Alexander the Great and His Legacy Main Idea Alexander the Great formed a huge empire, spread Greek culture into Egypt and many parts of Asia, and paved the way for a new civilization to develop in those areas. Reading Focus How did Alexander the Great rise to power? What was life like in the culture called the Hellenistic world that developed after Alexander’s death? What were some significant Hellenistic achievements?

Alexander Becomes King Philip’s conquests might have continued, but he was assassinated Title, plans for conquests fell to son, Alexander the Great Alexander only 20, but had been trained to rule almost from birth Learned warfare and politics from father, mother, and Aristotle Alexander’s Conquests Alexander faced almost immediately with revolts in Greece Set out to reestablish control Used harsh measures to show rebellion not tolerated Crushed Theban army and sold people into slavery, burned city

Empire Building Empire Campaigns With Greece under control, Alexander decided to build empire 334 BC, led army into Asia to take on Persians Army relatively small, but well trained, fiercely loyal Persian army huge, disorganized Empire Within year Alexander’s army had won victory against Persians in Asia Minor Moved south to Phoenicia, Egypt; welcomed as liberator, named new pharaoh Next destroyed Persian army near Gaugamela, in what is now Iraq; caused Emperor Darius III to flee Campaigns

With defeat of Darius, Alexander the master of Persian world Expanding the Empire With defeat of Darius, Alexander the master of Persian world Troops marched to Persepolis, a Persian capital, burned it to ground as sign of victory But Alexander not satisfied with size of empire Led army deeper into Asia, winning more victories Led army to the Indus, perhaps to conquer India Soldiers had had enough, refused to proceed farther from home Alexander forced to turn back to west

End of the Empire Death at Early Age Power Struggle Alexander’s empire largest world had ever seen Did not rule very long 323 BC, Alexander fell ill while in Babylon Died a few days later at age 33 Alexander died without naming heir Death at Early Age Generals fought each other for power In the end, the empire was divided among three most powerful generals Called themselves kings Antigonus became king of Macedonia and Greece Seleucus ruled Persian Empire Ptolemy ruled Egypt Power Struggle

Why did Alexander’s empire break apart after his death? Summarize Why did Alexander’s empire break apart after his death? Answer(s): He did not name an heir, so the empire was divided among three powerful generals.

The Hellenistic World By bringing together a number of diverse peoples in his empire, Alexander helped create a new type of culture. It was no longer purely Greek, or Hellenic, but Hellenistic, or Greeklike. Alexander made conscious effort to bring people, ideas together Married two Persian princesses Encouraged soldiers to marry Persians as well Blending Cultures Appointed officials from various cultures to help rule Built dozens of new cities, encouraged Greek settlers to move into them Most new cities named Alexandria New Cities Alexandria, Egypt Located at mouth of Nile, where it met Mediterranean Ideal location for trade Harbor once busiest in world Most Famous City

Alexandria and Beyond Center of Culture Center of Learning With trade money, Alexandrians built great palaces, streets lined with monuments; city was home to centers of culture, learning The Museum, temple to spirit of creativity, home to many works of art Center of Learning Library of Alexandria contained works on philosophy, literature, history, sciences Alexandria remained center of culture, learning long after Hellenistic period Trading Centers Alexandria one of largest trading centers, but not only one in Hellenistic world Cities in Egypt, Persia, Central Asia trading centers for Africa, Arabia, India Traders brought back goods, new ideas like teachings of Judaism

Life in the Hellenistic World Shift from Hellenic Greece to Hellenistic world brought drastic changes to lives Most obvious change, how people were governed City-state no longer main political unit, replaced by kingdom Traditional Greek democracy gave way to monarchy Drastic Changes Lives of women also changed significantly in Hellenistic Period Women had few rights in earlier Greek city-states Lives began to improve after Alexander, though women still not equal to men Gained rights to receive education, own property Life for Women

How did society change in the Hellenistic age? Explain How did society change in the Hellenistic age? Answer(s): different cultures blended; government changed; women gained more rights

Hellenistic Achievements Blending of cultures brought significant changes Exchange of ideas from different cultures New advances in philosophy, literature and science New schools of philosophy developed in Alexander’s empire One called Cynicism; students rejected pleasure, wealth, social responsibility People live according to nature Philosophy People should seek pleasure, considered good; try to avoid pain, considered evil To find pleasure, develop close friendships with people who share similar ideas Epicureans The most influential new school was Stoicism, with emphasis on reason, self-discipline, emotional control and personal morality. Stoics believed people should find their proper role in society and fulfill it.

Art and literature also changed during Hellenistic Period Hellenistic artists learned to convey emotion, movement in works, especially sculpture Women became much more common as subject of art, literature Most earlier Greek statues had depicted men Love stories became popular form for first time Earlier literature dealt with actions of gods Hellenistic writings focused on common events in people’s everyday lives

Science and Technology Tremendous advances in science, technology during this period Among great Egyptian scholars, Euclid formulated many ideas about geometry we still learn about today Egypt also home of Eratosthenes, who calculated size of the world Other Hellenistic scientists studied the movement of the stars; the makeup and inner workings of the human body Archimedes, one of world’s greatest inventors, used knowledge of math, physics to create devices Developed compound pulley to lift heavy loads; also invented mechanical screw to draw water out of ship’s hold, out of deep well Inventors Other inventors not as ambitious as Archimedes, but clever in own right One built tiny steam engine, used to power mechanical toys Such devices representative of Hellenistic fascination with mechanics, technology Mechanics

What advances did Hellenistic scholars make in science and technology? Analyze What advances did Hellenistic scholars make in science and technology? Answer(s): geometry; calculating the circumference of the globe; study of the movement of the stars; study of the human body; new inventions