ThatsGreece.gr - Alexander the Great

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 • 22:15:42

Alexander the Great

A Future King, a Future General, Brought Up by a Philosopher

Alexander's birth was surrounded with the mystery fitted to figures that transcend their human limitations and acquire the dimensions of mythological persona.

Alexander the Great

Philippos' dreams, to march against the Persian Empire, were fulfilled by his son Alexander, a century and a half after their expeditions against Greece. Alexander was the son of Philippos and Olympias and the brother of Kleopatra, from the same parents.

Expedition to Conquer Persia

The succession to the throne of Macedonia brought no changes in the strategy to march against the Persian Empire and Alexander, after securing his kingdom and uniting the Greek city-states which were part of the Confederacy of Corinth, launched his twelve-year expedition.

The Creation of a Vast Empire

Alexander had conquered the vast Persian Empire, he had reached India and he was planning the circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula in order to turn the Persian Gulf into a commercial sea.

The Empire of Alexander the Great

Isocrates and Lysias, disappointed with the continuous quarreling of the Greek city-states, were urging them to unite against a common enemy and fight common goals. In the 4th century, the Kingdom of Macedonia fulfilled this goal.

Athens and the Alexander Saga

After the battle of Mantinea, Athens stood as the most powerful state with two possible future enemy powers, both kingdoms, Caria (both a land and sea power) and Macedonia (a land power).

The Kingdoms of His Successors

The centuries following the death of Alexander the Great are known as the Hellenistic Period, as the Hellenic spirit infiltrated the vast region, which was now following a diverse structure than the classical type of small, consistent city-state. The political unit became larger in size and lost its homogeneity.

Death at the Age of 33

Alexander died four months shy of his 33rd birthday, in June 323 B.C. in Babylon. His body was full of wounds and fatigued of the twelve-year expedition.

Prehistoric Greek Civillizations

Minoan and Cretan Civilization The island of Crete was the center of the first western-european civilization Mycenaean Civilization The new political, economic and cultural superpower of the Aegean region, The Early Greek Years The Mycenaean civilization comes to an end, the Dark Ages begin. More...

The Classical years

The Common Institutions The Persian Wars The Peloponnesian Wars (5th c.) A Destructive Brotherly Blood-Shedding The Birth of Democracy The City-States Colonization of Greek city-states More...

Editor's Choice

Zagori: Villages hidden behind mountains

Zagori is an area of great natural beauty and unique architecture in the Pindus Mountains in Epirus in Northwestern Greece. The area is of about 1.000 square kilometers and contains 46 villages. Zagoria villages is called by Greeks “Zagorochoria” meaning the villages behind the mountain.

In 1989, Professor of Byzantine Studies, Helen Ahrweiler is appointed Chairman of the Cultural Centre Pompidou in Paris

Alexander the Great

Prehistoric Greek Civillizations

The Classical years

Hellinistic & Roman Period

Byzantine Empire

Greek Independence

Contemporary

Editor's Choice

Zagori: Villages hidden behind mountains