AFTERMATH OF THERMOPYLAE
The Greeks at War
AIM: Why were the conquests of Alexander the Great important to the development of the Western World?
Do Now:
1. Quiz2. Write Down Aim in
Notebook
Thermopylae
“Stranger, go tell the Spartans that we lie here in obedience to their laws.”
(Inscription carved on the tomb of Leonidas’s Three Hundred)
Leonidas at Thermopylae by David
After Thermopylae The Persians
captured and burned Athens but were defeated by the Athenian navy at Salamis
In 479 the Persians were defeated at Plataea and forced back to Anatolia
Delian League After the Persian threat subsided, the Greek polis
had conflicts among themselves The polis formed an alliance called the Delian
League Athens supplied most of the military force and the other
polis provided financial support Sparta did not join the league In the absence of the Persian threat, eventually the other
polis came to resent financing Athens’s bureaucracy and construction projects
The resulting tensions led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404) in which the polis divided up into two sides led by Athens and Sparta
The Peloponnesian War (431-404BC)
The war went back and forth until 404 when the Spartans and their allies forced Athens to surrender
Conflicts continued however and the world of the polis steadily lost power Alexander the Great
is going to step into this power vacuum
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
c. 100BC / Found at House of the Faun, Pompeii
Philip II of Macedonia• Ruled Macedonia from
359-336 BC and transformed it into a powerful military machine
• Moved into northern Greece and met little resistance due to residual (aftermath) effects of Peloponnesian War– By 338 he had Greece under his
control
Alexander the Great (356 –323BCE)
Philip intended to use Greece as a launching pad to invade Persia, but he was assassinated before he could begin his plan
Instead the invasion of Persia would be left for Philip’s son Alexander who was just 20 when Philip was assassinated “Alexander inherited from his father the most
perfectly organized, trained, and equipped army of ancient times.
Conquests of Alexander
Ionia and Anatolia333
Syria, Palestine, Egypt332
Mesopotamia331
Persepolis331
King of Persia330
India 327 Returns to Susa
324 Dies (age 33)
323
Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Phalanx: A formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears, developed by Philip II and used by Alexander the Great
Warfare in the Age of Alexander Hoplite
The main melee warrior of the Macedonian army.
Worked mainly in the tight phalanx formation, creating impregnable (can’t be breached/broken) lines that often left the enemy demoralized.
Tyre Today
Alexander’s original mole has grown over the centuries and is now a broad land bridge with roads and buildings on it.
Tyre After a seven
month siege, Tyre fell
8,000 Tyrians were killed in the fighting 2,000 more were
hung afterwards 400 Macedonians
were killed in the siege and just 20 in the assault
Gaugamela (Arbela) At Issus, Alexander
captured Darius’s family and was holding them hostage but treating them well
“Darius appeared to have lost the character for strength which he was thought at one time to possess. An excellent ruler in peace, he was his own worst enemy in war.”
Seal of King Darius
Gaugamela (Arbela) At Issus, Alexander
captured Darius’s family and was holding them hostage but treating them well
Darius had assembled a huge army from all the Persian nationalities Estimates range from 200,000
to a million infantry and 45,000 to 100,000 cavalry
200 scythed chariots 15 elephants
Alexander had about 40,000 men
Darius III, King of Persia336-330 B.C.
Battle at Gaugamela (331BCE) – Present Day Northern Iraq (near Mosul)Alexander (Greek) vs. Darius III (Persian)
47,000 Greeks vs. 100,000+ Persians (Modern Estimates)Military Tactics of Alexander Biggest Factor (Key)
Alexander Fights with Troops while Darius III Does Not
Gaugamela (Arbela) Darius now feared for his
own safety and fled the field
The entire Persian center and left also fled
The Persian army was dispersed
Alexander pursued for 70 miles to Arbela (modern day Arbil) but couldn’t catch Darius
The Persians lost 40,000 to 90,000
The Macedonians only 500
Alexander’s Military Genius
Flying column reserves
The wedge to penetrate an opening
Striking not merely with mass but at the right place and time
All around security Discipline of troops Ability to determine
the enemy weakness and seize opportunity rapidly
Alexander’s Travels
After Gaugamela Darius’s escape frustrated Alexander
because it prevented him from full claim to being king of Persia
Eventually Darius’s followers assassinated him
As Alexander became king of Persia and continued to advance east, he took on an increasingly Eastern attitude
The End of the Empire Alexander
Married Roxanna and had his men also intermarry
Adopted Eastern dress and habits
Publicly insisted upon his descent from the gods
Began giving key positions to Persians
The Macedonians were tired of campaigning and resented the changes in Alexander’s behavior and become mutinous
Alexander died in June 323, perhaps as a result of poisoning
"The Marriage of Alexander the Great
and Roxanna" by Ishmail Parbury
After Alexander After Alexander died,
his generals jockeyed for power and by 275 they had divided up his kingdom into three large states Antigonus took
Greece and Macedon
Ptolemy took Egypt
Seleuces took the former Achaemenid empire
The period of Alexander and his successors is called the Hellenistic period to reflect the broad influence of Greek culture beyond Greece’s borders
