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Alexander the Great Greek Heritage Activity Alexander the Great Alexander was only twenty years old when he became king of Macedon, a little-known kingdom located north of the peninsula of Greece. Alexander's father, Philip II, had been a brilliant general and ruthless politician who had become the dominant power in Greece. Alexander had been carefully trained for leadership. The great philosopher Aristotle tutored him in science, geography, and literature. Alexander especially enjoyed Homer's description of the heroic deeds performed by Achilles during the Trojan War. Since his mother claimed to be descended from Achilles, Alexander also wanted to be a great hero. His father, King Philip, encouraged his son in the art of war. As a young boy, Alexander learned to ride a horse, use weapons, and command troops. Philip II was assassinated in 336 B.C., and his son Alexander immediately became King of Macedon. Once he became king, Alexander promptly demonstrated that his military training had not been wasted. When Thebes rebelled, he destroyed the city and sold the survivors into slavery. Intimidated by this ruthless action, the other Greek cities quickly fell in line. With Greece now secure, Alexander was free to expand his empire. In 334 B.C., Alexander invaded Persia with 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. Though outnumbered, Alexander's forces repeatedly defeated the Persians. Shaken by early defeats, the Persian king Darius III tried to negotiate a peace settlement. Alexander rejected Darius' offer and confidently announced that he intended to conquer the rest of the Persian Empire. Within a short time, the Macedonian army occupied areas from Egypt to southwest Asia. Alexander's rule in these areas was now unchallenged. He continued to push eastward. During the next three years, Alexander's army fought its way east through Central Asia. In 327 B.C., they crossed into India. Alexander's army had fought for seven years and marched more than 11,000 miles. The Macedonians were eager to return home. On the return to Macedonia, Alexander suddenly became ill. He died on June 10, 323 B.C. at the age of 32. Although he only ruled for 12 years, Alexander had a profound impact upon history. His conquests ended the era of independent Greek city-states. In addition, as he and his army marched through the Persian Empire, thousands of Greek artists, merchants, and officials followed and settled there. They built new cities containing temples, gymnasiums, and theaters. As time passed, Greek settlers married Persian women and adopted Persian ways. A vibrant new culture called Hellenism emerged from this blending of Greek and eastern customs. Greek Heritage Activity Aristotle Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was the son of the court doctor of Macedon. As a young man, he went to Athens to study at Plato’s Academy. He was a student of Plato himself, and learned a great deal from the master philosopher. His lifetime of research in marine biology also influenced his beliefs. In 342 BCE, Philip, the king of Macedon, appointed him tutor to his son, the young Alexander. Aristotle believed that there was room for both reason and experience in studying human behavior. In order to have a good life he thought that people needed to contemplate their life-- to be willing to criticize themselves. But he also understood the need for moderate wealth, comfort, and pleasure. Actually, he tried to be a moderate person in all parts of life. Unlike his teacher Plato, Aristotle was not very interested in trying to design the "best" government. He thought it was a waste of time to seek a perfect place, a utopia that required philosophers to rule it. He was more interested in the best state that was practically possible. In order to achieve that he believed that governments needed to combine justice with stability. Calling this state Politeia, he described it as moderate. This government gave power to neither the rich nor to the poor but to the middle class. The middle class; because of its moderate wealth, was free of the arrogance of the rich and the angry resentment of the poor. For this reason, Aristotle thought it was the most stable class. In his own school, The Lyceum, students worked on gathering, ordering and analyzing knowledge. He and his students prepared many collections of information to serve as the basis for scientific works. Of these, only one of 158 constitutional treatises survived to today. The subjects in this work are broad, including logic, physics, astronomy, biology, ethics, rhetoric, literary criticism, and politics. Greek Heritage Activity Art & Architecture What makes Greek art and architecture so special is not an unusual size or unique style but rather its excellent craftsmanship and design. The qualities that exist in Greek art reflect the Greek’s beliefs and values. The sculptures are graceful, strong, and perfectly formed. Their faces showed neither laughter nor anger, only peaceful serenity. Their values of order, balance, and proportion became the standards of what is called classical art. The largest Hellenistic sculpture was the Colossus of Rhodes. This bronze statue was located on the island of Rhodes and was 105 feet high. It was considered one of the "Seven Wonders of the World". Unfortunately, this wonder of the ancient world was destroyed by an earthquake. Athenians were very proud of their city. They spent great wealth on marble, bronze, and gold for their public buildings and temples. This display of wealth was not for private homes. These were expected to be modest and moderate to avoid appearing arrogant. Even during times of war and disease, building temples continued. For example the temple of Athena was built while Athens was fighting Sparta. During their Golden Age the Athenians displayed pride through their artwork. Later on, the artwork also showed evidence of their decline. After their defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian war, Athens experienced military destruction and division. The government was divided and weakened. This crisis was reflected in a change in artistic style. The faces of bronze and marble statues began to show emotion. Dramatic works also changed. Plays called comedies were created which made fun of the politics, people, and ideas of the time. Perhaps Athenians needed to laugh during the hard times. Greek Heritage Activity Athens Around 750 B.C., Greece saw the rise of city-states, of which Athens was one of the most powerful. By 594 B.C, the future of Athens was threatened by a struggle between rich aristocrats and poor farmers. Although the rich had great power, the poor farmers made up most of the population. A civil war was avoided by making reforms. Athens created a democracy, a government by all citizens. Bur all the people in Athens were not treated equally. Women and slaves were not considered "citizens". Two of the leading reformers in Athens were Solon and Cleisthenes. Solon's reforms improved the economy and allowed citizens to play a bigger role in the government. About 60 years later, Cleisthenes introduced more reforms to make Athens a full democracy. Cleisthenes increased the power of the Athenian assembly and created the Council of Five Hundred to propose laws and advise the assembly. Members of this Council were chosen by a lottery, so every citizen had an equal chance of serving. One of the greatest threats to Greek city-states was the invasion by Persian armies from the east. According to legend, in 490 B.C. the Persians invaded by landing northeast of Athens on a plain called Marathon. There, 10,000 Athenians defeated 25,000 Persians. The casualties reportedly numbered 6,400 Persians and only 192 Athenians. Though the Athenians were victorious, their city was now defenseless. They were fearful the Persians would sail down the coast and reach the city of Athens before the army could march back to defend it. A message had to be brought to Athens to tell them of the success at Marathon, so the people at home would not surrender the city. A young runner named Pheidippies ran as fast as he could from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news (26 miles). When he arrived at Athens, he gasped "rejoice, we conquer", then died. Persian ships arrived later. But the city refused to surrender and the Persians sailed away. Eventually, the Persian army was completely defeated in Greece, putting an end to the Persian wars. After the Persian Wars, Athens entered a period of great creativity. Drama, sculpture, poetry, science, philosophy, and architecture, all reached new heights. This time from 480 to 430 B.C., is often called the Golden Age of Athens or the Age of Pericles. The leader of Athens during this time was a man named Pericles. Pericles had three goals: (1) to strengthen Athenian democracy; (2) to build a commercial empire; and (3) to glorify Athens. To strengthen democracy, Pericles increased the number of public officials who were paid salaries. Now even the poorest citizens could afford to serve if elected or chosen by lot. To achieve his other goals, Pericles strengthened Athens's navy to safeguard Athenian commerce and settle disputes with trading partners. Pericles also beautified Athens. Among the buildings of this time was the Parthenon, the greatest works of architecture in history. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. is based on the design of the Parthenon. Greek Heritage Activity Hellenistic Achievements After Alexander’s death, his great empire was divided into three pieces. Three ambitious generals each took control of a part of the empire. Antiginus controlled Macedon, while Ptolemy (TAH-luh-mee) seized Egypt and Seleucus took Asia Minor and the Fertile Crescent. The city of Alexandria in Egypt became the center of Hellenistic civilization.
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