Chapter 5 Section 5
Alexander and the Hellenistic Age
Philip of Macedonia grew up in Thebes, went home with a plan
By the time Athens takes the threat seriously it’s too late
Becomes king in 359BC
Builds superb army
threats bribery and diplomacy makes alliances with most poli
force against others
338BC Athens and Thebes – Philip wins
Wanted the Persian Empire
killed at his daughter’s wedding
Olympias schemes, and Alexander is king
20 years old but very experienced soldier
Musters forces to go after Persia – Darius III not his grandfather – Persian provinces were often in rebellion, and things are not going well, should be an easy conquest for Alexander
Alexander goes in 334BC with enough ships to cross the Dardenelles
Persian Empire is still big but faltering
Alexander is on it – goes for it. Marches through Asia Minor and on through Palestine, ends up in Egypt. By 331BC he Ends up marching into Babylon – but Darius is murdered before Alexander can get to him
On to northern India to face troops on Elephants in 326 BC. The soldiers were tired and insisted that he turn back, they were ready to go home. Alexander turned back to Babylon, where he stopped to consider his next campaign.
But before he can start out again he is struck with a fever and as he lies dying the commanders ask who he wants to succeed him. He manages to say “To the strongest” and then he dies.
Except there is no “strongest”. Three generals divide up the empire (Greece, Egypt and Persia) and for the next 300 years their descendants fought each other to conquer the other’s lands.
Legacy of Alexander:
Everywhere he went Alexander took Greek culture. Founding new cities across the old Persian empire where soldiers, traders and artisans settled and made statues, had athletic contests, and opened schools, set up the kind of lives they were used to at home. Local people absorbed the new culture and assimilated into the Greek way of life, and the settlers adopted aspects of the local cultures too.
This blending of cultures creates a vibrant new way of life. Alexander had married a Persian wife, adopted Persian dress and some customs. He encouraged others to do the same. After his death the blending of cultures from Egypt, Persia, Greece and India created the Hellenistic civilization that would flourish in this region for centuries.
The crown jewel – the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
a planned city, drawn up by a Greek
a million people from all over Alexander’s empire
a crossroads between east and west – markets and ideas
the Pharos lighthouse by the harbor – 440 feet high – a wonder of the ancient world
Al and successors encouraged the work of scholars — built a Museum (home of the muses or nine greek goddesses who presided of arts and sciences) laboratories, lecture halls, a zoo and
a library full of all of the knowledge of the ancient world – which was later torched and destroyed
Women – through paintings, statues and legal codes we can tell that women were no longer restricted to their homes in the Hellenistic world. Women learned to read and write, some became philosophers, poets, scholars. Royal women had considerable power either as consorts, mothers of rulers or in their own right – Cleopatra proved herself a very capable ruler of Egypt in this period.
Hellenistic Civilization:
Cities in this period go for glory in the style of their architecture – bigger, grander and more impressive than the classical Greeks – these monarchs wanted to be seen as godlike, and their buildings were a reflection of that.
New schools of thought – Stoicism – avoid desires and disappointments by calmly accepting all life brought – high moral standards – protect the rights of your fellow humans, because they may not be your equal by they possess reason and so should not be mistreated.
Thinkers:
- Pythagoras (the theorem)
- Euclid geometry
- Aristarchus heliocentric solar system
- Eratosthenes the earth is round, calculated its circumference
- Archimedes – the lever and pulley
- Hippocrates – medicine and the oath to do no harm
Rome blasts into town and takes over about 133 BC and replaces Greece as the dominant power in the Med
Greek ideas about law, freedom, justice and government influenced all that came after them, including modern thought. Greek art and science set the standard for those who came later, which is amazing when you remember how it started with a few scattered poli through the mountainous land of the Aegean.