Transcript WHICh6Sec3 - Alabama School of Fine Arts

AFTER the Peloponnesian War
• Both Athens and Sparta declined in power
• Thebes became the strongest polis in
Greece
• There was still bitter competition between
the poleis of Greece, which weakened
Greece, and made it hard for them to
unite.
•Macedonia was a
kingdom north of
Greece
•The Macedonians
were a hardy, warlike
people, who lived in
villages ruled by
nobles.
•The King of
Macedonia ruled with
the support of the
nobles
•Macedonians were
less advanced than
the Greeks, and the
Greeks regarded
them as barbarians.
PHILIP II
• In 359 BC Philip II of Macedon
became King.
• As a youth, Philip II had been a
hostage in Thebes for 3 years, and
had come to learn about and admire
Greek ways.
• He also learned much about the
army of Thebes and how it was
organized.
Philip’s Army
• Using the army of Thebes as a model, Philip II began to build a
powerful, well-organized and highly disciplined, professional
army
• Borrowed the Greek idea of the phalanx, but made his
phalanxes bigger-16 men deep, and the men carried longer
spears, about 16 feet long!
• Also used heavily armed cavalry. Cavalry had rarely been used
by the Greeks.
• Philip II’s army was now stronger than any Greek army
Philip II of Macedon conquers
Greece
• Philip used his army to win control of several
Athenian colonies in Northern Greece
• People of Greece had different views of Philip II
– Some saw him as the man who could unify
Greece
– Some saw him as a dangerous threat to their
freedom
– The famous Athenian orator Demosthenes warned
the Athenians in his fiery speeches about the
threat of an attack by Philip II. The Athenians
finally began to listen to Demosthenes and tried
to get the other Greeks to unite against him.
Philip II
• Athens and Thebes finally united against Philip II but
it was too late.
• In 338BC Philip II defeated the forces of Athens &
Thebes at the battle of Chaeronea. Now Greece was
conquered & Philip ruled both Macedon & Greece.
He dreamed of conquering Persia.
• In 336BC, before he could carry out his dream of
conquering Persia Philip II was murdered at his
daughter’s wedding. The throne passed to his son
Alexander.
ALEXANDER
• Son of Philip II and his wife Olympias
(Philip had several wives)
• Loved the story of the Iliad, and wanted to
be like Achilles
• Philip II arranged for Alexander to be
tutored for 3 years by Aristotle
• Aristotle gave Alexander his formal
education, while his father gave him his
military training.
Alexander & Bucephalus
• When Alex was about 10
years old, someone gave
his father a very wild
horse & nobody could
tame him.
• Alex decided to try. He
realized the horse was
afraid of his own shadow,
so he turned the horse
toward the sun, and was
able to tame & ride him
• The horse was
Bucephalus, the horse
Alex rode throughout
most of his military
career.
ALEXANDER
• At 18, Alexander commanded the
cavalry at the battle of Chaeronea.
• At age 20, on his father’s death, Alex
became king of Macedon.
• Thinking Alex was young and less
tough than his father, the Greek polis
of Thebes tried to rebel.
• Alex put down the rebellion, and
burned Thebes to the ground,
sparing only the temples and the
house of the long dead poet Pindar.
• Alex slaughtered or sold into slavery
almost the whole population of
Thebes.
• Greece had learned its lesson.
START OF ALEXANDER’S
CONQUESTS
• Determined to carry out his father’s dream of
conquering Persia.
• The Persian Empire under Darius III was now
large but weak. It included Asia Minor, Syria,
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Persia.
• 334BC: Alex crossed into Asia Minor
and smashed a Persian army at the
battle of the Granicus River.
• Turned north to visit
the town of Gordium,
where the famous
“Gordian Knot” was
located. There was a
prophesy that whoever
could untie the knot
would rule Asia.
• Alex tried to untie the
knot, got frustrated
and slashed his sword
through it.
Alex’s Conquests continue
• Darius III of Persia raised a huge army
and faced Alex again near Issus.
• Alex was outnumbered by the Persians at
least 3 to 1.
• Using a daring cavalry charge to break
through a weak point, Alex won the battle.
• Darius III fled (leaving his mother, wife and
children behind, whom Alex treated with
great respect).
Into Syria & Phoenicia
• Alex marched south & took the cities of
Phoenicia
• The city Tyre, which was located on an island
near the coast and had strong walls, resisted.
• Alex actually had an earthen bridge built from
the mainland to Tyre, in order to get to it.
• Alex used battering rams, huge siege towers
with bridges, and the torsion catapult.
• After a long siege, Alex took Tyre.
Into Egypt
• 332BC: Alex marched into Egypt, where he
was welcomed as a liberator by the
Egyptians, who resented the Persians.
• Alex was crowned Pharaoh. Alex was even
told by an Egyptian priest that he was the
son of the Egyptian God Ammon! Alex liked
this idea, and he was worshipped by the
Egyptians as Zeus- Ammon!
• Alex. founded the city of Alexandria, Egypt,
which would become one of the most
important cities in the ancient world.
END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
Darius
• Alex. left Egypt in 331 and headed
north. Darius III, with a huge Persian
army, faced Alex. one last time, at
Gaugamela. Alex won.
• Persian emperor DariusIII fled & was
now on the run
• Alex marched into Babylon and took it.
Alex then took the Persian capitals of
Susa and Persepolis.
• Alex knew that the Persian Empire was
not completely defeated, as long as
Darius III was alive and free. He
pursued Darius.
* As Alex approached, Darius III was
killed by his own men, and his body
was left on a roadside for Alex to find.
– Persian Empire collapsed
ALEXANDER’S AMBITION
• Alexander continued to march eastward.
– Convinced that it was his destiny to
conquer the world, although some of
his men did not like this plan.
– Also did not like the way
Alexander had gone native
» Wearing Persian clothes,
adopting Persian rituals,
appointing Persians to
important positions, adding
Persian contingents to the
army.
» Alexander marched east into
Bactria (Afghanistan). There he
married a Bactrian princess,
Roxane.
• Several conspiracies were launched
to overthrow Alexander. He
discovered all of them and executed
all those involved
Alex marches east
TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
• Marched east through Bactria
(Afghanistan)
• Crossed the Hindu Kush
mountains and reached the
Indus River
• He fought a fierce battle at
the Hydaspes river against
King Porus (an Indian King).
• Alex won this battle,
even though the Indians
used 200 war elephants,
which Alex and his men
had never seen before.
• However, Alex’s horse
Bucephalus was killed
during this battle.
Alexander turns back
• Alexander’s men refused to go any further
• Alexander cried!
• He sent part of his men back by sea,
taking a water route up through the
Persian Gulf
• He led the rest of his army back across the
desert.
• The two parts met back up in Babylon
ALEXANDER’S PLAN
– Wanted to create a new
Macedonian/Persian
ruling class which would
permanently join East and
West
• Ordered officers to
marry Persian women
and conducted a mass
wedding ceremony
– By blending
conquered and
conqueror, he
hoped to install an
element of stability
in his empire
DEATH OF ALEXANDER
• In June 323BC, in
Babylon, Alexander got
sick. He had a raging
fever. He died at the age
of 32
• Exact cause of death is
unknown.
• When Alexander was
asked “To whom do
you leave your
empire?” The dying
Alexander replied,”To
the strongest”
SUCCESSOR KINGDOMS
Antigonus took Macedonia and Greece
Ptolemy took
Egypt
Seleucus
took over
Syria, most
of Asia Minor,
Mesopotamia
, and western
Persia
HELLENISTIC AGE
• “Hellas” is the Greek word for Greece. “Hellenistic” means
“Greek-like”
• “Hellenistic culture” was Greek culture combined with Persian
and Egyptian: a combination of the cultures of conqueror and
conquered.
• Everywhere Alexander had gone, he spread Greek culture. This
culture blended with Persian and Egyptian cultures. Hellenistic
culture spread across western Asia and Egypt
• “Hellenistic Period”: Period from the death of Alex (323BC) to
• conquest of Greece by Rome (146BC)
• “Hellenistic World”: The whole area conquered & ruled by
Alexander: Macedonia & Greece, Western Asia, Egypt
Hellenistic Age-Economy &
Commerce
• Hellenistic Society-small group of wealthy
people, small middle-class groups, large
group of poor people
• Hellenistic Society helped the middle
group thrive and grow
• Trade, which was mainly based in cities,
grew in the Hellenistic World
• Alexandria, Egypt-largest Hellenistic city &
center of trade
Alexandria, Egypt
• Most important city in the Hellenistic World
• Had a great center of learning called the Museum, which
means House of the Muses. The Museum included
lecture halls, laboratories, and a great library which
contained thousands of papyrus scrolls.
• Had the famous lighthouse, the “Pharos”
Hellenistic Age-Education
• Cities (especially Alexandria, Egypt) became
centers of learning as well as trade
• Alexandria, Egypt, had a huge library with
thousands of papyrus scrolls
• Greek became the 2nd language for all educated
people
• The middle class began to get more education &
freer lifestyle
• Women appeared more often in public & got
more rights
Hellenistic AgeReligion
• Hellenistic rulers encouraged
“ruler worship”. Devotion to
the ruler replaced devotion to
the polis (the polis no longer
existed).
• “Mystery religions”, including
the worship of Isis (which had
originated in Egypt) and
Cybele (originated in Asia
Minor) spread throughout the
Hellenistic World.
• “Mystery religions” involved
secret teachings that had to
do with life after death and
immortality
POPULAR PHILOSOPHIES
• They developed partly in response to the mixture
of Greek and non-Greek culture
• Most important: Stoicism, Cynicism, Skepticism,
Epicureanism
CYNICISM
• Believed that the main source of
unhappiness was that men were too
concerned about social status and
material possession
• People should live simply, without
regard for pleasure, wealth or social
status.
• Diogenes –most famous cynic
– Lived in Athens
– Plato called him “A Socrates gone mad.
– Totally rejected social conventions & lived
in a tub.
– Diogenes “lived like a dog”; to the
term“Cynicism” comes from the Greek
word for “dog”.
– Often wandered around with a lantern;
when people asked him why, he said he
was “looking for an honest man”
Skepticism
• The universe is always changing, so all
knowledge is uncertain
• People can find peace of mind by
accepting this fact
STOICISM
• Believed that divine reason rules the world
• Believed that people can achieve inner peace by accepting
their place in the universe and not trying to change it;
• People should accept whatever happens to them without
complaint
• You can’t control what happens to you; you can only
control your reaction to it.
• Every person has a “spark” of the divine within him/her
People should do good without expectation of reward,
and should show respect to all other people
• Founded by Zeno
EPICUREANISM
• People should avoid pain and pursue simple, moderate
pleasure (not excessive pleasure, because this eventually
brings pain)
• The best way to avoid pain is to eliminate fear and
excessive desire.
• The only realty is the physical world. Death is final and
there is no life after death.
• Founded by Epicurus
• “Epicurean” has come to mean a person who has a great
love of good food, but this is not the historical meaning.
Hellenistic Science
• Scientists learned a lot using very simple
instruments
• Showed little interest in turning their
discoveries into labor-saving machines
• Much of the scientific research was
centered at the great “Museum” in
Alexandria
Hellenistic Age-Scientists &
Mathematicians
• EUCLID
– Developed geometry as we know it
– Started with axioms, self-evident truths, and
used them to prove “theorems”
– Euclid’s “The Elements” is still the basis of
many of today’s geometry books
Hellenistic Scientists-Archimedes
• Greatest scientist of the Hellenistic World
• When he figured out that you can determine the
volume of an object by the amount of water it
displaces, he said “Eureka”!
• Calculated the value of π
• Many cool inventions:
– Archimedes Screw-pulled water up
– Built devices to help his city, Syracuse, try to fight the
Romans, including a huge “claw” that grabbed enemy
ships and flipped them over.
Hellenistic Medical Science
• Research and teaching was centered at the
“Museum” of Alexandria.
• Greek and Egyptian medical knowledge came
together.
• Hellenistic doctors learned much about anatomy
from the art of Egyptian embalming
• Also dissected the bodies of executed criminals
• Cataloged the parts of the human body
• These medical advances allowed them to
perform delicate surgery.
Hellenistic AstronomyEratosthenes
• Hellenistic scientists already knew the earth was
round
• Eratosthenes (276BC-194BC)was the head of
the library of Alexandria.
• Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of
the earth with amazing accuracy
• Used geometry. Knew the sun was directly
overhead at noon on the first day of summer at a
city in southern Egypt. Calculated the angle of
the sun on the same day at the same time in
Alexandria. Measured the distance between the
cities.
Eratosthenes-circumference of the earth
• At Syrene, the sun was at
zenith (directly overhead), at
mid-summer
• At Alexandria, the sun was
7.2° from zenith at midsummer
• That meant the distance from
Alexandria to Syrene was
about 7.2/360 of the
circumference of the earth.
• The distance from Syrene to
Alexandria was 5000 Stadia
(800 km)
• Therefore the circumference
of the earth was about
250,000 stadia or 40,000km
(less than 2% error)
Hellenistic Astronomy & Geography
• Most astronomers believed the earth was in the center
and the planets and stars moved around the earth. This
came to be called the Ptolemaic system
• Aristarchus correctly believed the sun was in the center,
but few people believed him.