The Fall of Athens

Review

Athens and

Sparta

Sparta and Athens at War

•Athens began to treat its allies unfairly▫At first allies paid tribute to Athens for

protection▫But later Athens used the money for

building the Parthenon and other projects▫Because of this the people of these city-

states began to resent Athens They looked to Sparta

Peloponnesian War

•Peloponnesian War was a conflict between Athens and Sparta that lasted 27 years▫Called the Peloponnesian War because

Sparta is located in Peloponnese, the southern Greek peninsula.

The Fall of Athens

•Much of what we know about the Peloponnesian War comes from the Greek historian Thucydides▫He saw the war first hand

•Early in the Peloponnesian War, Athens was struck by a Plague▫A plague is a widespread disease▫The plague lasted 5 years in Athens▫It killed about 1/3 of its people

Among them was Pericles

The Fall of Athens

•Athens never recovered from losses during the plague

•In 405 B.C., Sparta formed a blockade▫An action to isolate an enemy and cut off

supplies•The Spartans surrounded and closed the

harbor of Athens▫Athens could not receive any food to the

city•Starving and beaten, Athens surrendered

in 404 B.C.

The Fall of Athens

•The Victorious Spartans knocked down Athens walls and burned and sank the majority of their Triremes

•Athens never again dominated the Greek World.

The Spread of Greek Culture

Northern Greece

•With the fall of Athens, Macedonia of Northern Greece began to grow

•Macedonia lay just north of Greece▫Macedonians spoke Greek and had a

similar culture as the Greeks from the South

▫Athens and Sparta did not accept Macedonians as Greek They though of Macedonians as Barbarians

Wild, uncivilized people

King Philip of Macedonia• Philip was king of

Macedonia• Before Philip seized

power in 359 B.C., Macedonia was poor and divided.

• Philip united Macedonia and built a army even stronger than Sparta’s

• With his army Philip captured one Greek city-state after another.

Death of a King

•Philip planned to attack Persia but before he could carry out his plan he was assassinated.▫Murdered for political reasons

•So at the age of 20 his son, Alexander became king▫History would know him as Alexander the

Great King of Macedonia from 336 B.C. to 323 B.C.

Alexander

•As a boy Alexander was tutored by Aristotle▫He wanted to learn as much as he could,

especially about the ideas and deeds of the Greeks

•His role model was Achilles▫The mythical war hero from the Iliad▫Alexander vowed, he would one day visit

the site of Troy and honor his hero.

Alexander's Conquests

•One of Alexander’s first actions was to invade the Persian Empire

•Within 11 years, the Macedonian king had conquered and extensive area including: Persia, Egypt and the land beyond the Indus River to the east

Alexander the Great• Energy and Military genius helped him succeed• He drove himself and his armies hard, covering

vast lands at remarkable speed▫Even if his soldiers wanted to go home they still

obeyed him and kept fighting• Wherever Alexander went he established cities

(many named after him)▫Alexandria, Egypt most famous

• Alexander never stayed very long in the cities he conquered.

• He quickly pushed on, never losing a battle.

Alexander the Great• After many years of

fighting, Alexander’s army was exhausted

• Not far beyond the Indus River, his troops became so weary they refused to continue East

• Alexander was angry but he turned back

• He got as far as Babylon where he caught a fever

The Death of Alexander

•In 323 B.C., only 13 years after he came to power, Alexander died.▫Like his hero Achilles, he died young

•His conquests spread Greek culture throughout a vast area

The Hellenistic Age•With Alexander’s death, this empire began to

decline•Within 50 years the empire had broken into

three main kingdoms▫Each was ruled by a family that had descended

from one of Alexander’s commanders. •Although the empire broke , Greek culture

remained•Hellenistic describes Greek history and

culture after the death of Alexander the Great

The Hellenistic Kingdoms

•When Alexander took control of lands, he tried not to destroy the cultures of the defeated people

•He hoped the local culture would mix with the Greek culture

•Instead Greek culture became the strongest culture in the Hellenistic Kingdoms

Hellenistic Cities•Hellenistic cities were modeled after Greek

cities•Greek kings ruled, and Greeks held the most

important jobs•There were Greek temples and agoras (public

market or meeting places)•Citizens went to theaters to watch old Greek

tragedies •Greek language was spoken in the cities

▫Although people living in the countryside spoke the local language.

Alexandria, Egypt• The greatest of all

Hellenistic cities was Alexandria, Egypt

• Alexander founded this city at the edge of the Nile Delta▫ Alexandria became the

capital of Egypt• Over the years it became a

famous center of business and trade▫ Its harbor was dominated by

a huge lighthouse that rose about 350 feet in the air The tower was topped by a

flame that guided ships safely to port

Alexandria and Education• Hellenistic cities were

centers of learning.▫ Alexandria was the

learning capital of the Greek world

• Alexandria’s library was the largest library in the world

• Scholars and writers from many lands came to use its massive collection

Mathematics • Around 300 B.C., a

mathematician named Euclid helped extend the branch of mathematics called geometry.▫ His work helped explain

figures such as squares, angles, triangles, cubes and cones

▫ Mathematicians still use Euclid's system today

Science • Greek scientists made

important contributions to astronomy.

• In about 250 B.C. Greek Scientist Aristarchus concluded the Earth revolved around the sun▫ At the time however most

scientists believed Earth was the center of the universe

▫ It took a long time for science to accept Aristarchus’s theory but he was correct!

• Also in Hellenistic times, many scholars knew that the Earth was round.

• A scholar named Eratosthenes calculated the distance around the Earth▫ His answer, 24,662 miles

was very close to the modern measurements (about 24,901 miles)

Any Questions