SSWH3: Examine the political, philosophical, & cultural interaction of classical Mediterranean societies from 700 BCE to 400 CE/AD B. Identify the ideas and impact of important individuals, include: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Augustus Caesar.
Socrates Athenian philosopher and teacher who lived from 470-399 BCE Argued there were no absolute standards for truth and justice and encouraged his students to question their assumptions, values, and opinions Developed a teaching method in which he would ask students a series of leading questions now called the Socratic Method Challenged his students to think for themselves rather than accept traditional understandings of the world Athenian authorities sentenced him to death in 399 BCE for corrupting the youth of Athens
Plato Athenian philosopher and teacher who lived from 427-347 BCE Was one of Socrates students Responsible for recording many of Socrates teachings Continued and expanded many of Socrates teachings by continuing to promote rational thinking Best exemplified by his cave allegory in his work The Republic, 370 BCE where in a passage he compares the traditions and superstitions that most people rely upon to understand the world as as shadows of real truth Plato s The Republic was the dominant philosophical work for 1,500 years Created the school, the Academy Wrote The Republic, which encouraged rational thinking
Aristotle Athenian philosopher and teacher who lived from 384-322 BCE Was one of Plato s students at the Academy Created own school called the Lyceum after Plato s death Work to collect and categorize all of knowledge from a wide variety of disciplines; politics, philosophy, ethics, poetry, physics, astronomy, meteorology, zoology, psychology Develop the foundation for the modern study of many of these disciplines
Alexander the Great Pupil of Aristotle when he was Prince of Macedonia, b. 356 BCE, d. 323 BCE Philip, father and King, conquered and unified all of Greece in 338 BCE 336 BCE becomes King of Macedonia Invade the Persian Empire in 480 BCE 326 BCE Alex. Will defeat Persian Empire 323 BCE dies at age of 32 years old Affected by Aristotle s ideas of rational thinking Measured ruler and conqueror Religiously and cultural tolerant of conquered people s traditions Took control of Middle East, Egypt, and cross into the Indus River in Northern India Alexander will leave a series of cities inhabited through a Hellenistic culture (mixture of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian cultures) Generals will divide empire however a lasting legacy of Hellenistic culture will exist in scholarship, arts, and literature
Julius Caesar b. 100 BCE, d. 44 BCE Took advantage of political and economic instability after the Punic Wars with Carthage to undermined the government of the Roman Republic to accumulate power for himself as dictator In 60 BCE he unified with two other powerful and ambitious Romans; establishing the first Triumvirate that ruled for 10 years Conquered all of Gaul (Modern France) for the Romans using military genius J. Caesar s success worried the other members of the triumvirate and the Senate Julius Caesar s soliders were deeply loyal to him and he was enormously popular with people of Roman heartland Roman Senate ordered him to disband his armies and return to Rome instead he marched on Rome 44 BCE he crossed the Rubicon River, taking Rome under his authority Julius Caesar defeats political rivals, Pompey, and pressures the Roman Senate to name him dictator for life Many Historians mark this as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire Conquered Gaul for Roman Republic/ Empire
Augustus Caesar Began life as Octavian, b. 63 BCE, d. 14 CE Adopted son or grand-nephew of Julius Caesar Seized power with two other supporters after Julius Caesar s assassination and death The Second Triumvirate ruled Rome for 10 years until it fell apart due to his political ambition and jealousy of other members of Triumvirate Octavian managed to force 1 member of Triumvirate into retirement and defeated the other in civil war (Mark Antony/ Cleopatra) leaving complete control in his hands as Emperor 27 BCE Octavian accepted the title Augustus, the exalted one and become Rome s first Emperor, ruling as Augustus Caesar until his death in 14 CE Augustus Caesar s ascension is marked by many Historians as the beginning of the Pax Romana Pax Romana that lasts for 207 years, initiated by Augustus Caesar, is considered the high point in Roman political, cultural, and economic dominance