Transcript Alexander the Great

Chapter 9 – The Greek World
Section Notes
Video
Greece and Persia
Sparta and Athens
Alexander the Great
Greek Achievements
The Greek Scholars
History Close-up
The Parthenon
Quick Facts
Life in Sparta
Life in Athens
Chapter 9 Visual Summary
Maps
The Persian Empire
The Persian Wars
The Peloponnesian War,
c. 431-404 BC
Alexander the Great’s
Empire, c. 323 BC
Images
Persia under Darius
Phalanx
Greek Sculpture
Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates
Greece and Persia
The Big Idea
Over time the Persians came to rule a great empire which
eventually brought them into conflict with the Greeks.
Main Ideas
• Persia became an empire under Cyrus the Great.
• The Persian Empire grew stronger under Darius I.
• The Persians fought Greece twice in the Persian Wars.
Main Idea 1:
Persia became an empire under Cyrus the
Great.
• Cyrus the Great won independence for Persia from the
Medes, marking the beginning of the Persian Empire.
• Cyrus conquered many people but let them keep their own
customs.
• This kept people from rebelling against his strong empire.
The Persian Army
The army was
composed of
Immortals, which
were 10,000
soldiers chosen for
their bravery and
skill.
The army also had
a cavalry, a unit of
soldiers who ride
horses. Cyrus used
the cavalry to
charge at and
shoot enemies with
arrows.
This army was
strong because it
was well organized
and loyal.
Together the
components of the
army could defeat
almost any enemy.
Main Idea 2:
The Persian Empire grew stronger under
Darius I.
• Within four years of Cambyses’ death, a young prince
named Darius I claimed the throne.
• He killed all his rivals for power and then worked to
restore order in Persia.
Persian Society
• Darius organized the empire into 20 provinces, each led
by a governor called a satrap. They collected taxes,
served as judges, and put down rebellions.
• He built many roads that connected various parts of the
empire.
• He also built a new capital, called Persepolis.
• During his rule a new religion arose, called
Zoroastrianism.
– This religion taught that two forces were fighting in the
universe: a good force and an evil force.
• Darius expanded the empire by conquering the entire
Indus Valley.
Main Idea 3:
The Persians fought Greece twice in the
Persian Wars.
• Darius was angry that the Greeks had aided a revolt
against the Persians, so he invaded Greece in a series of
battles known as the Persian Wars.
• Greece won these battles because it had better weapons
and more clever leaders.
The Second Invasion of Greece
• Years later, Xerxes I tried to conquer Greece again, this
time joined by the Persian navy.
• The Spartans slowed the Persian army at Thermopylae,
giving Greece enough time to gain the upper hand and
eventually beat the Persians at Plataea, ending the Persian
Wars.
Sparta and Athens
The Big Idea
The two most powerful city-states in Greece, Sparta and
Athens, had very different cultures and became bitter
enemies in the 400s BC.
Main Ideas
• The Spartans built a military society to provide security
and protection.
• The Athenians admired the mind and the arts in addition
to physical abilities.
• Sparta and Athens fought over who should have power
and influence in Greece.
Main Idea 1:
The Spartans built a military society to
provide security and protection.
• Daily life in Sparta was dominated by the army, and boys were
trained from an early age to be soldiers.
– Spartan men reached full citizenship at age 30 and could then
move back home, but they stayed in the army until they
turned 60.
• Courage, strength, self-discipline, and obedience were the most
important qualities to have.
• Because men were often at war, women had more rights than
other Greek women.
– They ran the household and owned property.
– They also received physical training and sometimes competed
with men in sporting events.
Government
• Sparta was officially ruled by two kings who jointly led the
army, but elected officials actually had more power than
the kings.
• These officials handled dealings between Sparta and other
city-states.
• Sparta’s government was set up to control the city’s
helots, or slaves.
Main Idea 2:
The Athenians admired the mind and the arts
in addition to physical abilities.
Boys and Men in Athens
• Sparta’s main rival in Greece was Athens.
• Though they also worked to improve their bodies, they had to devote
only two years to the army.
• They learned to read, write, count, and sing.
• Wealthy boys continued their education with a private tutor.
• Boys from poor families usually became farmers.
Girls and Women in Athens
• Unlike boys, girls received almost no education, because men did not
think they needed to be educated.
• Athenian women had fewer rights than women in many other citystates; in fact, they hardly had any at all.
Main Idea 3:
Sparta and Athens fought over who should
have power and influence in Greece.
• Sparta and Athens worked together to win the Persian
Wars.
• After the Persian Wars, city-states joined an alliance,
which historians call the Delian League.
– “Alliance” means they agreed to work together.
• Sparta formed its own alliance, called the Peloponnesian
League.
The Peloponnesian War
• Sparta declared
war on Athens,
starting the
Peloponnesian
War.
• The war lasted
for ten years
before they
decided to call a
truce.
• The war started
up once more
when Athens
tried to expand
its empire. The
Spartans won.
• With the defeat
of Athens, Sparta
became the most
powerful citystate in Greece.
• Other city-states
started to resent
Sparta, leading
to a period of
war.
• Control of Greece
shifted from one
city-state to
another for
years.
Alexander the Great
The Big Idea
Alexander the Great built a huge empire and helped spread
Greek culture into Egypt and Asia.
Main Ideas
• Macedonia conquered Greece in the 300s BC.
• Alexander the Great built an empire that united much of
Europe, Asia, and Egypt.
• The Hellenistic kingdoms formed from Alexander’s empire
blended Greek and other cultures.
Main Idea 1:
Macedonia conquered Greece
in the 300s BC.
• Phillip II became
king of Macedonia
and targeted
Greece for an
invasion.
• He beat Athens,
and the rest of
Greece agreed to
make him their
leader after seeing
Athens’s defeat.
• Phillip was a
brilliant military
leader.
• His soldiers fought
as a phalanx with
spears that were
longer than the
Greeks.
• He also had a
cavalry and archers
supporting the
phalanx.
• When Phillip died,
his throne and his
plans were passed
on to his son,
Alexander.
Main Idea 2:
Alexander the Great built an empire that
united much of Europe, Asia, and Egypt.
• Alexander began his rule by ending the revolt in Thebes, setting
an example to the Greeks not to rebel.
• He then set out to build an empire and earned the name
Alexander the Great.
• He went on to conquer Egypt and was crowned pharaoh without a
fight.
• He then defeated Persia and became the ruler of the Persian
Empire.
• Alexander wanted to push into India, but his troops were
exhausted and refused to go. He began the march home, but died
from sickness before making it back to Greece.
Spreading Greek Culture
• Alexander’s empire was the largest the world had ever
seen.
• An admirer of Greek culture, he worked to spread it
throughout his empire.
• He encouraged Greek settlers to move to the new cities he
conquered.
– These settlers passed along the language and culture of
Greece.
• Alexander also encouraged people to keep their own
culture, so Greek and native customs blended. Historians
call the culture Hellenistic, or Greek-like.
Main Idea 3:
The Hellenistic kingdoms formed from
Alexander’s empire blended Greek
and other cultures.
• After Alexander
died, his generals
fought for power
and divided the
empire among
themselves.
• The three
kingdoms were
Macedonia, Greece,
and Syria.
• Macedonia had the
weakest
government and
had to put down
Greek revolts.
• Syria was
weakened by
rebellions.
• Egypt, especially
Alexandria,
became a great
cultural center.
• Each empire was
eventually taken
over by the
Romans.
Greek Achievements
The Big Idea
Ancient Greeks made lasting contributions in the arts,
philosophy, and science.
Main Ideas
• The Greeks made great contributions to the arts.
• The teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the
basis of modern philosophy.
• In science, the Greeks made key discoveries in math,
medicine, and engineering.
Main Idea 1:
The Greeks made great contributions
to the arts.
• Greek statues look as though they could come to life at
any time, because Greek artists wanted to show how
beautiful people could be.
• Greek paintings are known for their realism and detail.
• The Greeks made temples with rows of tall columns
rounded in the middle so they appear perfectly straight.
– The Parthenon was their most impressive temple.
• The Greeks excelled at writing.
– They created dramas, or plays.
– The Greeks were the first to write about history.
Main Idea 2:
The teachings of Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle are the basis of modern philosophy.
• Socrates taught by asking questions, a technique we call
the Socratic method.
– He wanted people to question their beliefs and look for
knowledge. This angered and frightened people.
– He was arrested and condemned to death for
questioning the authority of the gods.
• Plato and Aristotle followed after Socrates in their pursuit
for knowledge and deeper understanding.
Plato and Aristotle
• Plato had been a student
of Socrates.
• Aristotle was Plato’s
student.
• Plato created a school, the
Academy, to discuss ideas.
• He taught about living life
in moderation, or balance.
• He also wrote The
Republic, which described
his ideal society.
• He believed moderation
was based on reason, or
clear and ordered thinking.
Main Idea 3:
In science, the Greeks made key discoveries
in math, medicine, and engineering.
• Euclid spent his life studying mathematics, especially
geometry.
• Greek doctors studied the human body to understand how
it worked.
• Hippocrates was a Greek doctor known for his ideas about
how doctors should behave.
• Engineers like Archimedes made great discoveries, such
as the water screw, which brought water to the fields.
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