The Greek Empire

Democracy Stadium Museum Gymnasium

These words represent things that are important in our lives today. All of them had beginnings in ancient Greece. The story of the Greek civilization continues with a young man named Alexander.

End of a Golden Age What brought about the end of the Golden Age of Athens? The Peloponnesian Wars For the next 50 years no city-state was able to maintain control of Greece. These unsettled times left Greece open to threat from a new power in the north.

The Kingdom of Macedonia The weakened Greek city-states were open to attack from the Macedonia – a powerful kingdom to the north of Greece. By 336 B.C. Macedonia’s army had conquered much of Greece.

Alexander the Great A Macedonian king Educated by the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Alexander had a great respect for Greek culture and traditions. http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/551029-25.jpg

Expanding the Empire In 334 B.C.E. Alexander and his armies set out to conquer Persia. In 331 B.C.E. Alexander proclaimed himself ruler of Persia’s vast empire, as well as of Greece. Alexander continued to push further east and entered the Indus River valley. In 323 B.C.E. Alexander died in Babylon.

Alexandria Before Alexander died, he planned the creation of a city. This city was located on the western edge of the Nile Delta. It was a prime example of how the Greek civilization and ideas were carried far beyond Greece.

A Blending of Cultures Many of the cities Alexander built, including Alexandria, mirrored the Greek polis. There was an agora, a theater, several temples, a stadium, and a gymnasium Alexandria’s harbor became a major hub of Mediterranean trade. At the mouth of the harbor stood the first lighthouse in the world, The Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The mixture of peoples and cultures in Alexandria created an unusual community. The Greek and Macedonian citizens took part in democratic assemblies. There were courts, like those in Greece. In the museums of Alexandria, scholars studied the world and how it worked. Many scholars used books from the nearby library in Alexandria.

Greek Alphabet Unlike hieroglyphics, and cuneiform, written Greek used a simple alphabet. Each symbol represented a sound. Learning to read required mastering less than 30 letters. The alphabet made it easier for more people to learn to read and write.

Math and Science Ancient Greece produced brilliant mathematicians. They learned a great deal from earlier Egyptian scholars. Arithmetic, geometry, and mathematics are all words that have Greek origins.