the decline of the city-state & the rise of the hellenistic age alexander the great (336-323 bc)
TRANSCRIPT
The Decline of the City-State& the rise of the Hellenistic Age
Alexander the Great (336-323 BC)
Effects of the Peloponnesian Wars, 431-404 BC
• Despite the restoration of democratic government, Athens never returned to its former power…
• A spirit of pessimism and disillusionment prevailed among intellectuals & the young
• Constant warfare among other states continued…
• In 371, Sparta lost its first war to Thebes• The loss of manpower on both sides
weakened all of Greece
Philip II of Macedon r. 359-336 BC• An ambitious
and resourceful ruler of Macedonia who built up his army and planned to conquer the Greeks and the Persians.
“The Philippics”
• A series of fiery speeches by Demosthenes
• In 338 BC, Philip defeated Athens and its allies and created “The League of Corinth”
Aristotle tutoring Alexander
(J. L. Ferris, 1895)
Alexander the Great, r 336-323 BC
• Inherited an empire• Destruction of Thebes
Alexander III…The Legend:
• He wanted to conquer the known world…
• His goal may have been to have a stable empire with no threats to his vast holdings…
• Some say he had a vision to unite the human race and create one empire where people could live in peace and harmony…
• Another interpretation sees him as a paranoiac-tyrant.
Alexander in Egypt
• Welcomed as a liberator from Persian tyranny• Hailed as Pharoah and given the double crown of Upper
and Lower Egypt• Irony: a barbarian chief of a backwater kingdom in the
Balkan mountains had become the ruler of the oldest civilization on earth.
• Egypt had always been the object of awe and source of inspiration to the Greeks
• Egyptian priesthood proclaimed him the son of Amun-Ra (whom they identified as Zeus) and therefore a god himself.
Alexander’s final campaign…
• Alexander’s expansionism ended in the mountainous regions of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) where his army experienced its hardest fighting and never succeeded in getting more than a tenuous hold on the territory.
• Alexander’s last battle, Hydaspes, 326 BC, on the banks of the Indus River, was an empty victory- his famous horse Bucephalus was killed and his men, thousands of miles and eight years from home, refused to go on.
Alexander died in 323 BC
• Returning to Babylon, Alexander began the
consolidation of his empire:
> integrated Greek and Persian armies
> arranged a mass marriage of his Greek
officers with Persian noblewomen;
>punished soldiers who did not respect Persian culture;
• Adopted Persian dress for himself• Encouraged the ritual of proskynesis
Alexander’s Legacy… • He pushed the world in a new direction- a fusion of disparate people & an intermingling of cultures
• The Hellenistic Age begins with his death in 323 BC and ends with the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC.
Alexander’s vast empire merged many peoples into a new, cosmopolitan culture known as “Hellenistic Civilization.”
• Map of Alex empire goes here
The empire was divided among 4 generals
Seleucus; Ptolemy; Lysimachus and Cassander
Cosmopolitanism…
• In the lands he conquered, Alexander introduced Greek language, literature and art;
• established over 70 cities: Alexandria• Hellenistic society is characterized by a mingling
of Greek, Egyptian & Persian cultures• A world community joined by commerce, trade
and travel replaced the Polis as the center of life• New philosophies- Stoicism and Epicureanism
emerged to help the common man cope with their new status in a world community instead of the local polis.
Hellenistic Science and Math
• Euclid (about 300 BC): Geometry
• Archimedes (287-212 BC): Mathematician and Scientist – discovered principles of the lever, the pulley and specific gravity.
• Aristarchus (310-230 BC): Astronomy-concluded the earth revolved around the sun
• Architecture: emphasized size and grandeur• Sculpture: showed realism and individuality
Zeno (342-270 BC) Stoicism:
• Urged individuals to live according to reason and be indifferent to pleasure and pain
• Avoid desires and disappointments; calmly accept whatever life brings your way…
• The commonality of Man: all people are morally equal, including women and slaves, because all have the power to reason…
• Advocated high moral standards including protecting the rights of fellow human beings
Epicurus, (341-270 BC) -Epicureanism:
• Strive for individual happiness in the big, confusing world by avoiding pain and anxiety…
• Criticized attempts to gain wealth, power or fame because it increases anxiety…
• Enjoy the simple pleasures of life- talking with friends, enjoying good food or just “lying on soft grass near a running stream.”
• Later followers stressed the “pleasure” rather than the simplicity!
The alter to Zeus at Pergamon, Asia Minor
Architecture: emphasized size and grandeur
Sculpture: showed realism and emotion
Any Questions?