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Think: What does it mean to be great?
Alexander the Great
The Fall of Greece
Macedonia
◦ King Philip II ruled Macedonia,
turned the country into a powerful
military machine
◦ By 338 B.C.E. had all of Greece
under his control
◦ Had dreams to invade Persia next,
but assassinated
◦ Son Alexander, at age 20, will
continue his mission
Quote
◦“Alexander inherited from his father the most perfectly
organized, trained, and equipped army of ancient times.”
◦J.F.C. Fuller, The Generalship of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great
Student of Aristotle
◦ Knew Greek language, history, and
mythology
◦ Loved Greek culture
Trained to be a ruler
◦ Taught warfare and politics
◦ Rule with a firm hand
Spread of Greek Culture
Conquered other cities in Mediterranean easily
◦ Thebes
◦ Egypt (made Pharaoh)
◦ Conquered the Persians, burned their capital to the ground
◦ Not satisfied and tried to expand even further into Asia
Built over 70 cities
◦ Alexandria: Egyptian center of culture and trade
Introduced Greek culture, literature, myth, dance, language,
medicine, art, and theater, to all parts of the ancient world
Relative sizes
The Hellenistic World
Alexander died of illness (or
possibly poison) in Babylon
Did not name an heir
◦ His generals fought for power and
divided up his kingdom into three
large states
The Hellenistic World
The period of Alexander and his successors is called the Hellenistic
period to reflect the broad influence of Greek culture beyond
Greece’s borders
◦ Goal: to blend the cultures of the different civilizations of the ancient world
◦ Hellenistic Era ends in 146 BCE when Roman Empire begins to take over the
Mediterranean world
Classicism vs. Hellenism