Big Idea Hellenistic culture spreads.
Essential Question What were the effects of Alexander the Great's empire?
Words To Know Peloponnesian War an ancient Greek war fought by the Delian League led by Athens against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Assimilation to absorb or adopt another culture. Cultural Diffusion the exchange of ideas, customs, goods and technologies among cultures.
Words To Know Hellenistic Culture a combination of Greek, Persian and Indian art, philosophy, science, math, architecture and traditions that were created through contact between people ruled by Alexander the Great and spread by those that traveled in his empire.
Let s Set The Stage To counter the Delian League, Sparta and other city-states formed the Peloponnesian League. In 431 B.C. war broke out between Athens and Sparta. The fighting would last for 27 years. Athens hoped to outlast Sparta in the war simply because its navy could go anywhere in the Aegean Sea while the Spartans were limited to land travel. The Spartans hoped to attack Athens and force it to surrender.
The Peloponnesian War Sparta versus Athens
As the war dragged on, each side committed horrible acts against the other. Sparta even allied itself with Persia, the longtime enemy of the Greeks.
Finally, in 404 B.C., with the help of the Persian navy, the Spartans defeated Athens.
Decline of the City-States After the Peloponnesian War, the Greeks continued to fight among themselves. Sparta was eventually defeated by the city-state of Thebes and Athens tried to make a comeback.
The Kingdom of Macedonia A new power in the Greek world was rising in the north. The kingdom of Macedonia, with its dynamic and ambitious ruler, was ready to dominate the entire Greek world.
Philip II Philip II Alexander the Great was the son of Philip II of Macedon, the king of Macedonia. After conquering Athens and several other Greek city states, Philip II was assassinated.
Alexander the Great Philip II s son, Alexander, became the king. During his brief thirty-two years of life, Alexander led an army of Greeks to conquer an area that stretched from Athens to India and included Persia, the Middle East and Egypt.
When Alexander the Great entered India his troops faced elephants on the battlefield for the first time. Although Alexander the Great never lost a battle his troops refused to fight anymore.
Alexander the Great
Alexander modeled his empire after Greek cities and spread Greek culture throughout the region. As a result, Hellenistic culture, a blend of Greek, Persian and Indian traditions was created.
Alexander the Great expectantly died at the age of 32. After his death, his empire crumbled, but his most lasting achievement was the spread of Greek culture (Hellenistic culture).
Culture is Absorbed From Egypt to the borders of India, Greek temples were built and filled with Greek statues. Athletic contests were held as they were in Greece. Local people assimilated or absorbed, Greek ideas.
Alexandria At the very heart of the Hellenistic world stood the city of Alexandria, Egypt. It s markets sold goods from all over Alexander s empire.
Library The rulers of Alexandria built the great Museum as a center of learning. The Museum had laboratories, lecture halls and a zoo. Its library had thousands of scrolls.
Aristarchus Pythagoras Archimedes Great Thinkers During the Hellenistic age, scholars built on earlier Greek, Babylonian and Egyptian knowledge.
Aristarchus Pythagoras Archimedes Pythagoras developed a formula to calculate the relationship between the sides of a right triangle. Astronomer Aristarchus argued that the Earth rotated on its axis and orbited the sun (sun-centered heliocentric model).
Aristarchus Pythagoras Archimedes The most famous Hellenistic scientist, Archimedes, applied principles of physics to make practical inventions (lever and pulley).
Essential Question What were the effects of Alexander the Great's empire? Alexander the Great conquered an area that stretched from Athens to India and included Persia, the Middle East and Egypt. Alexander modeled his empire after Greek cities.
Essential Question What were the effects of Alexander the Great's empire? Hellenistic culture was created through contact between people ruled by Alexander the Great and spread by those that traveled in his empire (cultural diffusion). People throughout Alexander s empire assimilated or absorbed Greek ideas and culture.
Essential Question What were the effects of Alexander the Great's empire? During the Hellenistic age there were also advances made in math and science.