1. Classical Greece
500 B.C.E. to 300 B.C.E.

2. Greece – a mountainous peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea with 2,000 islands. Lands on the eastern edge of the Aegean were also part of ancient Greece. The sea shaped Greek civilization just as rivers shaped the ancient civilizations of Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, India, and China. The Greeks did not really live on a land but around a sea. As Greeks became skilled sailors, sea travel connected Greece with other societies. Sea travel and trade were also important because Greece lacked natural resources such as timber, precious metals, and usable farmland. Mountains cover about ¾ of ancient Greece. Mountain chains runs from NW to SE along the Balkan peninsula. Instead of a single government, the Greeks developed small, independent communities within each little valley and surrounding mountains. Most Greeks gave their loyalty to these local communities. In ancient times, the uneven terrain made land transportation difficult. Of the few roads that existed, most were little more than dirt paths. Most of the land was stony and only a small part of it wa arable. Tiny but fertile valley scovered about ¼ of Greece. The small streams that watered these valleys were not suitable for large scale irrigation projects. With so little fertile farmland or fresh water for irrigation, Greece was never able to support a large population.
Climate was moderate which supported an outdoor lifestyle. They met often to discuss public issues, exchange news, and take an active part in civic life.

3. Mycenaean Civilization
Indo-Europeans migrated from Eurasian steppes to Europe, India, and SW Asia.
Some of these people settled on the Greek mainland around 2,000 B.C.E.
They became known as the Mycenaeans.

4. Mycenaean Civilization
Guarded by protective wall 20 feet thick.
Warrior-king ruled the surrounding villages and farmers.
Strong rulers controlled the areas around other Mycenaean cities.
These kings dominated Greece from 1600 to 1000 B.C.E.
Mycenae was located in southern Greece on a steep, rocky ridge and surrounded by a protective wall more than 20 feet thick. This city could withstand almost any attack.

5. Contact with Minoans 1500 B.C.E.
Mycenaeans came into contact with Minoan civilization through trade or war.
Mycenaean traders soon sailed throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
Some time after 1500 B.C.E. either through trade or war, the Mycenaeans came into contact with the Minoan civilization. From their contact with the Minoans, the Mycenaneas saw the value of seaborne trade. Mycenaean traders soon sailed throughout the eastern Mediterranean making stops at Aegean islands, coastal towns in Anatolia, and ports in Syria, Egypt, Italy, and Crete.

7. Contact with Minoans Minoans influenced Mycenaeans:
Mycenaeans adapted Minoan writing system to Greek language.
Decorated vases with Minoan designs.
Greek religious practice
Art
Politics
Literature

8. Trojan War: Fact or Fiction?
During the 1200’s B.C.E, the Mycenaeans fought a ten year war against Troy, an independent trading city located in Anatolia. According to legend a Greek army besieged and destroyed Troy because a Trojan prince had kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king. For many years, historians thought that the legendary stories told of the Trojan war were totally fictional. However, excavations conducted in NW Turkey during the 1870’s by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann suggested that the stories of the Trojan War might have been based on real cities, people and events. Further archaeological studies conducted in the 20th century support Schliemann’s findings. Although the exact nature of the Trojan War remains unclear, this attack on Troy was almost certainly one of the last Mycenaean battle campaigns.
Not long after the Trojan War, Mycenaean civilization collapsed. Around 1200 B.C.E. sea raiders attacked and burned many Mycenaean cities. According to tradition a new group of people, the Dorians moved into the war-torn countryside. The Dorians spoke a dialect of Greek and may have been distant relatives of the Bronze Age Greeks. The Dorians were far less advanced than the Mycenaeans. The economy collapsed and trade eventually came to a standstill soon after their arrival. Greeks appear to have temporarily lost the art of writing during the Dorian Age. No written record exists from the 400 year period between 1150 and 750 B.C.E. As a result, little is known about this period of Greek history.
Heinrich Schliemann

9. The acropolis at Athens
Greek City-States
Polis (city-state): a city and its surrounding countryside, including villages.
square miles of territory
10,000 residents or less
Acropolis – place on a fortified hilltop where citizens gathered to discuss city government.
By 750 B.C.E., the city-state or polis was the fundamental political unit in ancient Greece. A polis was made up of a city and its surrounding countryside which included nerous villages. Most city-states controlled between 50 and 500 square miles of territory. They were often home to fewer than 10,000 residents. At the agor, or marketplace, or on a fortified hilltop called an acropolis citizens gathered to discuss city government.
Greek city states had many different forms of government. In some, a single person, called a king ruled in a government called a monarchy. Others adopted an aristocracy, a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families. These very rich families often gained political power after serving in a king’s military cavalry. Later, as trade expanded, a new class of wealthy merchants and artisans emerged in some cities. When these groups became dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, they sometimes took power or shared it with the nobility. They formed an oligarch, a government ruled by a few powerful people.
The acropolis at Athens

10. Greek Political Structures
Monarchy government: ruled by a king; rule is hereditary; some rulers claimed divine right. (Mycenae, 2000 B.C.E.)
Aristocracy: state ruled by nobility, rule is hereditary based on family ties, social rank, and wealth (Athens prior to 594 B.C.E.)
Oligarchy: state ruled by a small group of citizens; rule is based on wealth or ability; ruling controls military (Sparta, 500 B.C.E.)
Direct Democracy: state ruled by its citizens; rule based on citizenship; majority rule decides vote (Athens after 500 B.C.E.)
By 750 B.C.E., the city-state or polis was the fundamental political unit in ancient Greece. A polis was made up of a city and its surrounding countryside which included nerous villages. Most city-states controlled between 50 and 500 square miles of territory. They were often home to fewer than 10,000 residents. At the agor, or marketplace, or on a fortified hilltop called an acropolis citizens gathered to discuss city government.
Greek city states had many different forms of government. In some, a single person, called a king ruled in a government called a monarchy. Others adopted an aristocracy, a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families. These very rich families often gained political power after serving in a king’s military cavalry. Later, as trade expanded, a new class of wealthy merchants and artisans emerged in some cities. When these groups became dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, they sometimes took power or shared it with the nobility. They formed an oligarch, a government ruled by a few powerful people.

11. Athens Builds a Democracy
In 621 B.C.E. Draco, developed a legal code: “all Athenians were equal.”
In 594 B.C.E. Solon outlawed debt slavery
Solon organized all Athenians into four social classes based on wealth.
Top three classes could hold public office, but anyone could participate in assembly.
Nobleman Draco took power. IN 621 B.C.E. Draco developed a legal code based on the idea that all Athenians, rich and poor, were euqal under the law. Draco’s code dealt very harshly with cirminals, making death the punishment for practically every crime. It also upheld such practices as debt slavery, in which debtors worked as slaves to repay their debts. Solon came to power in 594 B.C.E. He stated that no citizen should own another citizen. He outlawed det slavery. He organized all Athenian citizens into four social classes according to wealth. Only members of the top three classes could hold politcal office. However, all citizens, regardless of class, could participate din Athenian assembly. Solon also introduced the legal concept that any citizen could bring charges against wrongdoers.

12. Age of Pericles ( B.C.E.
Direct Democracy – citizens rule directly and not through representatives
Male citizens who served in the assembly establish all the important government policies that affected the polis.
A wise and able statesman named Pericles led Athens during much of its golden age. Honest and fair, Pericles held onto popular support for 32 years. He was a skillful politician, an inspiring speaker, and a respected general. He so dominated the life of Athens from 461 to 429 B.C.E. that this period became known as the Age of Pericles.
Pericles had three goals: to strengthen Athenian democracy, to hold and strengthen the empire, and to glorify Athens. To strengthen democracy, Pericles increased the number of public official who were paid salaries. Earlier in Athens, most positions in public office were unpaid. Thus, only wealthier Athenian citizens could afford to hold public office. Now even the poorest citizen could serve if elected or chosen by lot. As a result, Athens had more citizens engage din self government than any other city-state in Greece.

13. Athenian Education
Sons of wealthy families received formal education—poetry, history, math, logic, public speaking, athletics, military school
Girls were educated at home by their mothers, i.e. child-rearing, weaving cloth, preparing meals.
A few women were able to learn to read and write.
For the most part, only the sons of wealthy families received formal education. Schooling began around the age of seven and largely prepared boys to be good citizens. They studied reading, grammar, poetry, history, math, and music. Because citizens were expected to debate issues in the assembly, boys also received training in logic and public speaking. And since the Greeks believed that it was important to train and develop the body, part of each day was spent in athletic activities. When they got older, boys went to military school to help them prepared for another important duty of citizenship—defending Athens.
Athenian girls did not attend school. They were educated at home by their mothers and other female members of the household. They learned about child-rearing, weaving cloth, preparing meals, managing the household and other skills that helped them become good wives and mothers. Some women were able to take their education farther and learned to read and write. A few even became accomplished writers. Even so, most women had very little to do with Athenian life outside the boundaries of family and home.

14. Sparta
Located in the southern part of Greece known as the Peloponnesus, Sparta was nearly cut off from the rest of Greece by the Gulf of Corinth. In outlook and values, Sparta contrasted sharply with the other city-states, Athens in particular. Instead of a democracy, Sparta built a military state.
Around 725 B.C.E. Sparta conquered the neighboring region of Messenia and took over the land. The Messenians became helots, peasants forced to stay on the land they worked. Each year, the Spartans demanded half of the helots’ crops. In about 650 B.C.E., the Messenians resentful of the Spartans’ harsh rule, revolted. The Spartans, who were outnumber eight to one, just barely put down the revolt. Shocked at their vulnerability, they dedicated themselves to making Sparta a strong city-state.

15. Sparta’s Government
Assembly composed of Spartan citizens who elected officials and voted on issues.
Council of Elders – 30 older citizens proposed laws
Five elected officials carried out laws.
Two kings ruled over military forces.
Spartan government had several branches: an assembly, which was composed of all Spartan citizens, elected officials and voted on major issues. The Council of Elders, made up of 30 older citizens, proposed laws on which the assembly voted. Five electd official scarried out the laws passed by the assembly. These men also controlled education and prosecuted court cases. In addition, two kings ruled over Sparta’s military forces.

16. Sparta’s Social Structure
Citizens descended from original inhabitants – ruling families who owned the land.
Non-citizens who were free worked in commerce and industry.
Helots – worked in the fields or as house servants
Sparatan social order consisted of several groups. The first were citizens descended from the original inhabitants of the region. This group included the ruling families who owned the land. A second group, noncitizens who were free worked in commerce and industry. The helots, at the bottom of Spartan society, were little better than slaves. They worked in the fields or as house servants.

17. Sparta’s Society Sparta had the most powerful army in Greece.
Individual expression was discouraged.
Did not value the arts, literature, intellectual pursuits.
Did value duty, strength, and discipline.
From around 600 until 371 B.C.E., Sparta had the most powerful army in Greece. However, the Spartan people paid a high price for their military supremacy. All forms of individual expression were discouraged. As a result, Spartans did not value the arts, literature or other artistic and intellectual pursuits. Spartans valued duty, strength, and discipline over freedom, individuality, beauty, and learning.

18. Gender Roles in Sparta Boys served in the military until age of 60.
Boys’ lives centered on military training.
Spartan girls received some military training; they also wrestled and played sports.
Spartan women had considerable freedom.
Boys spent their days marching, exercising, fighting. They undertook these activities in all weathers, wearing only light tunics and no shoes. At night they slept without blankets on hard benches. Diet consisted of little more than a bowl of coarse black porridge. Such training produced tough, resourceful soldiers.
Spartan girls also led hardy lives. They received some military trianing and they also ran, wrestled, and played sports. Like boys, girls were taught to put service to Sparta above everything else –even love of family. As adults, Spartan women had considerable freedom, especially in running the family estates when their husband were on active military service. Such freedom surprised men from other Greek city-states. This was particularly true of Athens, where women were expected to remain out of sight and quietly raise children.

19. Persian Wars
Danger of helot revolt led Sparta to become military state.
Struggles between rich and poor led Athens to become a democracy.
Invasion by Persian armies moved Sparta and Athens to their greatness.
Danger of a helot revolt led Sparta to become a military state. Struggles between rich and poor led Athens to become a democracy. The greatest dange rof all—invasion by Persian armies—moved Sparta and Athens alike to their greatest glory.
During the Dorian Age only the rich could afford bronze spears, shields, breastplates, and chariots. Thus, only the rich served in armies. Iron later replaced bronze in the manufacture of weapons. Harder than bronze, iron was more common and therefore cheaper. Soon ordinary citizens could afford to arm and defend themselves. The shift from bronze to iron weapons made possible a new kind of army composed not only of the rich by also of merchants artisans, and small landowners. The foot soldiers of this army, calle dhoplites stood side by side each holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. This fearsome formation or phalanx became the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world.

20. Impact of Technology on Warfare
Before 750 B.C.E., only the rich could afford bronze spears, shields, breastplates and chariots.
Iron later replaced bronze in manufacture of weapons.
Because iron was common and cheap, ordinary citizens could afford to arm and defend themselves.
The phalanx emerged.
Danger of a helot revolt led Sparta to become a military state. Struggles between rich and poor led Athens to become a democracy. The greatest dange rof all—invasion by Persian armies—moved Sparta and Athens alike to their greatest glory.
During the Dorian Age only the rich could afford bronze spears, shields, breastplates, and chariots. Thus, only the rich served in armies. Iron later replaced bronze in the manufacture of weapons. Harder than bronze, iron was more common and therefore cheaper. Soon ordinary citizens could afford to arm and defend themselves. The shift from bronze to iron weapons made possible a new kind of army composed not only of the rich by also of merchants artisans, and small landowners. The foot soldiers of this army, calle dhoplites stood side by side each holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. This fearsome formation or phalanx became the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world.

21. Battle at Marathon In 546 B.C.E. Darius conquered Greeks in Ionia.
Athens helped Ionians and Darius vowed revenge.
In 490 B.C.E. Persian fleet of 25,000 men landed in Marathon.
10,000 Athenians easily defeated the unprepared Persians.
Pheidippides raced 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to protect city.
The Persian Wars between Greece and the Persian Empire began in Ionia on the coast of Anatolia. Greeks had long been settled there, but around 546 B.C.E. the Persians conquered the area. When Ionian Greeks revolted, Athens sent ships and soldiers to their aid. The Persian King Darius the Great defeated the rebels and then vowed to destroy Athens in revenge.
In 490 B.C.E. a Persian fleet carried 25,000 men across the Aegean Sea and landed ne of Athens on a plain called Marathon. There, 10,000 Athenians neatly arranged in phalanxes, waited for them. Vastly outnumbered, the Greek soldiers charged. The Persians, who wore light armor and lacked training in this kind of land combat were no match for the disciplined Greek phalanx. After several hours, the Persians fled the battle field. The Persians lost more than 6,000 men. In contrast, Athenian casualties outnumbered fewer than 200.
Although the Athenians won the battle, their city now stood defenseless. According to tradition, army leaders chose a young runner name Pheidippides to race back to Athens. He brought new of the Persian defeat so that Athenians would not give up the city without a fight. Dashing the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens, Pheidippides delivered his message, “Rejoice, we conquer.” Hen then collapsed and died. Moving rapidly from Marathon, the Greek army arrived in Athens not long after. When the Persians sailed into the harbor they found the city heavily defended. They quickly put to sea in retreat.

22. The Persian Wars (490 to 479 B.C.E.)
Persia and the Greek city-states battled for over 10 years.
Persians were unsuccessful in their efforts to conquer Greek city-states.
Greek city-states formed alliance called Delian League.
League members eventually were successful in driving the Persians from the territories surrounding Greece.
Delian (Dee-lee-uhn) League.

23. Consequences of Persian Wars
Athens emerged as a leader of the Delian League which had 200 city-states.
Athens used power to control other league members.
In time, city-states became provinces of Athenian empire.
Prestige and wealth of Athens set the stage for a golden age.
Delian (Dee-lee-uhn) League.

24. The Parthenon 23,000 square feet In traditional style of Greek temples
Built to honor Athena, goddess of wisdom and protector of Athens
Figures were graceful, strong, and perfect.
Set standards for classical art.
For close to 50 years (477 to 431 B.C.E.) Athens experienced a growth in intellectual and artistic learning. This period is often called the Golden Age of Athens. During this golden age, drama, sculpture, poetyr, philosphy, architecture, and science all reached new heights. The artistic and literary legacies of the time continue to inspire and instruct people around the world.
A wise and able statesman named Pericles led Athens during much of its golden age. Pericles was a skillful politican, an inspiring speaker, and a respected general. He so dominated the life of Athens form 461 to 429 B.C.E. that this period is often called the Age of Pericles. He had three goals….to strenghten Athenian democracy, to hold and strengthen the empire, and to glorify Athens.
Pericles used money from the Delian League to beautify Athens. Her persuaded the Athenian assembly to vote huge sums of the league’s money to buy gold, ivory, and marble. More money went to pay the artists, architects, and workers who used these materials.
Pericles’ goal was to have the gerateset Greek artists and architects create magnificent sculptures and buildings to glorify Athens. At the center of his plan was one of architecture’ noblest works—the Parthenon.
The Parthenon, a masterpiece of architectural design and craftsmanship, was not unique in style. Rather, Greek architects constructed the 23,000 square foot building in the traditional style that had been used to create Greek temples for 200 years. This temple built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the protector of Athens, contained examples of Greek art that set standards for future generations of artists around the world. Pericles entrusted much of the work on the Parthenon to the sculptor Phildias. Within the temple, Phidias crafted a giant statue of Athena that not only contained such precious materials as gold and ivory but also stood over 30 feet tall.
Phidias and other sculptors during this golden age aimed to create figures that were graceful, strong, and perfectly formed. Their faces showed neither joy nor anger, only serenity. Greek sculptors also tried to capture the grace of the idealized human body in motion. They wanted to portray ideal beautify, not realism. Their values of harmony, order, and proportion became the standards of what is called classical art.

25. The Hellenistic Age Age of Alexander and his successors
Greek culture expanded influence beyond Greece.
They facilitated trade and made is possible for culture to spread over large distances.

26. Alexander the Great’s Empire
Phillipp II conquered Greece in 338 B.C.E.
His son Alexander took over at age 20.
Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, including Egypt in 332 B.C.E. Alexandria was established in his name.
By 326 B.C.E. Alexander and his army reached the Indus Valley. After 11 years of fighting his men wanted to go home.
The Peloponnesian War weakened several Greek city-states. This caused a decline in military and economic power. In the nearby kingdom of Macedonia, King Phillip II took note. Philip dreamed of taking control of Greece and then moving against Persia to seize its vast wealth. Philip also hoped to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.E.
Macedonia located just north of Greece had rough terrain and a cold climate. The Macedonians were a hardy people who lived in mountain villages rather than city-states. Most Macedonian nobles thought of themselves as Greeks. The Greeks, however, looked down on the Macedonians, as uncivilized foreigners who had no great philosophers, sculptors or writers. The Macedonians did have one very important resource—their shrew and fearless kings.
In 359 B.C.E. Philip II became king of Macedonia. Though only 23 years old, he quickly proved to be a brilliant general and a ruthless politician. Philip transformed the rugged peasants under his command into a well-trained professional army. He organized his troops into phalanxes of 16 men across and 16 deep, each one armed with an 18 foot pike. Philip used this heavy phalanx formation to break through enemy lines. Then he used fast-moving cavalry to crush his disorganized opponent. After he employed these tactics successfully against northern opponents, Philip began to prepare an invasion of Greece.
In 338 B.C.E., Athens and Thebes—a city state in central Greece joined forces to fight Philip. By then, it was too late. The Macedonians soundly defeated the Greeks. Although Philip planned to invade Persia next, he never got the chance. At his daughter’s wedding in 336 B.C.E. he was stabbed to death by a former guardsman. Philip’s son, Alexander, immediately proclaimed himself king of Macedonia. Because of his accomplishments over the next 13 years, he became known as Alexander the Great.
Although Alexander was only 20 years old when he became king, he was well prepared to lead. Under Aristotle’s teaching, Alexander had learned science, geography, and literature. Alexander especially enjoyed Homer’s description of the heroic deeds performed by Achilles during the Trojan War. He kept a copy of the Iliad under his pillow. As a young boy, Alexander learned to ride a horse, use weapons, and command troops. Once he became king, he promptly demonstrated that his military training had not been wasted. When the people of Thebes rebelled, he destroyed the city. About 6,000 Thebans were killed. The survivors were sold into slavery. Frightened by his crelty, the other Greek city-states quickly gave up any idea of rebellion.
With Greece secure, Alexander felt free to carry out his father’s plan to invade and conquer Persia. In 334 B.C.E., he led 35,000 soldiers across the Hellespont into Anatolia. Persian messengers raced along the Royal Road to spread news of the invasion. An army of about 40,000 men rushed to defend Persia. The two forces met at the Granicus River. Alexander smashed the Persian defenses.
Alexander’s victory alarmed the Persian king, Darius III. Vowing to crush the invaders, he raised a huge army of 50,000 to 75,000 men to face the Macedonians. Realizing that he was outnumbered. Alexander surprised his enemies. He ordered his finest troops to break through a weak point in the Persian lines. The army then charged straight at Darius. T avoid the capture, the frightened king fled, followed by his panicked army. This gave Alexander control over Anatolia.
Shaken by his defeat, Darius tried to negotiate a peace settlement. He offered Alexander all of his land west of the Euphrates River. Alexander’s advisers urged him to accept. However, the rapid collapse of Persian resistance fired Alexander’s ambition. He rejected Darius’s offer and confidently announced his plan to conquer the entire Persian Empire.
Alexander marched into Egypt, a Persian territory, in 332 B.C.E. The Egyptians welcome Alexander as a liberator. The crowned him pharaoh or god-king. During his time in Egypt, Alexander founded the city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile. After leaving Egypt, Alexander moved east into Mesopotamia to confront Darius. The desperate Persian king assembled a force of some 250,000 men. The two armies met. Alexander launched a massive phalanx attack followed by a cavalry charge. As the Persian lines crumbled Darius again panicked and fled. Alexander’s victory ended Persia’s power.
Within a short time, Alexander’s army occupied Babylon, Susa, Persepolis. These cities yielded a huge treausre which Alexander distributed among his army. A few months after it was occupied, Persepolis, Persia’s royal capital, burned to the ground. Some people said Alexander left the city in ashes to sign the total destruction of the Persian Empire. The cause of the fire remains a mystery.
Alexander now reigned as the unchallenged ruler of SW Asia. But he was more interested in expanding his empire than in governing it. He left the ruined Persepolis to pursue Darius and conquer Persia’s remote Asian provinces. Darius’s trail led Alexander to a deserted spot south of the Caspian Sea. There he found Darius already dead, murdered by one of his provincial governors. Rather than return to Babylon, Alexander continued east. During the next 3 years, his army fought its way across the desert wastes and mountains of Central Asia. He pushed on, hoping to reach the farthest edge of the continent.
In 326 B.C.E. Alexander and his army reached the Indus Valley. After winning a fierce battle, Alexander’s soldiers marched some 200 miles farther, but their morale was low. They had been fighting for 11 years and had marched more than 11,000 miles. They had endured both scorching deserts and drenching monsoon rains. The exhausted soldiers yearned to go home. Bitterly disappointed, Alexander agreed to turn back.
By the spring of 323 B.C.E. Alexander and his army had reached Babylon. Restless as always, Alexander announced plans to organize and unify his army. He would construct new road, cities, harbors and conquer Arabia. However, he became seriously ill with a fever and died a few days later. He was only 32 years old.

27. Alexander’s Empire
The Peloponnesian War weakened several Greek city-states. This caused a decline in military and economic power. In the nearby kingdom of Macedonia, King Phillip II took note. Philip dreamed of taking control of Greece and then moving against Persia to seize its vast wealth. Philip also hoped to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.E.
Macedonia located just north of Greece had rough terrain and a cold climate. The Macedonians were a hardy people who lived in mountain villages rather than city-states. Most Macedonian nobles thought of themselves as Greeks. The Greeks, however, looked down on the Macedonians, as uncivilized foreigners who had no great philosophers, sculptors or writers. The Macedonians did have one very important resource—their shrew and fearless kings.
In 359 B.C.E. Philip II became king of Macedonia. Though only 23 years old, he quickly proved to be a brilliant general and a ruthless politician. Philip transformed the rugged peasants under his command into a well-trained professional army. He organized his troops into phalanxes of 16 men across and 16 deep, each one armed with an 18 foot pike. Philip used this heavy phalanx formation to break through enemy lines. Then he used fast-moving cavalry to crush his disorganized opponent. After he employed these tactics successfully against northern opponents, Philip began to prepare an invasion of Greece.
In 338 B.C.E., Athens and Thebes—a city state in central Greece joined forces to fight Philip. By then, it was too late. The Macedonians soundly defeated the Greeks. Although Philip planned to invade Persia next, he never got the chance. At his daughter’s wedding in 336 B.C.E. he was stabbed to death by a former guardsman. Philip’s son, Alexander, immediately proclaimed himself king of Macedonia. Because of his accomplishments over the next 13 years, he became known as Alexander the Great.
Although Alexander was only 20 years old when he became king, he was well prepared to lead. Under Aristotle’s teaching, Alexander had learned science, geography, and literature. Alexander especially enjoyed Homer’s description of the heroic deeds performed by Achilles during the Trojan War. He kept a copy of the Iliad under his pillow. As a young boy, Alexander learned to ride a horse, use weapons, and command troops. Once he became king, he promptly demonstrated that his military training had not been wasted. When the people of Thebes rebelled, he destroyed the city. About 6,000 Thebans were killed. The survivors were sold into slavery. Frightened by his crelty, the other Greek city-states quickly gave up any idea of rebellion.
With Greece secure, Alexander felt free to carry out his father’s plan to invade and conquer Persia. In 334 B.C.E., he led 35,000 soldiers across the Hellespont into Anatolia. Persian messengers raced along the Royal Road to spread news of the invasion. An army of about 40,000 men rushed to defend Persia. The two forces met at the Granicus River. Alexander smashed the Persian defenses.
Alexander’s victory alarmed the Persian king, Darius III. Vowing to crush the invaders, he raised a huge army of 50,000 to 75,000 men to face the Macedonians. Realizing that he was outnumbered. Alexander surprised his enemies. He ordered his finest troops to break through a weak point in the Persian lines. The army then charged straight at Darius. T avoid the capture, the frightened king fled, followed by his panicked army. This gave Alexander control over Anatolia.
Shaken by his defeat, Darius tried to negotiate a peace settlement. He offered Alexander all of his land west of the Euphrates River. Alexander’s advisers urged him to accept. However, the rapid collapse of Persian resistance fired Alexander’s ambition. He rejected Darius’s offer and confidently announced his plan to conquer the entire Persian Empire.
Alexander marched into Egypt, a Persian territory, in 332 B.C.E. The Egyptians welcome Alexander as a liberator. The crowned him pharaoh or god-king. During his time in Egypt, Alexander founded the city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile. After leaving Egypt, Alexander moved east into Mesopotamia to confront Darius. The desperate Persian king assembled a force of some 250,000 men. The two armies met. Alexander launched a massive phalanx attack followed by a cavalry charge. As the Persian lines crumbled Darius again panicked and fled. Alexander’s victory ended Persia’s power.
Within a short time, Alexander’s army occupied Babylon, Susa, Persepolis. These cities yielded a huge treausre which Alexander distributed among his army. A few months after it was occupied, Persepolis, Persia’s royal capital, burned to the ground. Some people said Alexander left the city in ashes to sign the total destruction of the Persian Empire. The cause of the fire remains a mystery.
Alexander now reigned as the unchallenged ruler of SW Asia. But he was more interested in expanding his empire than in governing it. He left the ruined Persepolis to pursue Darius and conquer Persia’s remote Asian provinces. Darius’s trail led Alexander to a deserted spot south of the Caspian Sea. There he found Darius already dead, murdered by one of his provincial governors. Rather than return to Babylon, Alexander continued east. During the next 3 years, his army fought its way across the desert wastes and mountains of Central Asia. He pushed on, hoping to reach the farthest edge of the continent.
In 326 B.C.E. Alexander and his army reached the Indus Valley. After winning a fierce battle, Alexander’s soldiers marched some 200 miles farther, but their morale was low. They had been fighting for 11 years and had marched more than 11,000 miles. They had endured both scorching deserts and drenching monsoon rains. The exhausted soldiers yearned to go home. Bitterly disappointed, Alexander agreed to turn back.
By the spring of 323 B.C.E. Alexander and his army had reached Babylon. Restless as always, Alexander announced plans to organize and unify his army. He would construct new road, cities, harbors and conquer Arabia. However, he became seriously ill with a fever and died a few days later. He was only 32 years old.

28. Alexander’s Legacy
After Alexander’s death, his generals fought among themselves for control of the empire.
The empire was divided:
Antigonus – king of Macedonia and Greek city-states
Ptolemy – pharaoh of Egypt
Selecus – Persian empire
These rulers and their descendants ignored democratic traditions.

29. Alexandria Wealthiest of Hellenistic Empires was Ptolemaic Egypt.
Huge harbor of 1,200 ships
Culturally diverse
Famous Alexandrian Museum – philosophy, literature, science
Famous Alexandrian Library of more than 700,000 works

30. Alexander’s Legacy
Alexander adopted Persian dress and customs and married a Persian woman.
Persians and people from other lands made up his army.
In time, Greek settlers throughout the empire adopted new ways.
A blend of Greek and Eastern customs emerged.

31. Agriculture in Ancient Greece
Mountainous, rocky terrain
Depended upon maritime trade.
Cultivated olives, grapes, olive oil, and wine
Grain came from Egypt, Sicily, and southern Russia
Cities relied more on commerce than agriculture.

32. Greek Society
Patriarchal – women spent time in the family home; could not own property but sometimes operated small businesses
Literacy was common among upper class Greek women; poet Sappho was active.
Slaves came from those who couldn’t pay debts, conquests and Africa (Egypt)
Sappho's poetry centers on passion and love for various personages and both genders. The word lesbian derives from the name of the island of her birth, Lesbos, while her name is also the origin of the word sapphic; both words were only applied to female homosexuality beginning in the 19th century.[21][22] The narrators of many of her poems speak of infatuations and love (sometimes requited, sometimes not) for various females, but descriptions of physical acts between women are few and subject to debate.[23][24] Whether these poems are meant to be autobiographical is not known, although elements of other parts of Sappho's life do make appearances in her work, and it would be compatible with her style to have these intimate encounters expressed poetically, as well. Her homoerotica should be placed in the seventh century (BC) context. The poems of Alcaeus and later Pindar record similar romantic bonds between the members of a given circle.[25]

33. Socrates ( BCE)
Posed questions that reflected on human issues, i.e. ethics and morality.
Honor was more important than wealth or fame.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Condemned to death for “immorality and corruption of Athenian youth” who joined him to discuss moral and ethical issues.
Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known only through the classical accounts of his students. Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity.[2]
Through his portrayal in Plato's dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who also lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. The latter remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions, and is a type of pedagogy in which a series of questions are asked not only to draw individual answers, but to encourage fundamental insight into the issue at hand. It is Plato's Socrates that also made important and lasting contributions to the fields of epistemology and logic, and the influence of his ideas and approach remains strong in providing a foundation for much western philosophy that followed.
According to Plato's Apology, Socrates' life as the "gadfly" of Athens began when his friend Chaerephon asked the oracle at Delphi if anyone was wiser than Socrates; the Oracle responded that none was wiser. Socrates believed that what the Oracle had said was a paradox, because he believed he possessed no wisdom whatsoever. He proceeded to test the riddle through approaching men who were considered to be wise by the people of Athens, such as statesmen, poets, and artisans, in order to refute the pronouncement of the Oracle. But questioning them, Socrates came to the conclusion that, while each man thought he knew a great deal and was very wise, they in fact knew very little and were not really wise at all. Socrates realized that the Oracle was correct, in that while so-called wise men thought themselves wise and yet were not, he himself knew he was not wise at all which, paradoxically, made him the wiser one since he was the only person aware of his own ignorance. Socrates' paradoxical wisdom made the prominent Athenians he publicly questioned look foolish, turning them against him and leading to accusations of wrongdoing. Socrates defended his role as a gadfly until the end: at his trial, when Socrates was asked to propose his own punishment, he suggests a wage paid by the government and free dinners for the rest of his life instead, to finance the time he spends as Athens' benefactor.[14] He was, nevertheless, found guilty of corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and sentenced to death by drinking a mixture containing poison hemlock.
Bust of Socrates in the Vatican Museum.
According to Xenophon's story, Socrates purposefully gave a defiant defense to the jury because "he believed he would be better off dead". Xenophon goes on to describe a defense by Socrates that explains the rigors of old age, and how Socrates would be glad to circumvent them by being sentenced to death. It is also understood that Socrates also wished to die because he "actually believed the right time had come for him to die".
Xenophon and Plato agree that Socrates had an opportunity to escape, as his followers were able to bribe the prison guards. He chose to stay for several reasons:
He believed such a flight would indicate a fear of death, which he believed no true philosopher has.
If he fled Athens his teaching would fare no better in another country as he would continue questioning all he met and undoubtedly incur their displeasure.
Having knowingly agreed to live under the city's laws, he implicitly subjected himself to the possibility of being accused of crimes by its citizens and judged guilty by its jury. To do otherwise would have caused him to break his "social contract" with the state, and so harm the state, an act contrary to Socratic principle.

34. The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

35. Plato Socrates’ student or follower
Presented thought in dialogue between Socrates and a student
The Republic:
Disturbed that intellectual control over the world was not possible because world is constantly in a state of flux.
Advocated intellectual aristocracy; philosophical elite rules while less intelligent classes work.
Really, in the Sophist, Statesman, Republic, and the Parmenides Plato himself associates knowledge with the apprehension of unchanging Forms and their relationships to one another (which he calls "expertise" in Dialectic). More explicitly, Plato himself argues in the Timaeus that knowledge is always proportionate to the realm from which it is gained. In other words, if one derives one's account of something experientially, because the world of sense is in flux, the views therein attained will be mere opinions. And opinions are characterized by a lack of necessity and stability. On the other hand, if one derives one's account of something by way of the non-sensible forms, because these forms are unchanging, so too is the account derived from them. It is only in this sense that Plato uses the term "knowledge."

36. Aristotle
Believed philosophers could rely on their senses to provide accurate information about the world, and
Use reason to sort out its mysteries.
Wrote on biology, physics, astronomy, psychology, politics, ethics, and literature.
Christian and Islamic theologians tried to harmonize religious convictions with the philosophical views of Plato and Aristotle.

37. Popular Religion
Most Greeks of classical era did not have advanced education.
Polytheistic
Constructed myths related to stories of the gods.
Myths sough to explain the world and its forces.
Women were the most prominent devotees of Dionysus, god of wine.
Euripides’ play The Bacchae.
In classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (pronounced /ˌdaɪ.ɵˈnaɪsəs/; Greek: Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος) is the god of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, among whom Greek mythology treated as a late arrival. The geographical origins of his cult were unknown to the classical Greeks, but all myths depicted him as having "foreign" origins; Dionysus is typical of the god of the epiphany, "the god that comes".
He was also known as Bacchus, the name adopted by the Romans[2] and the frenzy he induces, bakkheia. He is the patron deity of agriculture and the theater. He was also known as the Liberator (Eleutherios), freeing one from one's normal self, by madness.

39. Philosophy: The Stoics
Taught individuals they had the duty to aid others and lead virtuous lives.
Focused on reason and nature.
Sought ways to bring individuals to a state of inner peace and tranquility.