From the Classical to the Hellenistic World400-30 B.C.E.- About 255 B.C.E. an Egyptian camel trader far from home paid a scribe to write his Greekemployer, Zeno, back in Egypt- The movement of Greeks into the Near East and their contacts with local peoples increased the cultural interaction of the Greek and the Near Eastern worlds to the highest level ever- The first stage of this movement came after the Peloponnesian War- Alexander the Great (356-323) then changed the source of history by conquering the Persian Empire- Politics changed in the Greek world when Alexander’s successors revived monarchy by taking over territories to rule as their personal kingdomsClassical Greece after the Peloponnesian War (400-350 B.C.E.)- The Greek city-states gradually regained their economic and political stability after the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E.)- At Athens, citizens who blamed Socrates for inspiring the worst of the Thirty Tyrants brought him to trial; the condemned him to death- The execution of Socrates helped persuade the philosophers Plato and Aristotle to detest democracy and develop new ways of thinking about right versus wrong and how human beings should liveAthens’s Recovery after the Peloponnesian War- Life became difficult for middle-class women whose husbands and brothers had died during the conflict - With no man to provide for them and their children, many war widows had to work outside of the home- Athenians found ways to profit from women’s skills (weaving, vineyards, ect.)- Athens’s postwar economy recovered because small-business owners and households engaged in trade and produced manufactured goods- The rebuilding by 393 B.C.E. of Athens’s destroyed Long Walls, which protected the transportation corridor from the city to the port The Execution of Socrates (399 B.C.E.)- In 399 B.C.E. they argued his case to a jury of 501 male citizens - They argued that Socrates rejected the city-states’ gods, introduced new divinities, and lured young men away from Athenian moral traditions- Ancient sources report that many Athenians regretted Socrates’ punishment as a tragic mistake and a severe blow to their reputationThe Philosophy of Plato- Related to the Critias- Metaphysics: Philosophical ideas about the ultimate nature of reality beyond the reach of human senses- Main idea: Ultimate moral qualities are universal, unchanging, and absolute, not relative- Rejected the relativism that the Sophists had taught- Believed that human experiences are like shadows of the absolutes cast on the wall of a cave- Dualism: The philosophical idea that the human soul (or mind) and body are separate- Argued that people must seek perfect order and purity in their souls by using rational thought to control irrational and therefore harmful desires- Presented his most famous works in his dialogue The Republic (system of gov.)- The Republic describes an ideal society with a hierarchy of three classes distinguished by their ability to grasp the truth of Forms- Class order: Rulers, Auxiliaries, ProducersAristotle, Scientist and Philosopher- Tutored Alexander the Great in Macedonia- Founded Lyceum: The school for research and teaching in a wide range of subjects founded by Aristotle in Athens in 335 B.C.E.- Established grounds for determining whether an argument was logically valid or merely persuasive- Rejected Plato’s theory of Forms because it did not have monstrable proof- Believed that human communities could be successful and happy only if women and men both contributed - Influenced ethics by insisting that standards of right and wrong have merit only if they are grounded in character and aligned with the good in human nature- Argued that the life of the mind and experience of the real world are inseparable in defining a worth-while and happy existenceGreek Political Disunity- Sparta, Thebes, and Athens competed to dominate Greece- Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos formed an anti-Spartan coalition- Kings Peace: Allow the Persian King to rule Anatolia and in return he would not interfere against the war in Greece (386 B.C.E.)- Peltast: Armed with a small leather shield, a sword, and several javelins- The Thebans were Greece’s main power in the 370’s- The battle of Mantinea left the Greek city-states disunified and weak- By the 350’s no Greek city-state had the power to rule anything except its own territoryThe Rise of Macedonia, 359-323 B.C.E.- Two aggressive and charismatic Macedonian kings produced this transformation: Philip 2and his son Alexander the Great- Their conquests ended the Greek Classical Age and set in motion the Helenistic Ages cultural changesThe Roots of Macedonian Power- The Macedonians power sprang from the characterstics of their monarchy and their people’s ethnic pride - The king governed by maintaining the support of the elite, who ranked as his social equals and controlled many followers- Queens and royal mothers received respect because they came from powerful families or the ruling houses of neighboring regions- The famed Athenian orator Demosthenes (384-322 B.C.E.) mocked Philip II as “not only not a Greek nor related to the Greeks The Rule of Philip II (359-336 B.C.E.)- King Philip II forged Macedonia into an international power- A military disaster in 359 B.C.E. brought Philip to the throne at a desperate moment- By the late 340’s B.C.E. Philip had persuaded or forced most of northern and central Greece into alliance with him - Philip justified attacking Persia as revenge for its invasion of Greece 150 years earlier- City-States remained Greece’s central social and economic unitsThe Rule of Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.E.)- To demonstrate the price of disloyalty, in 335 B.C.E. Alexander destroyed Thebes for having rebelled- In 334 B.C.E. Alexander launched the most astonishing military campaign in ancient history by leading a Macedonian and Greek army against the Persian Empire to fulfill Philip’s dream of avenging Greece - Alexander inspired his troops by going into battle as well - In 332 B.C.E. he built a stone pier as a platform for artillery towers, armored battering rams, and catapults - Scholars disagree on almost everything about Alexander- Ancient sources suggest that Alexander had interlinked goals reflecting his restless and ruthless nature both to conquer and administer the known world and to explore and colonize new territory - Alexanders conquests had consequences in many areas; his explorations benefited