Download DOCA Ch 3.3 Hellenistic Alexander

Hellenistic Greece & Alexander
Athenian Empire about 450BCE (p 79)
Hellenistic Culture
Despite the decline of the polis and the rise of monarchies, Greek culture
had tremendous influence in the world of its day and will always influence
thinking in our modern world. This section details the exploits of Alexander
the great but also covers the contributions of Greek philosophers and
scientists from this era.
Philip II (382 – 336 BCE, ruled from 359) combined good diplomacy with
military innovation to expand his northern Macedonian kingdom
southward and eastward. His biggest military innovation involved a
phalanx using longer spears, combined with a devastating cavalry
attack. He defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338,
founded the League of Corinth, and began to turn his attention to
Persia. Assassination cut that short, but his son Alexander would carry
on…
Demosthenes Denounces Philip of Macedon (p 100)
Do not imagine, that his empire is everlastingly secured to him as a god.
There are who hate and fear and envy him, Athenians, even among those
that seem most friendly; and all feelings that are in other men belong, we
may assume, to his confederates. But now they are all cowed, having no
refuge through your tardiness and indolence, which I say you must
abandon forthwith. For you see, Athenians, the case, to what pitch of
arrogance the man has advanced, who leaves you not even the choice of
action or inaction, but threatens and uses (they say) outrageous language,
and, unable to rest in possession of his conquests, continually widens their
circle, and, while we dally and delay, throws his net all around us. When
then, Athenians, when will ye act as becomes you? In what event? In that of
necessity, I suppose. And how should we regard the events happening now?
Methinks, to freemen the strongest necessity is the disgrace of their
condition. Or tell me, do ye like walking about and asking one another:--is
there any news? Why, could there be greater news than a man of Macedonia
subduing Athenians, and directing the affairs of Greece? Is Philip dead? No,
but he is sick. And what matters it to you? Should any thing befall this man,
you will soon create another Philip, if you attend to business thus. For even
he has been exalted not so much by his own strength, as by our negligence.
“For I am going to advise you to
champion the cause of concord among
the Hellenes and of a campaign
against the barbarian (Persians).”
Letter to Philip, 346 BCE
Though Demosthenes warned against
the expansion of Philip’s Macedonian
Empire , others, like the longed-lived
orator and rhetorical teacher Isocrates,
hoped that an expedition against Persia
would help the economy. In the end
Macedonia and Athens would be headed
for war.
Democracy
Crowns the
People of
Athens
Ca. 336BCE
(p 101)
Philip II
Demosthenes
The battle between Athens/Thebes and Macedonia was fought at
Chaeronea in 338 BCE. The Macedonians won the victory with help
from a daring charge led by Philip’s son Alexander. The peace was an
easy one (Demosthenes kept his freedom) because Philip wanted to
consolidate all of Greece under his control keeping the goal of defeating
Persia in mind.
League of Corinth
In 338 the League of Corinth was formed by Philip to provide a level of
autonomy to Greek cities, but it was really put together with Philip as
its ruler. The polis as Greeks knew it was gone. As Philip was gathering
troops for his invasion of Persia in 336 he was assassinated…
356-323BCE
Philip’s son Alexander is both historic and
legendary. Rising to power after the
assassination of his father, he quickly moved to
cross his army into Asia Minor. Legends persist
of his horse Bucephalus and the loosing of the
Gordian knot. Clearly Alexander was a
strategic genius on the battlefield and in about
a decade he had conquered everything in the
known world through military adventure.
Alexander had a habit of naming cities after
himself and the most famous example would be
Alexandria in Egypt. After fighting all the way
to the borders of India he became ill and died in
Babylon at the relatively young age of 33.
Darius III
Like Alexander Darius III came to power in Persia after an assassination.
He had military skills too but he was not skilled in running an empire.
Darius fought against Alexander at the battle of Issus in 333, and at
Gaugamela in 331. Both times he had larger forces but was defeated, and he
had to flee. His own men captured and killed him in 330, and his daughter
Stateira became one of Alexander's wives.
More legends… At Tyre in 332 Alexander decided to
kill everyone there because of the defense. At
Gaugamela (331) Alexander was outnumbered 2:1
but he soundly defeated the Persians. Alexander
destroyed Persepolis in 330, and is hated by
Persians to this day. Roxana was a Bactrian
princess and she married Alexander in 326. She
bore Alexander a son after his death in 323 and
they were protected by Olympias in Macedonia.
Both mother and son were murdered in 310 BCE.
Arrian Speculates on Alexander’s Character and Ultimate Plans (p 104)
“When Alexander arrived at Pasargadae and Persepolis, he was seized with an
ardent desire to sail down the Euphrates and Tigris to the Persian Sea, and to
see the mouths of those rivers as he had already seen those of the Indus as well
as the sea into which it flows. Some authors also have stated that he was
meditating a voyage round the larger portion of Arabia, the country of the
Ethiopians, Libya, and Numidia beyond Mount Atlas to Gadeira, inward into
our sea; thinking that after he had subdued both Libya and Carchedon, then
indeed he might with justice be called king of all Asia. For he said that the
kings of the Persians and Medes called themselves Great Kings without any
right, since they ruled a comparatively small part of Asia. Some say that he was
meditating a voyage thence into the Euxine Sea, to Scythia and the Lake
Maeotis; while others assert that he intended to go to Sicily and the Iapygian
Cape, for the fame of the Romans spreading far and wide was now exciting his
jealousy. For my own part I cannot conjecture with any certainty what were his
plans; and I do not care to guess. But this I think I can confidently affirm, that
he meditated nothing small or mean; and that he would never have remained
satisfied with any of the acquisitions he had made, even if he had added Europe
to Asia, or the islands of the Britons to Europe; but would still have gone on
seeking for some unknown land beyond those mentioned. I verily believe that if
he had found no one else to strive with, he would have striven with himself.”
KING PORUS & THE END
By 326 Alexander had crossed
through Afghanistan and met up
with King Porus at Hydaspes
River in what is now Pakistan.
There he fought a brilliant
campaign against battle
elephants and he defeated the
king.
It was a costly victory; his horse
Bucephalus died and his men
began to mutiny, so Alexander
returned to Babylon, where he
died three years later. Thereafter
the empire was split up between
Alexander’s generals.
(p 105)
359 – 336 BCE
338 BCE
338 BCE
336 – 323 BCE
334 BCE
331 BCE
330 BCE
327 BCE
323 BCE
Reign of Philip II
Battle of Chaeronea; Philip conquers
Greece
Founding of the league of Corinth
Reign of Alexander III, the Great
Battle of Issus
Battle of Gaugamela
Fall of Persepolis
Alexander reaches the Indus Valley
Death of Alexander
ALEXANDER’S SUCCESSORS
After the death of Alexander his kingdom was split up between his
generals. These smaller empires were run by the Ptolemies in Egypt,
the Seleucids in Mesopotamia, and the Antigonids, who controlled Asia
Minor , Greece, and Macedon. Unlike earlier times there was a much
wider gap between the rich and poor. Economic pressures led to unrest,
strikes, and civil wars. By the time of the rise of Rome only the
Ptolemies were left as successors to the Alexandrian legacy.
Unlike some people, Pyrrho of Elis (360 –
270 BCE) believed that truth was
impossible to find because every
statement of truth had a contradiction.
Thus his truth is there is no truth.
Sound familiar?
Pyrrho said,
“Firstly we must ask what things are
and how they are constituted. Secondly,
we ask how we are related to these
things. Thirdly, we ask what ought to be
our attitude towards them.”
His conclusion: There are no truths or
lies, so don’t worry about the stresses of
life.
Epicurus’ philosophy of
Epicureanism involved
attaining happiness, not
knowledge. This philosophy
includes no afterlife since
we are all composed of
atoms which dissipate after
death. Instead we should
focus on living a reasonable
life and make decisions
based on reason. The goal
of life was to avoid pain, so
retirement is a good idea.
Marriage and children
caused pain so that should
be avoided too.
Zeno’s philosophy of Stoicism was similar
to the Epicureans in that each individual
should seek happiness, but differed in the
way to achieve it. According to Zeno we
should attain harmony within ourselves
and in nature.
The guiding light of nature is reason so
Stoics must lead a virtuous life. People
need to know the difference between good
and evil and seek the good.
To live a Stoic life required wisdom and
personal fortitude. This became popular
in the post-Alexandrian era.
The Museum (more commonly known as the Library) at Alexandria is
sometimes acclaimed as a wonder of the ancient world. Alexander’s
successors in Egypt, the Ptolemies, supported this structure which
housed more than 500,000 scrolls and played host to many scientists
and scholars. In an age with no printing the best works were copied so
they could stand the test of time. From this library we get indispensible
information about the histories of the time from different perspectives.
Unfortunately Julius Caesar had the library burned in 48 BCE, and all
that is left today are the ruins
Eratosthenes of Cyrene (ca. 275 – 195 BCE) was, geographically
speaking, far ahead of his time. He was able to calculate the
circumference of the earth within a couple of hundred miles. Too bad
Columbus didn’t know that information in 1492! His map is shown here.
Hippodamus of Miletus (498 – 408 BCE) was a mathematician and
scientist, but he is best known for planning and laying out new cities
using a grid system. These things became accepted practice in the
ancient world and they are still in use today.
Of course sculptures would play a part in the ancient plans…
Laocoon & Sons
(p 109)
Little is known about Euclid’s birth
or death, but we know he was
active during the reign of Ptolemy I
around 300BCE. Euclid is
considered to be one of the fathers
of geometry, having written the
book of “Elements.” a fragment is
shown below. Anyone who learned
something about conic sections in
geometry can thank Euclid for it!
Plutarch Cites Archimedes and Hellenistic Science (p 110)
Archimedes, however, in writing to King Hiero, whose friend and near relation he
was, had stated that given the force, any given weight might be moved, and even
boasted, we are told, relying on the strength of demonstration, that if there were
another earth, by going into it he could remove this. Hiero being struck with
amazement at this, and entreating him to make good this problem by actual
experiment, and show some great weight moved by a small engine, he fixed
accordingly upon a ship of burden out of the king’s arsenal, which could not be
drawn out of the dock without great labor and many men; and, loading her with
many passengers and a full freight, sitting himself the while far off, with no great
endeavor, but only holding the head of the pulley in his hand and drawing the cords
by degrees, he drew the ship in a straight line, as smoothly and evenly as if she had
been in the sea. The king, astonished at this, and convinced of the power of the art,
prevailed upon Archimedes to make him engines accommodated to all the purposes,
offensive and defensive, of a siege. These the king himself never made use of,
because he spent almost all his life in a profound quiet and the highest affluence.
But the apparatus was, in most opportune time, ready at hand for the Syracusans,
and with it also the engineer himself… Yet Archimedes possessed so high a spirit, so
profound a soul, and such treasures of scientific knowledge, that though these
inventions had now obtained him the renown of more than human sagacity, he yet
would not deign to leave behind him any commentary or writing on such subjects;
but, repudiating as sordid and ignoble the whole trade of engineering, and every sort
of art that lends itself to mere use and profit, he placed his whole affection and
ambition in those purer speculations where there can be no reference to the vulgar
needs of life…
Hipparchus of Nicaea (190 – 120 BCE) was yet another amazing mathematician from this era. He actually devised a model of the universe.
His observations provided a foundation for modern astronomy.