Nov. 12- Nov. 16

11/12 &11/13-- notes

  • Rise of the Philosophers
    • a philosopher is someone who tries to explain the nature of life
    • after losing to Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, people in Athens turned to philosophers for answers
    • Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the most well known
  • Socrates 470-399 BC
    • Socrates was a philosopher of Ancient Greece
    • Socrates taught by asking questions
      • this method of questioning is still called the Socratic method
    • he was put on trial and found guilty for "corrupting the youth of Athens"
      • put to death- hemlock
    • "There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance"
  • Plato 427-347 BC
    • Plato was the student of Socrates
    • he started a school called The Academy that lasted 900 years
    • he wrote The Republic 
      • the book talked about a perfectly governed society-not a democracy
      • in his ideal society, all citizens would fall naturally into three groups: farmers and artisans, warriors, and the ruling class
      • the person with the greatest intellect from the ruling class would be chosen king
  • Aristotle 384-322 BC
    • Aristotle was a student of Plato
    • he wrote about science, art, law, poetry, government, etc.
    • he taught Alexander the Great
    • "He who studies how things originated will achieve the clearest view of them."
  • Macedonians
    • lived in mountainous villages, not city-states
    • Macedonians considered themselves to be Greek but were looked down upon by the big city-states
    • Philip II built up his military and eventually invaded and defeated the Greek city-states
    • Used the phalanx and cavalry to great effect
  • King Philip II of Macedon 382-336 BC
    • goal was to take over all of Greece and then to get revenge by taking over the Persian Empire
    • defeated Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC ending a ten year war and bringing peace to Greece
    • Philip II established a federation of Greek states known as the League of Corinth, with him as the elected as commander-in-chief
    • Philip planned the invasion of the Persian Empire but was assassinated 
    • Philip was assassinated at his daughter's wedding by a former bodyguard, Pausanias
    • Why did Pausanias kill Philip? There are some possibilities:
      • Pausanias was offended by Attalus(uncle of Philip's wife)-- this was Aristotle's account
      • Jealousy, rape and revenge on Attalus-- this was Cleitarchus' account
      • Philip's son, Alexander, was involved-- this was Justin's account(Roman Empire)
      • We don't really know
  • Alexander the III of Macedon 356-323 BC
    • "Alexander the Great"
    • Took over for his father, Philip, in 336 BC
    • Ruled Greece and it's empire for only 13 years (336-323 BC)
    • Due to his great accomplishments, became known as Alexander the Great
    • He was taught by Aristotle 
    • He was undefeated in battle
    • His goal was to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea"
    • After taking power, Alexander eliminated his opponents to the throne and then moved to consolidate Greece
    • Alexander then turned east to take over of the Persian Empire and achieve the goal of his father
      • 48,100 soldiers, 6,100 cavalry, 120 ships
    • After losing some battles, Darius III retreated quickly and offered Alexander all lands west of the Euphrates River and money for his family
    • Alexander the Great refused Darius III's offer and announced he would take the entire Persian Empire
    • In 332 BC, Alexander the Great moved into Egypt and "liberated" Egypt from the Persians
      • The Egyptians crowned Alexander pharaoh
      • Founded the Egyptian city of Alexandria
    • After conquering Egypt, Alexander moved into Mesopotamia and finished the job of defeating Darias III and the Persians(Battle of Issus 333 BCE and the Battle of Gaugamela 331 BCE)
      • The capital city of the Persian Empire, Persepolis(in Iran), was looted and burned by Alexander as possible revenge for the Persians burn
    • Alexander would continue east into India where he eventually ran into a strong Indian army
    • His troops were tired-they had been fighting for 11 years and traveled more than 11,000 miiles
    • Even after defeating the Indian Army in a battle, the monsoons of India were having an impact and Alexander agreed to turn back west
    • Alexander would die from disease not long after, possibly from typhoid fever or malaria
      • Some say he was poisoned
  • Alexander the Great's Legacy
    • Greek Empire split into three sections
      • Greek city-states led by Antigonus
      • Egypt led by Ptolemy
      • Former Persian Empire ruled by Seleucus
    • These leaders ruled with absolute power
    • Cultural diffusion between east and west
  • The Spread of Hellenistic Culture
    • Hellenic(510-323 BCE) vs Hellenistic(323-146 BCE)
    • Hellenistic culture became common all throughout the Greek Empire
      • Greek, Egyptain, Persian and Indian cultures mixed
      • Language- Koine
      • Trade flourished between all these areas
      • Cities
      • Science and technology
      • Philosophy, art, and architecture 
  • Mathematics
    • Euclid established geometry
    • Archimedes estimated the value of pi and the law of the lever

11/14- reviewed for the test

11/15-11/16-- test

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