World History / Unit 2: Classical Greece and Rome
2.4 Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World
Notes
Philip II of Macedonia conquered the Greek city-states. His son Alexander the Great built a vast empire.
- Alexander (ruled 336 to 323 BCE) defeated the Persian Empire and conquered lands from Greece and Egypt to the Indus River.
- He founded cities, including Alexandria in Egypt, which had a famous library.
- After he died at 32, his empire split among his generals into kingdoms.
- Hellenistic culture blended Greek, Persian, Egyptian and Indian influences. Greek became a common language of trade.
- Hellenistic scholars: Euclid (geometry), Archimedes (levers, buoyancy), Eratosthenes (estimated Earth's circumference).
Practice
Which word best describes Hellenistic culture?
It combined Greek culture with the cultures of Egypt, Persia and India.
What happened to Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BCE?
Without a clear heir, his generals split it into several kingdoms.
Alexandria in Egypt became famous mainly as a:
Scholars from many lands studied there.
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