Macedonia
Geography- Macedonia had rough terrain and a cold climate. The people lived mostly in mountain villages instead of the city-states like Athens had.
Not seeing eye to eye- Most of the Macedonian nobles referred to themselves as Greeks. Once again the Greeks thought that the Macedonians were barbaric and not as civilized as the Greeks. What other civilization did the Greeks treat this way? SPARTANS
Changes- After the Peloponnesian War several Greek city-states were very weak. Economically and militaristically. When there is weakness or a struggle there is usually a predator or someone else to take advantage of the opportunity. In this case, it was Macedonia.
Macedonian Leadership- Philip ll was the king of Macedonia around 360 B.C. Only 23 would he become king. Brilliant general. Made shields out of iron instead of bronze. Iron was a lot cheaper and much more durable. Was able to train peasants into warriors. His dream was to take over Greece and avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Invade Persia.
Philip organized his army into phalanxes of 16 men across by 16 men deep. All 256 men had to work together for this formation to work correctly. After the phalanx had broken through the enemy’s line, he would then send in cavalry to crush the disorganized or retreating opponents.
Conquest for Greece- An Athenian orator named Demosthenes tried to warn the Greeks of the threat of Philip and told them to prepare an army. However, the city-states of Greece couldn’t come up with the united response. Finally Athens and Thebes decide to standup to Philip but it was too late. Greek independence was lost to King Philip of Macedonia.
New leader- Next on Philip’s agenda was to invade Persia. However, he was never able to do this. At his daughter’s wedding he was stabbed to death by one of his former guardsman. His son immediately proclaimed himself the king of Macedonia. His name was Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great- Was taught by Aristotle. Spread Hellenistic culture. Very intellectual, kept a copy of the iliad under his pillow to remind him of the heroic of Achilles in the Trojan war. Alexander wanted to show his power early, and when the people of Thebes rebelled, he destroyed.
Assignment: Do you think that Alexander should have punished the people of Thebes so harshly why or why not.
I feel that Alexander the Great's punishment was a bit too harsh. I understand that Alexander wanted respect along with making it clear that he was in charge and serious as king, but I feel he didn't need to destroy the town of Thebes and kill people. However, Alexander's punishment helped protect from another rebellion and made sure nothing like that would happen again.
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