1. The Greek Empire
Lesson 4

2. The Big Picture
During the time of the Peloponnesian War Persia was a huge empire.
Egyptians, Phoenicians, Jews, Indians and Babylonians all lived under the Rule of the Persian Kings
Connecting this empire was a system of roads and messenger service
Like our postal service today
Alexander traveled the roads of the Persian empire between 334 B.C. and 323B.C.
He conquered many areas and became known as “Alexander the Great”
As a result of his victories Greek language and traditions spread

4. Alexander of Macedonia
The Peloponnesian wars ended in 404 B.C. This left the Greek city- states weakened and open for attack.
By 336 B.C Macedonia (kingdom in the north) took over most of Greece
Macedonia's king was a 20 year old man named Alexander. He was proven to be a very bold and educated commander
Aristotle, one of the most famous teachers in Athens had been his private teacher
Because of Aristotle teachings, Alexander developed a deep respect for the Greek culture

5. Expanding the Empire
In 334 B.C Alexander and his armies set out to conquer Persia
Everywhere they went they seized food and whatever else they needed to continue their journey
The powerful Macedonian army never lost a battle. In 331 B.C Alexander was declared ruler of Persia’s empire (which included Greece)
In a few more years his troops entered the Indus River Valley in Asia. They defeated many armies that used elephants (they had never seen this animal before)
After his victory Alexander became sick, unable to complete his journey he died in June of 323 B.C in Babylon

6. A City in the Empire
About 9 years before Alexander died he planned a city to be built in Egypt. It was going to be named Alexandria named after the soon emperor
Became one of the most important cities
The city is an example of how Greek civilization and ideas were carried far beyond Greece

8. A Blending of Cultures
The city Alexandria mirrored a Greek polis; it even had an agora and many Greek temples and statues
Alexandria's harbor became a major hub of trade in the Mediterranean
At the mouth of the harbor was a lighthouse. The beam of light that came from the lighthouse guided many sailors
This was one of the first lighthouses in the world
There was a mixture of cultures in Alexandria
There were temples to honor the Greek gods and goddesses and a temple was planned to honor the Egyptian goddess Isis
Craft workers made Greek styled pottery
Egyptian and Macedonians took part in democratic assemblies
Egyptians and Jews had their own courts

9. A Legacy of Learning
In Alexandria there was a “museum”. This is where scholars studied the world and how it worked.
They used books from the library near by. Alexandria’s library had almost 500,000 books written on papyrus rolls

10. An Alphabet
Scholars from many countries came to Alexandria's library to study
The skills of reading an writing became very important
Unlike the Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mesopotamia's cuneiform the Greek alphabet was a simple alphabet
Each symbol represented a sound. A person had to master less than 30 symbols. This made it easier for people to learn how to read and write