1. Mr. Snell

2.  Greek city-states weak from Peloponnesian War!  Nearby, Philip II of Macedonia noticed.  Philip dreamed of controlling Greece, then taking Persia’s wealth!  He also wanted to avenge an earlier Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.E.

3.  Macedonia was a kingdom north of Greece.  Hardy people, cold climate, mountain villages.  Nobles considered themselves Greeks.  Greeks looked down on Macedonians.  Macedonians had one great resource, shrewd and fearless kings.

4.  359 B.C.E. Philip becomes king.  23 year old brilliant general  Ruthless politician  Transformed rugged peasantry into a professional army.  Tactics  Heavy phalanx – breaking enemy lines.  Cavalry – destroying disorganized leftovers

5.  Greeks were not united against the threat of Philip.  Thebes & Athens unite in 338 B.C.E.  Too little, too late.  Macedonians soundly defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Chaeronea  Ended Greek independence  Greece fell under the control of Philip of Macedonia.  Next up…Persia…or not.  Wedding death, Rise of Alexander!!!

6.  Well prepared to be king…even at 20 yr old  Under Aristotle, Alexander…  learned science, geography, and literature.  He was fascinated with Achilles in The Iliad.  In his childhood…  Learned to ride a horse, command troops, use weapons.  Thebian Rebellion  Alexander destroys city and 6000 Thebes.  Led others to think twice about rebelling.

7. "O my son, look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee.“ -Philip II

8.  Desired to carry out his fathers plan.  Battle at the Granicus River  Alexander leads an attack against Persia.  Crushes them.  Darius III was angered, assembled huge force of 75,000 men, outnumbering Alexander.  Surprise attack through enemy lines, straight for Darius III.  Darius panics and flees, as does his army.  Alexander gains control of Anatolia (Persia)

9.  Darius offers a peace settlement, all of his lands west of the Euphrates river.  Advisers to Alexander urge him to accept.  Alexander declines. He wanted it all!  Alexander moved into Egypt  Egyptians welcomed him, crowned him a Pharaoh.  Founded city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile.  Alexander moved into Mesopotamia to confront Darius.  Darius had 250,000 men to fight.  Alexander used a massive phalanx attack and cavalry charge. Again, Darius fled.  Victory at Guagamela ended Persian power.

10.  Within a short time, Alexander’s army occupied Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis.  Yielded huge treasure for him.  Persepolis, Persia’s royal capital, was burned to the ground.  Total destruction of the Persian Empire.  Revenge for the Persians burning down Athens.  The fire is still a mystery.

12.  Empire expansion > empire governing.  Alexander chased after Darius to Southwest Asia.  Found Darius had been murdered.  Continued East.  In India:  Won a fierce battle in the Indus River Valley.  Marched another 200 miles. Low morale from soldiers, tired, weary. Fighting for 11 years, marching over 11,000 miles. They were exhausted and begged to go home. Alexander agreed to turn back, disappointed though.

13.  Back to Bablyon, Alexander had new plans to unify the empire.  New cities, new roads, new harbors, conquer Arabia.  Alexander became ill with a fever and died at 32 years old.

14.  Empire was divided amongst 3 men.  Ptolemy – Seized Egypt, took title of Pharaoh.  Seleucus – Took most of old Persian Empire.  Antigonus – control over Greek city-states  Democracy was dead, they ruled as dictators.  Alexander adopted Persian dress, married a Persian woman.  Sought to merge Greek culture with the conquered culture.

15.  Hellenistic Culture - Greek culture blending with Persian, Egyptian, Indian influences.  Koine - popular spoken language used in Hellenistic cities.  Means “common”, result of this blending.  Allowed for communication between the educated and world traders.

16.  Alexandria – world’s center of commerce and Hellenistic culture.  Ships came from all over Mediterranean Sea.  Huge international community, over 500,000 people.  Attractions:  Beauty Streets lined with statues to the gods. Royal palaces overlooking the harbor Alexander’s tomb, with his glass coffin. The Pharos – 350ft tall lighthouse Famous museum and library

18. World’s first research library Contained over 500,000 papyrus scrolls.

19.  Advanced in astronomy, math, and physics.  Astronomy:  Sun was at least 300 times larger than Earth.  Earth and other planets revolve around the sun. View discredited, Ptolemy incorrect placement of Earth. Believed for the next 14 centuries.  Geometry:  Calculating Earth’s circumference.  Archimedes and the value of pi  Physics:  Archimedes creates the screw (water) and pulley for lifting heavy objects.

21.  Colossus of Rhodes – the largest known Hellenistic statue at over 100 feet tall of bronze.  Realism – natural approach to art  Began carving old wrinkly peasant women.

22.  Stoicism - people should live virtuous lives in harmony with the will of god or the natural laws that God established to run the universe.  Promoted social unity, focus on what you control.  Epicureanism – Belief that only real objects were those that the five senses perceived.  Main goal: achieve harmony of body and mind.  Virtuous conduct and absence of pain.