1) Alexander the Great conquered much of the known world in the 4th century BC after the death of his father, King Philip II of Macedon. 2) Philip II had already conquered many Greek city-states, leaving Alexander to carry out Philip's planned invasion of the Persian Empire. 3) Through decisive victories like Gaugamela, Alexander defeated the Persians and spread Greek culture and influence across his vast empire before his death at age 33.

1. Alexander the Great: A Presentation by Tom Richey (TomRichey.net)

2. TERMS LIST: Philip II, Demosthenes, Orator,
Philippic, Alexander the Great, Gordian Knot,
Battle of Gaugamela, Hellenism, Seleucid
Empire, Ptolemaic Empire

3. Macedonia was a second-rate power before
Athens and Sparta weakened each other in the
Peloponnesian War.

4. PHILIP II, king of Macedon and father of
Alexander the Great, conquered the Greek city
states.

5. The Macedonian Empire at the Death of Philip
II. Note that Sparta remained unconquered by
Philip.

6. Laconic: Concise or terse speech, named for
the Spartan homeland, Laconia. The Spartans
attempted to communicate ideas in as few
words as possible (this was all part of the
Spartan ideal of simplicity).

7. Philip sent a messenger to Sparta with a
warning.

8. A Laconic Reply

9. Demosthenes was an Athenian orator who delivered a series of philippics – passionate orations
against Philip II aimed at encouraging the Athenians to resist. Athenian resistance ultimately
failed, but Demosthenes is still remembered as a great orator and the term, philippic, is still used
to describe an angry speech directed at an individual in power.

10. In order to unite the people of the Greek city-
states he had conquered, Philip planned to go
to war with the Persian Empire.

11. But Philip was assassinated before he could
execute his plan.

12. Philip’s plan would be carried out by his son,
Alexander.

13. Alexander the Great was King of Macedon
from 336-323 B.C. Although he conquered the
known world, he was also an adventurer and a
cultural ambassador who would spread Greek
culture across the East.

14. A map of Alexander the Great’s conquests.

16. The Battle of Granicus: Note alexander’s
leadership from the front commanding his
Companion Cavalry.

17. Alexander personally commanded his
Companion Cavalry, placing himself in the thick
of every battle. Alexander trained his horse,
Bucephalus (Ox Head), after others had given
up on him as unbreakable.

18. The Companions charged in a wedge formation
in order to maximize power.

19. In 333 B.C., Alexander and his army wintered in
Gordium, a city in Asia Minor. In Gordium,
there was a knot that no one could untie. It
had been prophesied that whoever could untie
the knot would be the ruler of Asia. After
trying unsuccessfully to untie the knot,
Alexander drew his sword and cut it in half.
Sometimes, the term, “Gordian knot,” is used
to describe a seemingly complex problem that
has a simple solution one someone thinks
outside the box.

20. The Battle of Issus: Alexander was heavily
outnumbered, but used the terrain to his
advantage. He fought the Persian king, Darius,
on a narrow battlefield that played to his
strengths (think Thermopylae).

21. Alexander’s companions smashed through the
Persian line, creating a gap at a critical point.
This was Alexander’s second decisive victory
over the Persians.