Ancient Greece

Macedonia and Hellenistic Notes

Essential QuestionsWhy 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 culture?

MacedoniaAfter 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 BackgroundLots of mountains and a cold climateLived in mountain villages rather than city-statesThought of themselves as GreeksGreeks looked down on them and considered them uncivilized

Macedonia ArmyWell-trained and professional armyPhalanxes that were 16 men across and 16 deepUsed 18-foot pikes to pave the way for cavalry strikes through enemy lines

Macedonia Conquering GreeceDemosthenes tried to warn the Greeks of an attack by Philip and his armyFinally, Athens and Thebes joined together to stop him, but it was too lateThe Macedonians defeated the Greeks at the battle of Chaeronea

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

Ancient Greece

Alexander the Great: Hero or Villain?

Alexander in ThebesUnified 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 EgyptEnthroned 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 PersiaDefeated the Persian army at Issus and conquered the empire

Respected native people, religious tolerance, and appointed Persian governors

Military campaign was brutal and it didn’t matter how many men died

Destroyed and burned Persepolis, the Persian capital to the ground

Alexander in IndiaDefeated 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 CultureGreek culture blended with Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences

Hellenistic Culture - AlexandriaBecame the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilizationBecame an international communityHad a rich mixture of customs and traditions from Egypt and the AegeanThe center of scholarship shifted here from AthensMain areas of dominance were astronomy, math, physics, philosophy, and art