Transcript Decline of Greece & Alexander the Great

DECLINE OF GREECE
&
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
WHAT DO WE KNOW ALREADY?
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Greece was weakened by the ongoing fighting
among the city-states
GREECE IS AT A DISADVANTAGE…
Phillip II was ruler of Macedonia, a kingdom
north of Greece
 His goal was to invade and rule Greece
 The city-state of Athens tried bring together all
the city-states to form an alliance against
Phillip, but very few responded
 Phillip II won easily; see the Macedonian
strength and powerful army, the Greeks agreed
to make Phillip their leader
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FROM FATHER TO SON…
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When Phillip II died his son took power, Alexander, at the
age of 20
Alexander was a great military leader; despite having the
smaller army he was not afraid to take on the Persian
army
His conquests took him to Egypt, which was then under
Persian rule; the Persian governor knew of Alexander’s
great military skills and surrendered without a fight,
naming Alexander pharaoh
His last battle against Persia was at Gaugamela; he won
& shortly after became ruler over all of the Persian
empire
SPREADING GREEK CULTURE…
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His empire was the largest the world had ever had before
He worked hard to spread Greek culture by building new
cities throughout the empire, many named after himself
He encouraged Greeks to move to his new cities, he built
temples and theaters just like the ones in Greece, Greek
became a common language among all people within the
empire
Also spread Greek art, literature, and science
Still encouraged people to keep their own cultures which
helped to create a blended lifestyle throughout the empire
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Part-Persian, -Egyptian, -Syrian, -Greek
“Hellenistic” means Greek-like; many refer to Alexander’s time as
the Hellenistic Age
HE WANTED MORE…
Alexander wanted to expand his empire into
Central Asia
 He crossed over the Indus River, but did not go
much further
 His soldiers were exhausted and refused to go
any farther
 Disappointed, he began to march home to
Greece
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IT COMES TO AN END…
Alexander never got back to Greece; he became
sick on the way back and died just a few days
after
 His body was taken to Egypt and buried in a
gold coffin
 He had no heir (male child) to take over this
throne, so people fought for power; in the end 3
of his powerful generals divided the power
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 Hellenistic
Macedonia
 Weak
government; constantly struggled against
rebellions
 Invaded and conquered by Roman invaders
 Hellenistic
 Very
Syria
diverse with cultures, but none were happy with
Hellenistic/Greek-like rulers and way of life
 Many rebellions which led to a weakened empire
 Invaded and conquered by Romans about 40 years after
Macedonia
 Hellenistic
Egypt
 Encouraged
Greek culture
 Built world’s largest library in the city of Alexandria
 Also built the Museum, a place for scholars and artists to
meet
 Alexandria became a great place for culture and learning
 However, it too was conquered by Rome about a decade
after Syria