Alexander the Great and The Hellenistic Age

Early Life Alexander the Great was born in 356 BCE in Macedonia (Northern Greece) As a young boy, he was tutored by the great philosopher Aristotle Alexander was very well educated. He was good at all subjects

Macedon

Phillip II (Phillip the 2nd) His father was Philip II, King of Macedonia Phillip II wanted to expand the Macedonian kingdom and conquer Greece Alexander became king at 20 years old when Philip II was assassinated by his own bodyguard

Philip II conquered all of Greece and handed it to his son Alexander after his death

King Alexander When Alexander took the throne, he inherited a very strong army and continued his father’s mission to expand the kingdom Alexander was a brilliant commander and expanded the empire from Egypt and Greece all the way to the Indus Valley Egypt made him a pharaoh

Alexander’s Conquests

Alexander’s Kingdom

Commander In Chief Alexander is considered to be one of the greatest military commanders of all-time He was undefeated in battle 10 major battles and over 100 smaller ones Alexander’s army defeated King Darius and the Persians, which was the most powerful military at the time

Decline Eventually, his army got tired and many decided to return to Macedonia after conquering so much land At age 33, he got sick and died suddenly

Cultural Diffusion The conquests of Alexander the Great led to a significant amount of cultural diffusion This means culture was spread (or diffused) over a vast area Ideas, languages, religions, technologies, and much more moved from one place to another

Hellenistic Age Lasted from about 324 BC – 200 BC Greek culture mixes with the cultures of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and India Greek language and ideas are spread