1. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic CULTURE
Chapter 8, Lesson 3 and 4

2. Phillip II of Macedonia
After Peloponnesian War, Greece was very weak.
Macedonia is a kingdom North of Greece.
Phillip II, King of Macedonia took the opportunity to take over Greece.

3. 338 BC: Phillip and the Macedonians defeat the Greek City States and Unify Greece.

4. Alexander Takes Over
Became King of Macedonia at age 20 after Phillip died of poisoning (suspiciously).
Wanted to be like warriors he studied from the poet, Homer.
Aristotle was his teacher.
Determined to outdo his father and spread Greek culture.
Believed he descended from Hercules and Achilles.

5. Alexander’s Plan
Alexander wanted to rule the world, uniting different cultures under one ruler.
How would he do this?
Spread Greek culture and ideas, make everyone “Greek”.
Make himself a “god” to inspire loyalty.
Respect people he conquered and adopt their cultures in addition to Greece.

6. Born to Be a Leader
Alexander was an excellent military leader, men were very loyal to him.
Led from the front of his men.
Ate and drank with his men.
Soldiers would follow him happily into battle.

7. Alexander’s Conquests
By conquering the Persians, Alexander could the unite Greeks against a common enemy.
By 334 BC he freed all Greek city states from Persia.
332 BC: Invaded Ancient Egypt, a Persian territory.
Was welcomed as a liberator.
Crowned as a pharaoh/god
Founded the city of Alexandria and a huge library on the Nile.
330 B.C: Conquered the Persian Empire.

8. Alexander the Great’s Empire Map of Alexander the Great's Empire

9. Hellenistic Culture
Section 4

10. The Library at Alexandria

11. Facts about the library
Contained a Zoo, botanical gardens, and a restaurant.
Included over 500,000 papyrus scrolls.
Became a center of advanced Greek learning.

12. Spreading Civilization By the Sword
As Alexander’s empire spread, so did the Greek culture.
Alexander passed the ideas and philosophies of Aristotle on to the world.
Sent samples of plants and animals back to his tutor to study.
Encouraged his soldiers to marry foreign girls so that the Greek culture would spread.

13. The Hellenistic Heyday
Alexander’s conquests led to the combination of many cultures.
This time period of combined cultural advances under Alexander was called the Hellenistic Era.
Hellas in Greek means land. So all of this was considered “Greek land”
Greek + Egyptian + Indian + Persian = Hellenistic Culture
Practices of other cultures were adopted by Greeks, like monotheistic religions.

14. Hellenistic Advances
Alexander’s conquests spread the classical Greek ideas such as democracy and geometry out into the world.
Cities conquered were redesigned in Greek style.
Greek soldiers married foreign girls to “blend” the cultures”
Alexander tried to set an example by marrying a Persian princess, wearing Persian clothes, worshiping Egyptian gods, etc.

15. The End of Alexander
324: After reaching India, Alexander’s soldiers were too tired and refused to go on.
Age 33, Alexander died of swamp fever and alcoholism.
After his death, Alexander’s generals divided his empire into three pieces: Egypt, Greece, and Asia.
He was buried in Alexandria, but his body was lost after being burned.

16. Activity: Alexander’s Profile
Who was Alexander the Great? List and explain 4 facts about him.
Read Alexander Takes Over.
TIMELINE: Complete a timeline of events that show how Alexander conquered his empire. At least 6 events in chronological order.
Event #1
What were Alexander the Great’s legacies?
List and explain 3 legacies.
Event #2
Event #3
Event #4
Event #5
Event #6