007_Macedon, Philip and Alexander

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1 007_Macedon, Philip and Alexander A. Macedon a. Land of Mountains and valleys, with a broad fertile plain by the sea b. Ruled by local oligarchs c. Quote (465) Macedon, was still for the most part a barbarous country of hardy but letterless mountaineers when Philip came to the throne indeed, to the end of its career, though it used Greek as its official language it contributed no author or artist or scientist or philosopher to the life of Greece. d. The Major Contribution was to its military formations. B. Phillip II a. Early rule i. He took throne in 359, lived in Thebes in his young life. ii. Pacifying local northern tribes iii. b. Government i. Was a Aristocratic Monarchy ii. He was an opportunist expanding his power where he could iii. This brought him into trouble with Athens iv. With Negations and shrewd diplomacy he annexed all lands up to the Hellespont c. The Macedonian Military i. While most of Greece was fighting internally, Macedon built its strength ii. They improved the Hoplite formation iii. The Phalanx 1. Larger spears to interlock soldiers 2. 16,000 men nearly impenetrable ranks deep. iv. Use of Cavalry to protect flanks v. Light Infantry to skirmish d. Phillip Moved South i. He recovered coastal Macedon from Athens ii. Late 350 s he was appointed commander of the Thessalians iii. Sacred War ( ) where he fought for control of the Oracle at Delphi 1. Athenians blocked him and Philip retreated iv. Athens weakened by revolt of many of their allies, Philip was an opportunist. He took advantage of this. e. The Peace of Philocrates 346 i. Unable to fight Philip Militarily Athens sued for peace ii. Philip gained control of Delphi and access to Southern Greece C. Philip and Pan-Hellenism

2 a. Philip did not present himself as a conqueror b. He designed a new League to make war on the Persians and he would serves as commander c. The Persian Crusade was not an original idea i. Most Greeks wanted it ii. Isocrates orator and pamphleteer promoted the idea that if Greeks could overcome their differences they could challenge the Persians d. The Death of Philip II i. He was assassinated before he could lead the Persian Campaign ii. At the time of his death his army had secured the crossing into Asia D. Alexander the Great a. The Character i. He was a great student, played harp, sports ii. Very ambitious iii. Always found in the thickest part of the battle b. Rise to Power i. Fathers Wedding 1. Phillip tried monogamy, it didn t work 2. He then was to marry another wife, the daughter of a general Attalus 3. At the betrothal feast, Attalus toast to their future marriage, hoping for a full Macedonian heir, Alexander s mother was only half. 4. Alexander So what does that make me, a bastard, you villain? a. Philip and Alexander drew swords b. Later they would reconcile 5. In 336, as Philip celebrated his marriage, Philip was stabbed to death as he entered the Theater. E. Alexander and Persia a. The New Achilles i. He grew up under the belief that through his mother he was descended from Achilles ii. Invasion of Persia was the achievement of fathers ambition and to finish what Achilles had begun b. Barbarism i. Tutored by Aristotle 1. May have acquired the belief of Persian inferiority 2. Xenophon had proven the superiority of the hoplite c. Attack on Persia i. Began his invasion in 334, his last time in Europe ii. Fought and won two early engagement, giving Ionian Greeks Self-rule

3 d. Egypt and Syria i. Tyre He attacked Phoenician fleet being paid by the Persians 1. Lots of resistance 2. Alexander allowed his men to massacre 8000 people, sold into slavery 3. Later he regretted it 4. Later Jerusalem surrendered easily and no massacre ii. Marched south to Phoenicia and Egypt to secure his flanks 1. While in Egypt he builds walls to new city Alexandria to protect Greek merchants e. Gaugamela i. Persians had multiethnic army ii. Combination of Arms favors the Greeks, infantry, skirmishes and cavalry, despite superiority of Persian numbers iii. Darius III flees and is killed by his other generals. iv. Alexander takes Babylon, shares spoils v. Defeats Darius at Gaugamela and Took over as Persian King f. The Winter March i. Very shortly after Mesopotamia cities were liberated ii. Alexander hastily crossed the mountains to seize Persepolis 1. He also seized the Persian Treasury million talents iii. Quote Here again his good judgment left him, and he burned the magnificent city to the ground. His soldiers looted the houses, ravaged the women and killed the men. Perhaps they had been infuriated by seeing, on their approach to the town, 800 Greeks who, for various reasons, had suffered mutilation at the hands of Persians, by cutting off of legs, arms or ears, or the gouging out of the eyes. Alexander, moved to tears by the sight, gave them lands and assigned dependents to work for them. iv. Quote On taking the Bessus the Persian general who killed Darius III Near Bokhara his men captured Bessus, who had slain Darius. Alexander, suddenly making himself the avenger of the Great King, had Bessus whipped almost to death, had his nose and ears cut off, and then sent him to Ectbatana, where he was execute by having his arms tied to one, and his legs to the other, of the two trees which had been drawn together by ropes, so that when the ropes were cut pulled the body to pieces F. Alexander and the East a. Further East i. After Persian Conquest he marched East

4 ii. Conquered territories to the Indus River iii. He spent nine years in Asia b. Alexander s Rule in Persia i. To be successful in Persia, he would need to use Persian Administration ii. He encouraged soldiers to marry Persians women iii. Marriages 1. He marries Darius daughter (Statira) and Bacctraian Princess (Parysatis) daughter of Artaxerxes III 2. He even pays his soldiers dowries (20 million) iv. Opens Mesopotamia to Greek Colonization v. Drafts 30,0000 Persians c. The Death of A God i. Many of his men thought that Persian Culture was Changing him ii. 324 He proclaimed himself the son of Zeus-Amon 1. Perhaps to make his rule more palatable to the Eastern peoples 2. Most Greek states could accept, it was in their culture iii. To his men he said after getting grazed by an arrow, This you see is blood, and not such ichor that flows from wounds of Immortals iv. He continued to offer sacrifice to the gods. v. He demanded that Greeks prostrate themselves in his presence as Eastern people had done d. The Mutiny i. Philotas son of a general 1. Entered a conspiracy to kill Alexander 2. He was captured and Alexander tortured a confession that implicated his father, 3. Philotas was stoned to death by the Greek soldiers. ii. Tensions Grew between him and his solders 1. Alex. Became lonely and isolated and paranoid 2. He began drinking a lot 3. More Assassination attempts 4. He announced that he would send the eldest son of each man home a. Other soldiers asked if they all could go home b. Go back and report that you deserted your king and left him to the protection of conquered foreigners. c. The soldiers begged his apologies and reinstatement before they returned home.. iii. Returned to Babylon in Began to drink more

5 2. He drank six quarts of wine to win a wager and heavily the next night 3. He caught fever died at When asked who should get his empire he said The Strongest G. Contributions of Alexander a. Put and end to the fighting between city states b. Sacrificed a little local freedoms to create a larger system of stability that had yet to be seen in Europe c. Broke the barrier between Greek and barbarian d. Prepared for a Cosmopolitan Hellenistic Age H. Durant IT was just as well that he died at his zenith; added years would almost surely have brought him disillusionment. Perhaps if he had lived he might have learned as he was beginning to love statesmanship more than war. But he had undertaken too much; the strain of holding his swollen realm together, and watching all its parts, was probably disordering his brilliant mind. Energy is only half of genius; the other half is harness; and alexander was all energy. We miss in him though we have no right to expect the calm maturity of Caesar, or the subtle wisdom of Augustus. We admire him as we admire Napoleon, because he stood alone against half the world and because he encourages us with the thought of the incredible power that lies potential in the individual soul. I. Quote Hellenistic Greece did not feel Alexander s Death as the end of an age ; it looked upon him as the beginning of modern times, and as a symbol of vigorous youth rather than a factor in decay; it was convinced that it had no entered upon its richest maturity