Alexander the Great and the Spread of Hellenistic Culture
1.
2. King of Macedon, father of Alexander
the Great
Brilliant general and ruthless politician
Built up a professional army using the
Greek phalanx
Infighting among Greek city-states for a
half-century after the Peloponnesian
War
United Greek city-states under his rule
Asked the conquered Greek city-states
to join the League of Corinth
Main Goal: Conquer Persia
3. Alexander’s Youth
As a child, Alexander studied
under Aristotle
Under his father’s leadership,
trained for battle
Phillip II assassinated in 336 BC
His son Alexander seized power
at the age of 20
With Greek city-states unified
under his rule, he set out to
conquer Persia
Main Goal: Conquer the known
world
4. Stretched from the Nile to the Indus Rivers
Included Persia, Egypt, Greece, and India
Cultures Blended=Hellenistic
Greatest lasting legacy/accomplishment
5. Reached Indus River in 327 BC
His army had been fighting for seven years, more than
11,00 miles
His soldiers refused to go any further
On way back to Greece, he became ill
Died from a fever, at age 32
Never “ruled” his great empire
6. Divided between his leading generals:
Antigonus- Controlled Macedon
Ptolemy- Egypt
Seleucus- Asia Minor and the Fertile Crescent
7. Center of Hellenistic
culture at Alexandria,
Egypt
Greek architecture,
statues, etc.
Museum & Library
Over 500,000 papyrus
scrolls of literature
8. Philosopher- literally means “lover of wisdom”
New philosophies coming out of the Hellenistic world
Stoic philosophy- Established by Zeno
Divine reason directs the world
Every person should accept their fate
Epicurean philosophy- Established by Epicurus
Aim of life to seek pleasure and avoid pain
9. Euclid
Important to the
development of the field
of geometry
Wrote Elements
Archimedes
Calculated the value of pi
Levers and pulleys
10. Aristarchus
Concluded that the
earth and other
planets revolved
around the sun
Eratosthenes
Calculated the
distance around the
earth