The Decline of the City-State& the rise of the Hellenistic Age

The Peloponnesian Wars (431—404 BCE)

Alexander the Great (r 336-323 BCE)

The corruption of the Delian League

Sparta's response to the Delian League

The Final Blow to Athens…

• The Spartan admiral, Lysander captured the Athenian fleet in the Dardanelles …cutting of its food supplies

• Athens was required to tear down its walls and agreed to be ruled by a government appointed by Sparta

Effects of the Peloponnesian Wars, 431-404 BCE

• Despite the restoration of democratic government, Athens never returned to its former power…

• 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 BCE

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”

Alexander the Great, r 336-323 BC

• Inherited an empire• Destruction of Thebes

Aristotle tutoring Alexander

(J. L. Ferris, 1895)

Alexander III… The Legend:

• Some say he had a vision to unite the human race in a Pan-Hellenic culture - one empire where people could live in peace, understanding and harmony…

• He wanted to conquer the known world…just another paranoiac-tyrant.

• His goal may have been to have a stable empire with no threats to his vast holdings.

Alexander in Egypt

• Welcomed as a liberator from Persian tyranny

• Hailed as Pharoah and given the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt

• Egypt had always been the object of awe and source of inspiration to the Greeks

Irony: “a barbarian chief of a backwater kingdom in the Balkan mountains had become the ruler of the oldest continuous civilization on earth.”

Alexander’s final campaign…Alexander’s expansionism ended

in the mountainous regions of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) - 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 to

consolidate his empire:

> integrated 30,000 Persian youth into his army

> married a Persian princess

> arranged for 80 of his officers and 10,000

soldiers to marry women from the Empire

>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 BCE and ends with the death of Cleopatra in 27BCE.

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…

• Hellenistic society is characterized by a mingling of Greek, Egyptian & Persian cultures

• In the lands he conquered, Alexander introduced Greek language, literature and art;

• established over 70 cities: Alexandria• 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.

Zeno (342-270 BC) Stoicism:

• Urged individuals to live according to reason and be indifferent to

pleasure and pain (happiness

and sorrow)

• 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!

Circa 200 BCE

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, was the world's first important lighthouse. It guided ships into the city's harbor for about 1,500 years before being toppled by an earthquake.

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

Ptolemy's great work on geography and mapmaking, called the Geography, appeared around the year 150 AD. It influenced philosophers and scientists for 1500 years.

The alter to Zeus at Pergamon, Asia Minor

Architecture: emphasized size and grandeur

Sculpture: showed realism and emotion

“Heaven cannot have two suns, nor earth, two masters.”

“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep, I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”

“Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.”

“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”

“I m indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.”