Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Mr. Mains

Objectives:

• Understand how the early life of Alexander shaped his future as the conqueror of the world

• Understand how Alexander gained and earned the respect of his soldiers, as well as those he conquered

• Understand how he died and the consequences of his untimely death

• Understand how his life and accomplishments influenced culture throughout the region

Multiple Choice

Hard question: Alexander was considered to be Greek but he was from what actual area?

• France

• Macedonia

• Borrego Springs

• Catal Huyuk

Alexander was from Macedonia

• His father was King Philip 2

• His father was an accomplished ruler-conquered 27 Greek city-states

• He was relentless for conquest

• Suffered a brutal right eye wound

• Any thoughts on how?​

King Philip's reign & life

• He was on a quest to conquer all of Persia but this never happened

• He was always hard on Alexander & had high expectations for him

• He was assassinated (by dagger) on the way to the theater. Motive?

King Philip's reign & life

• ​Revenge for treatment towards Alexander & his mom Olympia; married another woman for love; disregarded Alexander & Olympia

• Revenge for not serving justice to an issue of embarrassment at court

• Above all, there no proof of motive; the person who killed him was killed as he tried to flee the scene (sandal got stuck on a vine)

Multiple Choice

Alexander's mom, Olympia, always told him that he was divine. This embedded a certain mentality for Alexander's future. What does divine mean?

• one who has a lot of money

• one who has a lot of popularity

• one who is god-like

• one who has great military skills

He was told that he was a son of a god

• This mentality helped shape his future accomplishments

• He was well educated & fearless

• At 12, he bet his father he could ride an unrideable horse

• He eventually named this horse Bucephalus "ox-head" which contributed to its personality

Multiple Choice

Who taught Alexander the Great?

• Aristotle

• Archimedes

• Socrates

• Plato

Alexander took over where he father left off

• He sought after gaining and maintaining control over the Greek city-states, the Persian Empire and even more....

• His first big test was 2 years after his father's death in 338BC

• The Battle of Chaeronea (18yrs old) in which he defeated all of the Greek city-states. They could now unite under one Macedonian ruler

• With the Greek city-states, they began their plans to conquer Persia

Multiple Choice

Review: What area(s) did the Persian Empire control?

• Egypt

• Mesopotamia

• Indus River Valley (India)

• all of the answers

His conquests cont...

• He "liberated" many Greek city-states from Persian control

• Next test (332BC)-gaining the island of Tyre was seen as impossible

• This island could survive on its own

Multiple Choice

How do you think Alexander the Great was able to gain control and access to the island?

• hired the Romans to do this battle for him

• used silt, soil, trees, reeds and rocks to build a land bridge

• set the island on fire so that the people were forced to leave

• all of the answers

He built a land bridge

• This still in existence today. Part of the mainland of Lebanon

• This "impossible task"=his persistence & divinity

• As the mole (dam) was being built, they would catapult Tyre (would widen it as time went on)

• Tyre would send ships to crash & destroy the mole

• Alexander used ships to surround the island

Onto Egypt....

• He conquered Egypt from Persian control

• He established a new capital, named Alexandria (still standing)

• This is the place where the Lighthouse of Alexandria was developed (but was destroyed in an earthquake)

• This was one of the Ancient Wonders of the World

Onto Persian controlled Babylon...

• He met Darius 3 where he easily won several battles

• There were some instances in which the Persians surrendered without any resistance

• During his conquest of this region, they burned the main Persian palace as revenge for Xerxes burning the Acropolis (Greek building)

• Turning point: Darius 3 was assassinated by his own general and cousin; With him dead, Alexander proclaimed himself the King of Asia and marched towards present-day Afghanistan and India

Multiple Choice

As Alexander began to conquer cities throughout the Persian Empire, he either founded or renamed cities after him. Why?

• to show that he was a "liberator" (freed people)

• to show that he was a King to all

• to show that he was living up to his destiny & divinity

• all of the answers

Multiple Choice

As Alexander reached India, he gained significant wins. As a result, he conquered a city and named it after

• his horse

• one of his top generals

• one of his wives

• after his dog

Why was Alexander respected by his soldiers & those he conquered?

• If his soldiers went hungry, he went hungry as well

• If his soldiers walked, he did too

• He didn't force the people he conquered to adopt the Greek lifestyle

• He embraced all of the new cultures

Things began to change....

• Alexander was married to three Persian women at one time

• All were done for political reasons-to gain alliances & guarantee an heir to the throne

• Two, Stateira & Parysatis were daughters of the Perisan kings (said that he married them at the same ceremony)

• Roxana, the love of his life, bore him a son. Jealous and worried about her son's future, killed the other two wives.

• Two BIG problems: 1) Seen as embracing culture/wives more so than conquering 2) he began to promote/honor/award Persian nobles rather than his own

Poll

Poll question: Think about how Alexander fought and ruled as a leader. Would you overall consider him a good or bad ruler?

• Good guy for the most part

• Bad guy for the most part

Things began to get worse...

• Soldiers got exhausted of the constant fighting (low morale)

• He was also suffering great casualities

• Began to really view him as more Persian than Macedonian

• His troops began to mutiny (rebel against command) and refused to fight on

• He split his troops into two: one would press on, the other would head back to Susa (present-day Iran)

Could they get even worse?

• YUP!!

• His lifelong friend & second in command, Hephaestion, died from a fever. There is some talk that he could have been poisoned but no one knows for sure

• Regardless, this loss was unbearable for Alexander

• He went on a rampage on a neighboring city by slaughtering the people as a sacrifice, cut off the manes & tails of the horses, refused to eat/drink during the mourning period & gave him funeral rites usually reserved for a king. He also never filled his position

Open Ended

How do you think Alexander died? Think about what he was trying to accomplish and what part of the world he was in.

There are no solid conclusions about how he died. He was about 32/33 years old

• Malaria? By mosquito bite (remember they are in humid India)

• Was poisoned? Wasn't liked for embracing Persian culture

• Meningitis? Caused by a fungal, bacterial or viral infection; Inflammation of the membrane covering the brain & spinal cord-causes headaches, swelling, fever, stiff neck

• Bacterial infection due to drinking contaminated water

• Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS); rare auto immune disorder in which the body attacks healthy cells in the nervous system-causes paralysis

After his death,

• His generals were given his new empire to split. Do you think this went over well?

• Nope, constantly fought for power

• Some assassinations occurred

• His death also warranted the execution of Roxana, his newborn son and his mother Olympias

• Fun fact: Cleopatra (one involved with Caesar & Mark Antony) was the descendant of one of Alexander's generals. His name was Ptolemy

Review: Alexander's legacy

• Hoped to unite the Macedonian world with the Persians

• Conquered "the world"

• Exchange of ideas between the Greek & Persian worlds

• Though was loved by those he ruled/commanded, his quick temper could turn on those who challenged him

• Solved the Gordian Knot. How?

Your task:

• Complete the Google form questions about Alexander the Great

• Be sure to always complete any missing work