Alexander the Great and the Spread of Greek Culture

1. Alexander the Great and the Spread of Greek Culture

2. Macedonia Attacks Greece • Macedonia – a powerful kingdom that lay north of Greece • Philip II needed to unite Greece with Macedonia to defeat the Persian Empire • After training a vast army, Philip began taking over the Greek city-states • Defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Chaeronea (kehr-uh-nee-uh) • After this battle, Philip controlled most of Greece

3. Alexander Builds an Empire • Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia after his father, Philip, died • Began his conquest of the Persian Empire in 334 B.C. with the Battle of Granicus • Alexander’s forces destroyed the Persian forces • A year later, he defeated the Persian army at Issus and freed the Greek cities in Asia Minor • Captured Syria and Egypt • Built the city of Alexandria (in Egypt) as the center of business and trade • Continued his conquest of the Persian Empire by fighting in modern Pakistan, India, and Iran

5. In 323 B.C., Alexander planned to invade southern Arabia, but he became ill and died • Legacy = what a person leaves behind when he or she dies • Alexander’s legacy – the spread of Greek culture throughout southwest Asia and northern Africa • Alexander’s conquest marked the beginning of the Hellenistic Era- time when Greek language and ideas spread to non-Greek areas of southwest Asia

6. After Alexander’s death, his generals fought for power, and his empire ended • Four kingdoms emerged in its place • Government business was conducted in the Greek language • People who didn’t speak Greek could not hold government jobs  helped the Greeks maintain control • New cities were created during the Hellenistic Era • Cities needed architects, engineers, and philosophers • Hellenistic rulers sent Greek colonists to southwest Asia to help build the cities  Greek culture spread

7. Greek Culture Spreads • Philosophers, poets, scientists, and writers moved to the new Greek cities in southwest Asia, mainly Alexandria, during the Hellenistic Era • Kings hired Greek architects and sculptors to make their cities like Greece • Writers of the Hellenistic Era produced a large body of literature • Athenians still created plays, but the plays of the Hellenistic Era were about love and relationships

8. New Philosophy and Science • Epicurus taught that happiness was the goal of life • Zeno developed Stoicism (stoh-uh-sih-zuhm) – happiness comes from reason, not emotions • Astronomers study the stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies • Euclid- one of the most famous Greek mathematicians • described plane geometry (points, lines, angles, etc.) • Archimedes- the most famous scientist of the Hellenistic Era • Worked on solid geometry (spheres, cylinders, pi, invented the catapult)

9. Greece Falls to Rome • The four Greek kingdoms shared their culture but fought one another • In the late 200s B.C., Rome, a city-state in Italy, conquered the Italian peninsula, and the Romans began expanding into Greece • Greece began supporting Rome’s enemies in times of war, but the Romans conquered Greece and its allies • end