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Alexander of Hollywood. “Alexander” starring Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins, et al. (2004). Dir. Oliver Stone. “Alexander the Great” starring Leonardo di Caprio and Nicole Kidman (200?). Alexander the Great & the Hellenistic World . Alexander & Hellenistic World.
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Alexander of Hollywood • “Alexander” starring Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins, et al. (2004). Dir. Oliver Stone. • “Alexander the Great” starring Leonardo di Caprio and Nicole Kidman (200?)
Alexander & Hellenistic World I. Alexander of Macedon II. Hellenistic World: political, social, cultural III. Hellenic vs. Hellenistic
Alexander of Macedon • Born 356 BC to King Philip of Macedon • Tutored by Aristotle • Cavalry chieftain at age 18 • King at age 20 • Rules 336-323 BC • Dies 323 BC, age 33 • Myth vs. Reality?
Alexander’s birth and boyhood(15th C. illuminated mss.) Alexandrian Legends: -Birth -Bucephalus - Gordian Knot
15th c. illum. Mss. in Budapest; Legend of Alexander by Curtius Ruffilus (1st c. AD Roman writer)
More Legends of Alexander 16th c. military treatise shows Alexander handing a sword to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Disciplined troops Well-paid, year-round Innovative strategy Sarissa & heavy infantry Companions (cavalry) & flanking maneuvers Light infantry w/ archers, slingers, pikemen; = hinge Ballistae & catapaults Battlefield adaptation Fusion & alliances instead of domination Why was Alexander so successful? More details at http://www.nrotc.net/310/3.ppt#302,1,Alexander and the Macedonian System
Battle of Issus, 334 BC • Asynchronous Troop numbers: • 250,000 Persians vs. 40,000 Macedonians • Yet Alexander’s strategy forces Darius to flee, and causes 50,000 Persian deaths vs. 500 Macedonians. Similar results at Gaugamela (332) and Arbela (331), thus crushing the Persian Empire forever.
Alexander the Great • “He had great personal beauty, invincible power of endurance, and a keen intellect; he was brave and adventurous, hungry for fame…Noble indeed was his power of inspiring his men….” • Arrian, Campaigns of Alexander, 2nd c. AD • See Noble, p. 110 for full text
Significance of Alexander • Hellenistic “fusion” b/w E. & W. • E.g., Rosetta Stone, Plenis (p. 113, 118), Koine • Lavish, centralized monarchies; courtly societies > public • Urbanization • Military developments and strategy; extent of conquest • Legend of kingship in later centuries
Perhaps the greatest military strategist, tactician, and ruler in history, Alexander the Great has been an enduring influence on world business and military leaders for thousands of years. Ted Turner keeps a bust of him in his office. General Norman Schwarzkopf credits his brilliant tactical strategies as the inspiration for his troops' approach to Desert Storm, including the "Hail Mary" flanking move that inflicted the final defeat on Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army. His innovative strategies and winning philosophies (Aristotle was his mentor) are as relevant today as they were in 330 B.C. Learn how he, and you, can: o Build a successful organizationo Establish visionary leadershipo Create a winning philosophyo Motivate others o Overcome seemingly impossible oddso Become an expert in the element of surpriseo Prepare for the unexpected Alexander in the Modern World?
Hellenistic World • Political • Federalism, decline of democracy • Economic • Expansion, trade, inflation, slavery • Social • Cultural • medicine
Evolution of Architecturehttp://www.urtonart.com/history/ancient/greece.htm Doric column Ionic style Corinthian style (Hellenistic)
Evolution of sculpture Archaic Classical (Aphrodite) Late Classical (Amazon) Hellenistic
Hellenistic sculpture • Lack of idealism • Restlessness & tension • Innovative groupings • More emotion (pain, anger, jealousy) • More realism, and exaggeration Laocoon
Hellenic ● male statues, homoerotic sculpture ● farmer/citizen warrior (male) ● Greece = center ● poleis w/ republics; national/regional ● Greeks and barbaros, ostracism ● public life (agora, acropolis); rhetoric ● balance, golden mean ● idealism Question: Which tradition will Rome adopt? Hellenistic ● females depicted, strong queens ● any subject loyal to monarch ● Anatolia / Egypt = center ● kingdoms and empires w/ monarchs; int’l ● fusion of East and West, migration ● private life (palace); prayer/meditation ● tension, restlessness Question: Which tradition dominates W. C.?