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When the Achaeans had left their homes along the banks of the Danube to look for new pastures, they had spent some time among the mountains of Macedonia. Ever since, the Greeks had maintained certain more or less formal relations with the people of this northern country. The Macedonians from their side had kept themselves well-informed about conditions in Greece.

Now it happened, just when Sparta and Athens had finished their disastrous war for the leadership of Hellas, that Macedonia was ruled by an extraordinarily clever man by the name of Philip. He admired the Greek spirit in letters and art but he despised the Greek lack of self-control in political affairs. It irritated him to see a perfectly good people waste its men and money upon fruitless quarrels. So he settled the difficulty by making himself the master of all Greece and then he asked his new subjects to join him on a voyage which he meant to pay to Persia in return for the visit which Xerxes had paid the Greeks one hundred and fifty years before.

Unfortunately Philip was murdered before he could start upon this well-prepared expedition. The task of avenging the destruction of Athens was left to Philip's son Alexander, the beloved pupil of Aristotle, wisest of all Greek teachers.

Alexander bade farewell to Europe in the spring of the year 334 B.C. Seven years later he reached India. In the meantime, he had destroyed Phoenicia, the old rival of the Greek merchants. He had conquered Egypt and had been worshipped by the people of the Nile valley as the son and heir of the Pharaohs. He had defeated the last Persian king—he had overthrown the Persian empire he had given orders to rebuild Babylon—he had led his troops into the heart of the Himalayan mountains and had made the entire world a Macedonian province and dependency. Then he stopped and announced even more ambitious plans.

The newly formed Empire must be brought under the influence of the Greek mind. The people must be taught the Greek language—they must live in cities built after a Greek model. The Alexandrian soldier now turned schoolmaster. The military camps of yesterday became the peaceful centers of the newly imported Greek civilization. Higher and higher did the flood of Greek manners and Greek customs rise, when suddenly Alexander was stricken with a fever and died in the old palace of King Hammurabi of Babylon in the year 323.

Then the waters receded. But they left behind the fertile clay of a higher civilization and Alexander, with all his childish ambitions and his silly vanities, had performed a most valuable service. His Empire did not long survive him. A number of ambitious generals divided the territory among themselves. But they too remained faithful to the dream of a great world brotherhood of Greek and Asiatic ideas and knowledge.

They maintained their independence until the Romans added western Asia and Egypt to their other domains. The strange inheritance of this Hellenistic civilization (part Greek, part Persian, part Egyptian and Babylonian) fell to the Roman conquerors. During the following centuries, it got such a firm hold upon the Roman world, that we feel its influence in our own lives this very day.

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read and/or listen to the story.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary terms.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Answer the review questions.

Synopsis

Alexander the Great succeeded his father to rule the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. After taking over rule of Greece, he oversaw the conquering of Phoenicia, Egypt, and the Persian Empire. Not content with mere control, he taught his new subjects the Greek language, introduced Greek manners and customs, and built military camps into cities. When Alexander died of a fever, his generals divided the land among themselves, deconstructing the empire. Later, the Romans conquered these lands for their own empire. Even though the Romans militarily conquered the Greeks, the Greek cultural influence permeated the Roman world.

Vocabulary

Expedition: A military journey against some enemy or into enemy territory.
Avenging: Taking revenge by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer.
Pupil: A learner under the supervision of a teacher or professor.
Aristotle: An ancient Greek philosopher, logician, and scientist (382–322 BCE), student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.
Empire: A political unit having an extensive territory or comprising a number of territories or nations and ruled by a single supreme authority.
Civilization: An organized culture encompassing many communities, often on the scale of a nation or a people.
Ambition: Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or literary fame.
Vanity: Excessive pride in or admiration of one's own abilities, appearance, or achievements.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Lesson

  • After you read or listen to the lesson, narrate the events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Study the Story Picture

  • Study the story picture and describe how it relates to the story.

Activity 3: Map the Story

  • Follow the arrows to trace Alexander's conquest course, starting from Greece, going into Egypt, and making it all the way to India.

Activity 4: See Artwork of Alexander the Great

  • See Alexander riding into battle.
  • Note the image of Medusa on his breastplate.
  • Medusa is monster in Greek mythology who has snakes for hair. In myth, anyone gazing upon her face would turn to stone.

Activity 5: Complete Copywork, Narration, Dictation, and Art   

Click the crayon above. Complete pages 45-46 of 'World History Copywork, Narration, Dictation, and Art for Third Grade.'

Review

Question 1

List some of the civilizations conquered by Alexander.
1 / 4

Answer 1

Alexander conquered Phoenicia, Egypt, and the Persian Empire.
1 / 4

Question 2

What did Alexander do after conquering a civilization?
2 / 4

Answer 2

Alexander taught his new subjects the Greek language and introduced Greek manners and customs.
2 / 4

Question 3

What happened when Alexander died from a fever?
3 / 4

Answer 3

When Alexander died from a fever, his generals divided up his empire among themselves.
3 / 4

Question 4

After the Romans conquered these lands, did Alexander and the Greeks continue to have an influence?
4 / 4

Answer 4

Yes, the Greek cultural influence permeated the Roman world.
4 / 4

  1. List some of the civilizations conquered by Alexander. Alexander conquered Phoenicia, Egypt, and the Persian Empire.
  2. What did Alexander do after conquering a civilization? Alexander taught his new subjects the Greek language and introduced Greek manners and customs.
  3. What happened when Alexander died from a fever? When Alexander died from a fever, his generals divided up his empire among themselves.
  4. After the Romans conquered these lands, did Alexander and the Greeks continue to have an influence? Yes, the Greek cultural influence permeated the Roman world.

References

  1. 'Alexander the Great mosaic by Unknown. ((circa 100 BC), {PD-old-auto-1923})' Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_the_Great_mosaic.jpg. n.p.
  2. 'Extent of the empire of Alexander the Great by Generic Mapping Tools. ({CC BY-SA 3.0})' Wikipedia. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MacedonEmpire.jpg. n.p.

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