Ancient Greece Macedonia and Hellenistic Notes Essential Questions

Ancient Greece Macedonia and Hellenistic Notes

Essential Questions Why was Greece so easily conquered by Macedonia? What enabled Alexander the Great to conquer Persia? Why did the Egyptians welcome Alex and his soldiers? After reaching India, why did Alex agree to return home? What four civilizations influenced Hellenistic

Macedonia After the Peloponnesian War, Sparta and Athens continued to fight each other. Nearby in Macedonia, King Philip II was paying attention and dreamed of controlling Greece. Then he dreamed of moving through Persia and taking its wealth and power.

Macedonia Background Lots of mountains and a cold climate Lived in mountain villages rather than city-states Thought of themselves as Greeks looked down on them and considered them uncivilized

Macedonia Army Well-trained and professional army Phalanxes that were 16 men across and 16 deep Used 18 -foot pikes to pave the way for cavalry strikes through enemy lines

Macedonia Conquering Greece Demosthenes tried to warn the Greeks of an attack by Philip and his army Finally, Athens and Thebes joined together to stop him, but it was too late The Macedonians defeated the Greeks at the battle of Chaeronea

Macedonia – The Fall of Philip II At his daughter’s wedding, a former guardsman stabbed Philip II to death Philip II’s son, Alexander, immediately declared himself king of Macedonia Alex later became known as Alexander the Great

Ancient Greece Alexander the Great: Hero or Villain?

Alexander in Thebes Unified all of Greece by stopping rebellion Showed compassion toward some Theban citizens and priests Brutally stopped Theban fight for independence Killed 6, 000 Thebans, sold 20, 000 into slavery, destroyed the entire city

Alexander in Egypt Enthroned as a king Founded Alexandria, a great center for learning and Greek/Near East culture Only founded the site for Alexandria, did not help it grow and rise in power Excluded Egyptians role in the city’s development

Alexander in Persia Defeated the Persian army at Issus and conquered the empire Military campaign was brutal and it didn’t matter how many men died Respected native people, religious tolerance, and appointed Persian governors Destroyed and burned Persepolis, the Persian capital to the ground

Alexander in India Defeated king Porus Questioned Indian holy men to learn about Hinduism and culture Spent three years killing men and selling women and children into slavery Finally his own troops demanded they return home

Hellenistic Culture Greek culture blended with Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences

Hellenistic Culture Alexandria Became the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization Became an international community Had a rich mixture of customs and traditions from Egypt and the Aegean The center of scholarship shifted here from Athens Main areas of dominance were astronomy, math, physics, philosophy, and art