1. The Fall of Athens
Chapter 6 Section 4

2. Review
Athens and Sparta

3. Sparta and Athens at War
Athens began to treat its allies unfairly
At first allies paid tribute to Athens for protection
But later Athens used the money for building the Parthenon and other projects
Because of this the people of these city-states began to resent Athens
They looked to Sparta

4. Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War was a conflict between Athens and Sparta that lasted 27 years
Called the Peloponnesian War because Sparta is located in Peloponnese, the southern Greek peninsula.

6. The Fall of Athens
Much of what we know about the Peloponnesian War comes from the Greek historian Thucydides
He saw the war first hand
Early in the Peloponnesian War, Athens was struck by a Plague
A plague is a widespread disease
The plague lasted 5 years in Athens
It killed about 1/3 of its people
Among them was Pericles

7. The Fall of Athens
Athens never recovered from losses during the plague
In 405 B.C., Sparta formed a blockade
An action to isolate an enemy and cut off supplies
The Spartans surrounded and closed the harbor of Athens
Athens could not receive any food to the city
Starving and beaten, Athens surrendered in 404 B.C.

8. The Fall of Athens
The Victorious Spartans knocked down Athens walls and burned and sank the majority of their Triremes
Athens never again dominated the Greek World.

9. The Spread of Greek Culture
Chapter 6 Section 5

10. Northern Greece
With the fall of Athens, Macedonia of Northern Greece began to grow
Macedonia lay just north of Greece
Macedonians spoke Greek and had a similar culture as the Greeks from the South
Athens and Sparta did not accept Macedonians as Greek
They though of Macedonians as Barbarians
Wild, uncivilized people

12. King Philip of Macedonia
Philip was king of Macedonia
Before Philip seized power in 359 B.C., Macedonia was poor and divided.
Philip united Macedonia and built a army even stronger than Sparta’s
With his army Philip captured one Greek city- state after another.

13. Death of a King
Philip planned to attack Persia but before he could carry out his plan he was assassinated.
Murdered for political reasons
So at the age of 20 his son, Alexander became king
History would know him as Alexander the Great
King of Macedonia from 336 B.C. to 323 B.C.

14. Alexander As a boy Alexander was tutored by Aristotle
He wanted to learn as much as he could, especially about the ideas and deeds of the Greeks
His role model was Achilles
The mythical war hero from the Iliad
Alexander vowed, he would one day visit the site of Troy and honor his hero.

15. Alexander's Conquests
One of Alexander’s first actions was to invade the Persian Empire
Within 11 years, the Macedonian king had conquered and extensive area including: Persia, Egypt and the land beyond the Indus River to the east

17. Alexander the Great Energy and Military genius helped him succeed
He drove himself and his armies hard, covering vast lands at remarkable speed
Even if his soldiers wanted to go home they still obeyed him and kept fighting
Wherever Alexander went he established cities (many named after him)
Alexandria, Egypt most famous
Alexander never stayed very long in the cities he conquered.
He quickly pushed on, never losing a battle.

18. Alexander the Great
After many years of fighting, Alexander’s army was exhausted
Not far beyond the Indus River, his troops became so weary they refused to continue East
Alexander was angry but he turned back
He got as far as Babylon where he caught a fever

19. The Death of Alexander
In 323 B.C., only 13 years after he came to power, Alexander died.
Like his hero Achilles, he died young
His conquests spread Greek culture throughout a vast area

20. The Hellenistic Age
With Alexander’s death, this empire began to decline
Within 50 years the empire had broken into three main kingdoms
Each was ruled by a family that had descended from one of Alexander’s commanders.
Although the empire broke , Greek culture remained
Hellenistic describes Greek history and culture after the death of Alexander the Great

21. The Hellenistic Kingdoms
When Alexander took control of lands, he tried not to destroy the cultures of the defeated people
He hoped the local culture would mix with the Greek culture
Instead Greek culture became the strongest culture in the Hellenistic Kingdoms

22. Hellenistic Cities Hellenistic cities were modeled after Greek cities
Greek kings ruled, and Greeks held the most important jobs
There were Greek temples and agoras (public market or meeting places)
Citizens went to theaters to watch old Greek tragedies
Greek language was spoken in the cities
Although people living in the countryside spoke the local language.

23. Alexandria, Egypt
The greatest of all Hellenistic cities was Alexandria, Egypt
Alexander founded this city at the edge of the Nile Delta
Alexandria became the capital of Egypt
Over the years it became a famous center of business and trade
Its harbor was dominated by a huge lighthouse that rose about 350 feet in the air
The tower was topped by a flame that guided ships safely to port

24. Alexandria and Education
Hellenistic cities were centers of learning.
Alexandria was the learning capital of the Greek world
Alexandria’s library was the largest library in the world
Scholars and writers from many lands came to use its massive collection

25. Mathematics
Around 300 B.C., a mathematician named Euclid helped extend the branch of mathematics called geometry.
His work helped explain figures such as squares, angles, triangles, cubes and cones
Mathematicians still use Euclid's system today

26. Science Greek scientists made important contributions to astronomy.
In about 250 B.C. Greek Scientist Aristarchus concluded the Earth revolved around the sun
At the time however most scientists believed Earth was the center of the universe
It took a long time for science to accept Aristarchus’s theory but he was correct!
Also in Hellenistic times, many scholars knew that the Earth was round.
A scholar named Eratosthenes calculated the distance around the Earth
His answer, 24,662 miles was very close to the modern measurements (about 24,901 miles)

27. Any Questions