Ch. 5 S.4 Objectives:
1.Explain how Phillip of Macedonia gained control over Greece.
2. Describe the achievements of Alexander the Great.
3. Explain how Greek culture spread during the Hellenistic Age.
Instruction:
A.. Phillip of Macedonia
B. He trained the peasants into a strong army (phalanxes).
C. Demosthenes, an Athenian orator, warned Athens of Phillip's ruthlessness. So Athens joins Thebes to fight Phillip.
D. Phillip wins this battle and therefore becomes the strongest Greek power.
E. Phillip is murdered by Persians, his bodyguard, and Phillip's son, Alexander becomes king.
2. Conquests of Alexander the Great
A.. Aristotle was his tutor. He learned science, literature, Greek heroism.
B. He destroys Thebes and being afraid, the other Greek city states soon submit.
C. He conquers Persia:
* 1st conquers Asia Minor
* Next frees Egypt
*Next totally ends Persian power at Gaugamela
*Finally leads his soldiers all the way to India (with 200 elephants). The soldiers are too exhausted and insist on returning home. (They traveled 11,000 miles in 7yrs.)
*Alexander died of illness at 33 years old.
* Legend has it that Alexander once weeped because he had run out of territory to conquer.
3. Alexander's Legacy
A. He ended the era of Greek city-states.
B. Many Greeks followed Alexander throughout the Persia and even stayed and married there-- this is the beginning of a new culture "Hellenism"-- the blending of Greek and eastern cultures.
4. Hellenistic Age
A. Alexandria- An Egyptian city which became the foremost center of Hellenistic civilization.
*It had a thriving commerce. (trade etc) it grew quickly and prospered quickly.
*It was a beautiful city! (had statues, palaces etc)
*It had museums (art galleries, a zoo, gardens in them!)
*It had libraries (which contained 1/2 million papyrus scrolls of literature and various writings.
2. Astronomy and Geography
*Aristarchus- He said the sun was larger than the earth. Therefore the earth gravitates around the sun.
*Ptolemy-said the earth was the center of the universe (which is wrong but was believed for centuries.
Erasthosthenes-Calculated the earth's size or circumference at 25,000 miles (the true size).
3. Math and Physics
*Euclid wrote "Elements," which was a book of geometry-the 2nd most read book other than the Bible!
*Archimedes-developed a "lever" to lift heavy objects--helped develop industry!
4. Sculpture
*The wealthy had statues built to honor the gods, heroes, and even ordinary people.
*Example: The Colossus of Rhodes (a giant 105 ft. bronze statue.
5. By 150 BC, Hellenism declines and a new empire grows-Rome!