Unit 10, lesson 4: Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic period

In this lesson we are going to study the importance of the last period of Ancient Greek history: the Hellenistic period. We must pay special attention to the figure of Alexander the Great (Alejandro Magno in Spanish).

The essential information is at page 163, section 2.2 of your book, here there are more details if you want to learn more.

This is the presentation.



And here is my commentary on the presentation.





TASKS FOR NEXT THURSDAY:

Exercise 1 (This is similar to exercise 2 of page 163)

a) What were the geographical limits of Alexander the Great's empire?  Describe them making reference to geographical accidents (mountain ranges, seas or rivers), you can see them on this map.

Example: In Europe, Alexander's empire dominated the largest part of the Balkan Peninsula: the northern  frontier was at the Danube River.

b) Look at the map on page 163 of your book. What are the names of the modern countries where the cities with Alexander's name (Alexandria, Alexandropolis) are located?

Example: there was one city called Alexandria in each one of these modern countries: Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.


Exercise 2 : 
Answer these questions using the information below.
1. Why do some people say that Alexander was a villain (a bad person)?
2. Why do other people say he was a hero?
3. What is your opinion: do you think he was a villain or a hero? Why?


A) Villain

Was Alexander the Great really great? Or was he an evil conqueror? Those who see him as cruel give this as evidence against Alexander. They say he:

• destroyed Persepolis

• attacked Tyre, killing 10,000 people and enslaving 30,000

• treated his slaves harshly

• ordered the murder of several close advisers.

Many legends about Alexander have been told. This one says he was a devil:

“The following is my favourite story which is found all the way from Turkey to Kazakhstan: Iskander  [Alexander] was actually a devil and he had horns. But his hair was long and wavy and the horns were never seen. Only his barbers knew. But he feared they could not keep the secret. So, he killed them when they discovered. His last barber pretended not to notice and kept the secret. Eventually though he could bear it no longer and, as he could tell no one, he ran to a well and called down the well: ‘Iskander has horns!’ But in the bottom of the well were whispering reeds [used in flutes] and they echoed the story until it went round the whole world.”

—Michael Wood, “In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great” (see the note at the end).

Vocabulary:

a devil - un diablo

horns - cuernos

to bear (verb) - soportar, aguantar

a well (noun) - un pozo

a whispering reed - un junco que susurra (más que un junco es una caña, con ellas se hacían flautas)

________

B) Hero 

Other historians consider Alexander the Great to be a hero. They claim he brought progress, order, and culture to each new land he conquered. In support of him, they say Alexander

• tried to promote learning

• visited all of his wounded men after each battle

• spared (saved) the lives of the queen and princess of Persia

• built new cities where others had been destroyed.

Arrian, a Greek historian who lived in the 2nd century A.D., wrote about Alexander this way:

“I think there was at that time no race of men, no city, nor even a single individual who did not know about Alexander’s name and fame. For this reason it seems to me that a hero totally unlike any other human being could not have been born without the help of gods.”

—Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander

On two points all historians agree:

Alexander was a brilliant general and he was a brave fighter. He once said this to his men:

“There is no part of my body that is free from wounds. (...) I have been wounded with the sword in close fight, I have been shot with arrows, and I have been struck with projectiles from engines of war; and though often I have been hit with stones and bolts of wood for protecting your lives, your glory, and your wealth, I am still leading you as conquerors over all the land and sea, all rivers, mountains, and plains. I have celebrated your weddings with my own, and the children of many of you will be akin to my children.”

—Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander

Vocabulary:

to agree - estar de acuerdo

wounds - heridas

arrows - flechas

bolts - flechas (en este caso)

weddings - bodas

to be akin to somebody - ser parientes

Note: the legend about Alexander's horns has a real basis: in some Hellenistic coins, Alexander's head was represented with horns: a symbol of the Egyptian god Amun. (After Alexander's death he was considered like a god, the same as Egyptian pharaohs or, later, Roman emperors).

Source of this exercise: https://nsms6thgradesocialstudies.weebly.com/uploads/3/7/2/4/37241339/alexander_the_great.pdf