Section Five Alexander the Hellenistic Kingdoms ObjectivesI can

Section Five: Alexander & the Hellenistic Kingdoms

Objectives/”I can statements” • Explain how Alexander the Great created his empire.

I. The Threat of Macedonia • Macedonia northern neighbors • Did not live in city-states • Viewed as barbarians

The Threat of Macedonia • 359 B. C. , Philip II king of Macedonia • *Crushed the Greeks at the battle of Chaeronea in 338 B. C. • Wanted to conquer Persia, but was assassinated

II. Alexander the Great • *Alexander the Great was the son of Philip II • Became king at age 20 • Educated by Aristotle • Envisioned a world of mixed cultures

Alexander the Great (356 -323 BC)

Alexander the Great • Married two Persian princesses • His father taught him military tactics & leadership

A. Alexander’s Conquests • By 331 B. C. he had conquered Persia • Established the city of Alexandria in Egypt • In 326 B. C. he crossed the Indus River

Alexander’s Conquests • Soldiers refused to fight, so he agreed to return home • Died in Babylon, exhausted from wounds, fever & alcohol

B. The Legacy of Alexander • Courage & mastery of military tactics • His example inspired men to follow him • *Due to his conquests, Greek language, architecture, literature & art spread throughout Southwest Asia & the near East

III. The Hellenistic Kingdoms • *Alexander created a new age, the Hellenistic Era, “to imitate Greeks” • *The expansion of the Greek language & ideas to the non. Greek world of Southwest Asia & beyond

Four Hellenistic Kingdoms • 1. Macedonia • 2. Syria • 3. Pergamum, in western Asia • 4. Egypt

IV. Hellenistic Culture • Considerable cultural achievement • Cultural center was Alexandria • Alexandria library was the largest of its kind

A. Architecture & Sculpture • Baths, theaters & temples • Sculptors added realism & emotion

Greek Theater at Ahprodisias

B. Literature • Appolonius of Rhodes epic poem Argonautica • Story of Jason & the Golden Fleece • Theocritus wrote short poems • Expressed love of nature

C. Science • *Eratosthenes, determined that Earth was round & calculated Earth’s circumference at 24, 675 miles, an estimate that was within 200 miles of the actual figure

C. Science • *Euclid, wrote the Elements, a textbook on plane geometry, this work has been used up to modern times

D. Philosophy • *Epicurus, believed that happiness was the goal of life, the means to achieve happiness was the pursuit of pleasure, the only true good • Epicureanism

Philosophy • Zeno found Stoicism • *Stoicism, happiness could be found only when people gained inner peace by living in harmony with the will of God