The Decline of the City-State& the rise of the Hellenistic Age

Alexander the Great (336-323 BC)

Effects of the Peloponnesian Wars, 431-404 BC

• Despite the restoration of democratic government, Athens never returned to its former power…

• A spirit of pessimism and disillusionment prevailed among intellectuals & the young

• Constant warfare among other states continued…

• In 371, Sparta lost its first war to Thebes• The loss of manpower on both sides

weakened all of Greece

Philip II of Macedon r. 359-336 BC• An ambitious

and resourceful ruler of Macedonia who built up his army and planned to conquer the Greeks and the Persians.

“The Philippics”

• A series of fiery speeches by Demosthenes

• In 338 BC, Philip defeated Athens and its allies and created “The League of Corinth”

Aristotle tutoring Alexander

(J. L. Ferris, 1895)

Alexander the Great, r 336-323 BC

• Inherited an empire• Destruction of Thebes

Alexander III…The Legend:

• He wanted to conquer the known world…

• His goal may have been to have a stable empire with no threats to his vast holdings…

• Some say he had a vision to unite the human race and create one empire where people could live in peace and harmony…

• Another interpretation sees him as a paranoiac-tyrant.

Alexander in Egypt

• Welcomed as a liberator from Persian tyranny• Hailed as Pharoah and given the double crown of Upper

and Lower Egypt• Irony: a barbarian chief of a backwater kingdom in the

Balkan mountains had become the ruler of the oldest civilization on earth.

• Egypt had always been the object of awe and source of inspiration to the Greeks

• Egyptian priesthood proclaimed him the son of Amun-Ra (whom they identified as Zeus) and therefore a god himself.

Alexander’s final campaign…

• Alexander’s expansionism ended in the mountainous regions of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) where his army experienced its hardest fighting and never succeeded in getting more than a tenuous hold on the territory.

• Alexander’s last battle, Hydaspes, 326 BC, on the banks of the Indus River, was an empty victory- his famous horse Bucephalus was killed and his men, thousands of miles and eight years from home, refused to go on.

Alexander died in 323 BC

• Returning to Babylon, Alexander began the

consolidation of his empire:

> integrated Greek and Persian armies

> arranged a mass marriage of his Greek

officers with Persian noblewomen;

>punished soldiers who did not respect Persian culture;

• Adopted Persian dress for himself• Encouraged the ritual of proskynesis

Alexander’s Legacy… • He pushed the world in a new direction- a fusion of disparate people & an intermingling of cultures

• The Hellenistic Age begins with his death in 323 BC and ends with the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC.

Alexander’s vast empire merged many peoples into a new, cosmopolitan culture known as “Hellenistic Civilization.”

• Map of Alex empire goes here

The empire was divided among 4 generals

Seleucus; Ptolemy; Lysimachus and Cassander

Cosmopolitanism…

• In the lands he conquered, Alexander introduced Greek language, literature and art;

• established over 70 cities: Alexandria• Hellenistic society is characterized by a mingling

of Greek, Egyptian & Persian cultures• A world community joined by commerce, trade

and travel replaced the Polis as the center of life• New philosophies- Stoicism and Epicureanism

emerged to help the common man cope with their new status in a world community instead of the local polis.

Hellenistic Science and Math

• Euclid (about 300 BC): Geometry

• Archimedes (287-212 BC): Mathematician and Scientist – discovered principles of the lever, the pulley and specific gravity.

• Aristarchus (310-230 BC): Astronomy-concluded the earth revolved around the sun

• Architecture: emphasized size and grandeur• Sculpture: showed realism and individuality

Zeno (342-270 BC) Stoicism:

• Urged individuals to live according to reason and be indifferent to pleasure and pain

• Avoid desires and disappointments; calmly accept whatever life brings your way…

• The commonality of Man: all people are morally equal, including women and slaves, because all have the power to reason…

• Advocated high moral standards including protecting the rights of fellow human beings

Epicurus, (341-270 BC) -Epicureanism:

• Strive for individual happiness in the big, confusing world by avoiding pain and anxiety…

• Criticized attempts to gain wealth, power or fame because it increases anxiety…

• Enjoy the simple pleasures of life- talking with friends, enjoying good food or just “lying on soft grass near a running stream.”

• Later followers stressed the “pleasure” rather than the simplicity!

The alter to Zeus at Pergamon, Asia Minor

Architecture: emphasized size and grandeur

Sculpture: showed realism and emotion

Any Questions?