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
- Slides: 23