedonian armyb.     formal education from Aristotle

2.     Alexander crushed local rebellions then set off to conquer the world

3.     completely destroyed Persia by 331 B.C. and in the process conquered Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia

Outline (Concluded)4.     His goal was to conquer India, but

his troops fought for 4 yrs. and refused to go any farther

5.     ATG split his army into two groupsa.  one sailed west exploring the Persian

Gulfb.  ATG led the other half across the desert

(many of his troops died)6.  ATG contracted a fever and died in

June of 323 B.C. before he turned 33

Alexander the Great   C. Beginnings of the Hellenistic World1.  ATG purposely spread the Greek & founded

cities where Greeks/Macedonians lived with the Persians

2.  With the Greeks, Persians, and Macedonians working together ATG was able to rule much more efficiently

3.  ATG married two Persian women and required his generals to marry royal Persian women

Alexander the Great4.  ATG also held a mass wedding where

10,000 of his troops married Persian women

5.  Hellenistic culture combined ideas and values drawn from the Greek, Hellenic, Mediterranean, and Asia.

6.  Hellenistic period lasted from ATG death to the Roman conquest in 146 BC

Alexander the Great7.  After ATG’s death his generals

competed for his empirea.  3 generals divided the empire into

3 main kingdoms Macedon, Egypt, and Syria

b.  these kingdoms were often at war until they were conquered by the  Romans

The Spread of Hellenistic Culture

A. Learning and Commerce1. Greek culture both affected and was

affected by the cultures of those they conquered.

2. Alexandria, Egypt becomes the center of Greek trade, education and culture.

3. Education becomes more common.4. Women have more rights.

Spread of Hellenistic CultureB. Religion and Philosophy

1. Loss of identity with “Polis” leads to personal search for meaning and identity.

2. “Ruler Worship” and mystery religions take begin to replace traditional Greek religion.

3. Philosophy begins to focus on Ethics.

Religion and PhilosophyB. Religion and Philosophy (cont.)

3. Four schools of philosophy.a. Cynicism – live simply and naturally. Don’t

worry about wealth, pleasure or status.b. Skepticism – nothing is certain. This should

give peace of mind.c. Stoicism (Zeno)

i. Divine Reason (God) directs the universe, so, accept your fate.

ii. All people have a divine “spark” inside themiii. Influenced Roman/Christian thinking.

Religion and Philosophyd. Epicureanism (Epicurus) – seek

pleasure and avoid pain BUT limit desires in order to avoid suffering.

Science in the Hellenistic AgeC. Mathematics and Physics

1. Euclid – contributed to development of geometry. Elements is still the basis for modern geometry.

2. Archimedes – inventor and scientist. Used math to explain how levers worked. Invented compound pulley and the Archimedes screw.

Science in the Hellenistic AgeD. Medicine

1. Alexandria, Egypt – center for medical science

2. Egyptian practice of embalming led to exploration of parts of human body

3. Herophilus – brain is the center of the nervous system.

4. Begin to perform delicate surgery.

Science in the Hellenistic AgeE. Astronomy and geography

1. Aristarchus – believed earth and planets revolve around the sun (not accepted).

2. Hipparchus – used trigonometry to predict eclipses and the sun and moon to calculate the length of the year.

3. Eratosthenes – calculated the circumference of the earth (very accurate). Chosen to head the library of Alexandria.