and the Hellenistic Age Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age

The Macedonians The Macedonians lived in the north of the Greek peninsula and spoke a dialect of Greek Considered backward cousins of the Greeks They were mostly farmers and shepherds They had not achieved the same cultural glory as the Greeks to the south Behind their southern cousins in wealth and culture In the fourth century BCE, several kings united the Macedonian people and transformed the state into a great military power

Philip II of Macedonia(359 BCE – 336 BCE) Brilliant and ambitious king Hostage in Thebes for 3 years, where he learned the new battle tactics of Thebans Discovery of gold deposits provided him with the wealth to assemble one of the greatest fighting forces the world had ever seen Greeks were weak, disorganized after Peloponnesian War At battle of Chaeronea near Thebes in 338 BCE, Philip II crushed the independent Greek city-states and made them part of Macedonia For the first time, all mainland Greeks were joined together under the rule of a single leader Philip was determined to conquer Persia as well

Rise of Macedonia

Philip the Great Military strength rested on his ingenious use of the phalanx formation and the strong support of a well-trained cavalry Experimented with combining cavalry and infantry, used new weapons Used battering rams on gates, catapults to hurl stones at enemy walls Philip II was assassinated by a member of his own bodyguard during his daughter’s wedding celebration His 20 year old son Alexander was proclaimed king

Macedonian Phalanx Men had spears that were 4 metres long Rows of 16 deep, soldiers marched, front rows with spears pointed forward and rear with spears pointed upwards Three phalanx formations would trap the enemy by closing in from all sides Cavalry and shield bearers supported phalanxs

Discovery of his tomb? Royal burial chamber excavated at Vergina in northern Greece Outside facade had painting of a lion hunt with figures identified as Philip the Great and a young Alexander Wrapped in purple and gold cloth were the burnt bones of a man whom many believe was Philip the Great himself Many others now think this tomb actually belonged to Philip’s son, Philip III Arrhidaeus, the half brother of Alexander

Philip the Great Reconstructed from fragments of a skull found in the tomb of Vergina. Philip was known to have lost an eye in battle.

Alexander the Great Alexander had already proven his military prowess as leader of the cavalry in the great victory over the Greek city-states at Chaeronea Alexander set out to complete his father’s original plans for expanding the empire In 334 he began an 11-year campaign of conquest that took his armies into Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, and as far east as the Indus River in India Troops confronted force in India that included 200 elephants Alexander’s cavalry virtually immobilized because the horses were terrified by the strange, huge animals

Conquests of Alexander

The end of his conquests Alexander wanted to push even farther east, but he turned back His men were exhausted and were ready to mutiny His generals convinced him that it was time to return home In 323 BCE, Alexander died at the age of 33, perhaps from typhoid or malaria

The Hellenistic Age Period that begins with Alexander’s conquests and ends around 27 BCE is called the Hellenistic Age Hellenistic civilization a blend of eastern and western influences Alexander welcomed both Greeks and Persians into his armies, so the different cultures learned from one another Alexander’s huge empire, from Greece to India, provided a broad base for the spread of Greek culture

Spread of Greek Culture Greek and Macedonian citizens settled in the new cities Greek scholars, artists, craftspeople, and soldiers travelled to new territories and spread Greek culture Alexander intended to make Greek culture and language a unifying force in the empire he also respected the customs and laws of the people he had conquered This was a wise decision on Alexander’s part, since the nationalities may have rebelled if forced to adopt Greek customs completely

Accomplishments of the Hellenistic Age Euclid systematized geometry Archimedes advanced theoretical physics Aristarchus formulated the view that the earth moved around the sun – a view his contemporaries did not accept Ethical philosophy of stoicism was also developed: according to this philosophy humans should be virtuous despite the pain or consequences and people should always obey the laws of nature or Divine Reason, which ruled the universe of all people

The End When Alexander died there was no heir apparent For 40 years, his generals fought over the spoils of the empire Alexander’s empire divided into three kingdoms: Seleucus took over Asiatic part of empire and established Seleucid dynasty Ptolemy established Ptolemaic dynasty in Africa (Egypt and eastern Libya), the last ruler of which was the famous queen, Cleopatra Antigonus snatched the European portion, including Greece and Macedonia and founded Antigonid dynasty On the Greek mainland, turmoil again marked the lives of the citizens Peace was not restored until Rome conquered Greece in 27 BCE