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Model Lesson: Conquest & Cultural Diffusion: The Impact of Alexander the Great
Grade Level: 9 Curriculum Focus: Social Studies Time Frame: 1.5 weeks
Model Lesson Description:
This model lesson focuses on Alexander the Great’s role in spreading Greek culture to the territories he conquered. His conquests ushered in a new era in world history, the Hellenistic Age. This lesson will also examine the intellectual achievements of the Hellenistic Age and their impact on the advancement of knowledge and learning.
Essential Question:
What factors led to the rise, prosperity, decline, and collapse of civilizations in the Classical Ancient World?
Focus Questions:
· What is cultural diffusion?
· In what ways did Alexander the Great facilitate the blending of cultures?
· What is the difference between Hellenic and Hellenistic culture?
· How has Hellenistic learning advanced our understanding of the world today?
Be the Historian:
When you have completed this lesson, provide an analysis of either (1) how Alexander the Great’s efforts resulted in unprecedented cultural diffusion OR (2) how Hellenistic learning advanced our understanding of math and the sciences.
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:
· Explain the role of Alexander the Great in the spread of Hellenism to Asia, North Africa, and parts of Europe.
Digital Assets:
Videos:
The Dream of the King of Macedonia (GL)
Alexander the Great
The Prince Learns to be a King (GL)
Alexander the Great & the Greek Ruling Class (GL)
Into the Heart of the Persian Empire (GL)
Alexander Unifies the Greek City-States (GL)
The Spread of Hellenism (GL)
The Fate of the Empire (GL)
Conquering the Persians (Alexander/GL)
Ptolemy (GL)
Hearth, Cultural Diffusion, and Regions
Alexander the Great’s Legacy
Alexander the Great - Exploration (GL)
Alexander the Great – Discovering Ancient Greece
Alexander the Great Conquers Egypt and Becomes a God (GL)
The City of Alexandria (GL)
Cleopatra’s Egypt: A Mix of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Cultures (GL)
The Rise of the Cosmopolis: A Comparison of the Hellenistic Altar of Zeus and the Classical Parthenon (GL)
Euclid (GL)
Introduction (Apollonius) (GL)
Aristarchus: A Heliocentric Universe (GL)
Retrograde Motion (Hipparchus) (GL)
Archimedes and Greek Mechanics (GL)
Images:
Alexander the Great by Verrocchio.
The Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria, 280 B.C.
A map of the Hellenistic empire under Alexander.
The great theater at Ephesus, Turkey
A large statute of Buddha with attendants
The colonnaded way in Pergamun’s Asclepium
Part of the theatre of Perge, Turkey
A Nabataean tomb at Madain Salik, Saudi Arabia
The lyric poet Posidippus
Face of Athena
Detail Head of Laocoön
Articles:
Alexander the Great
Hellenistic Age
Ptolemy
Alexandria, Library of
Hellenism
Alexandria
Ptolemaic Dynasty
Seleucus I
Antigonus I
Epicureanism
Stoicism
Euclid
Apollonius of Perga
Aristarchus of Samos
Hipparchus
Archimedes
Audio:
The Greek & Roman World: The Mediterranean Greeks: Alexander the Great
What Do We Already Know?
Think-Pair-Share: Have students turn to their neighbors and, together, write down everything they know about Alexander the Great. After 2-3 minutes, ask students to share their knowledge.
Students will most likely note that he was “Greek” and that he was a conqueror.
Formulating Historical Questions: Have students turn to their partners and brainstorm 3 questions they would like to have answered about Alexander the Great. Ask some students to share their questions.
Note that some of their questions, and others, will be addressed in a biographical video that the class will watch as an introduction to one of the world’s greatest conquerors.
Classroom Activities:
A: What was so “great” about Alexander of Macedon? (class activity - about 45 minutes)
After completing the activity described in the “What Do We Already Know?” section above, have the class watch the whole video Alexander the Great to provide students with background information and create context. Use the following questions as a viewing guide to help students follow the biography:
The Prince Learns to be a King
1. What is Philip of Macedon, Alexander’s father, most remembered for? (uniting the Greek city-states)
2. Who was Alexander’s teacher? (Aristotle)
3. What epic poem inspired Alexander? (Homer’s Iliad)
4. Who was Alexander’s literary role model and hero? (Achilles)
5. How does Philip die? (murdered by a bodyguard)
6. How old is Alexander when he ascends to the throne in 336 BCE? (21)
7. How does Alexander respond to a Greek revolt in Thebes? (he crushes it)
8. What adjective is used to describe Alexander by the oracle at Delphi? (invincible)
Alexander Unifies the Greek City-States
9. What promise to the Greeks helps Alexander gain their allegiance? (to liberate Greek city-states under Persian control)
10. In his first confrontation with the Persians, how involved is Alexander? (he fights alongside his men)
11. What is Persepolis? (the capital of the Persian empire)
12. Who is Darius? (the Persian emperor)
13. What is a phalanx? (a fighting formation)
14. How does Alexander treat Darius’s family after he defeats the Persians at Issus? (he accepts them into his entourage)
15. In 331 BCE, what title does Alexander receive in Egypt? (Pharaoh)
16. What city, built by Alexander in the Nile Delta, is described as a “miniature Greece transplanted to alien soil”? (Alexandria)
Conquering the Persians
17. What was Alexander’s response to Darius’s generous peace offer? (rejected it)
18. What is the outcome of the Battle of Gaugamela? (Alexander beats the Persians)
19. Upon arriving at Persepolis, what did the Greeks realize about Persian culture? (that it was, in some ways, more advanced than their own)
20. What does Alexander do with the treasures looted at Persepolis? (shares with his men)
21. What did Alexander do to avenge the Persian attack on Athens that occurred roughly 150 years earlier? (set fire to Persepolis)
22. What does Alexander do to “plant seeds of Greek civilization” in the eastern Persian empire? (builds 10 cities)
23. What disease ultimately killed Alexander? (malaria)
24. What happened to Alexander’s empire after his death? (because he failed to name an heir, it is divided among his generals)
Teachers may chose to discuss the video after each segment or watch the whole video in its entirety and then discuss it. Either way, when the video is complete, ask students to share any of their questions that were answered by the video. Then, encourage students to “think like a historian” and jot down any questions that inspired them while they were watching the video.
Use these questions as the basis for discussion. Some additional questions might include:
· Was Alexander Greek or Macedonian?
· What qualities made Alexander a good leader?
· Were these qualities unique to Alexander or are they shared by all good leaders?
· In your opinion, what was Alexander’s greatest decision? His poorest?
· Predict what additional accomplishments Alexander might have achieved if he had not died.
Optional extensions: Teachers who wish to explore this topic beyond class discussion may assign a project in which students create an avatar of Alexander, depicting the qualities that made him a great military leader. Require a narrative that explains the choices they made in their design.
Another possibility is to have students create a graphic comparison/contrast in which they compare Alexander the Great’s role as conqueror to the president’s role as Commander-in-Chief. Use this graphic-organizer to depict how the roles of military leaders have changed and stayed the same over time (Change and Continuity).
B: Alexander’s conquests: a vehicle of cultural diffusion (whole class/small group activity – approximately 90 minutes)
Begin this segment of the lesson plan by showing the video Hearth, Cultural Diffusion, and Regions. Ask students to define and provide examples of each term – hearth, cultural diffusion, and regions – in their Interactive Vocabulary Journals.
In the preceding activity, students discussed the qualities that made Alexander a good leader. While the video mostly focused on Alexander’s conquests, it explored briefly his efforts to spread Greek culture throughout the lands he conquered. These efforts resulted in cultural diffusion – the spreading of Hellenism, or Greek culture, to Asia, North Africa, and parts of Europe.
In pairs or small groups, students will view images and videos and read articles to gather evidence that Alexander’s conquests resulted in cultural diffusion. As they use the following assets, students should document examples of cultural diffusion in a journal/log (one possibility is to set up a blog that each group can post observations to). These examples may include strategies used by Alexander to spread Greek culture in addition to examples of Greek culture penetrating other regions.
Videos:
Alexander the Great’s Legacy
Alexander the Great - Exploration
Alexander the Great – Discovering Ancient Greece
Alexander the Great and the Greek Ruling Class
Alexander the Great Conquers Egypt and Becomes a God
The City of Alexandria
Cleopatra’s Egypt: A Mix of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Cultures
Images:
A map of the Hellenistic empire under Alexander.
Alexander the Great by Verrocchio.
The Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria, 280 B.C.
The great theater at Ephesus, Turkey
A large statute of Buddha with attendants
The colonnaded way in Pergamun’s Asclepium (Turkey)
Part of the theatre of Perge, Turkey
A Nabataean tomb at Madain Salik, Saudi Arabia
Articles:
Alexander the Great
Hellenistic Age
Ptolemy
Alexandria, Library of
Hellenism
Alexandria
Ptolemaic Dynasty
Seleucus I
Antigonus I
Conclude this segment of the lesson plan with a 15-20 minute discussion in which students share concrete examples of cultural diffusion. To facilitate this discussion, teachers might ask the following questions:
· When examining images, did you see any Greek influence on art and architecture?
· What measures did Alexander take to facilitate the spread of Greek culture?
· Can you recall any examples of ways Alexander was influenced by the cultures of the people he conquered?
Ideally, students will note that just as Alexander spread culture to his conquered territories, so was he influenced by their cultures.
Classroom Connections:
A: Cultural syncretism - the Hellenistic Age (whole class/small group activity – about 90 minutes)
Explain to students that cultural diffusion is not a one-way street, and that just as Alexander spread Hellenic culture to the areas he conquered, he was likewise influenced by the cultures of his conquered territories. As a result, cultural syncretism – the blending of two or more cultures – birthed the Hellenistic Age.
Based on what they have learned so far, ask students to speculate about the differences between Hellenic (Greek) and Hellenistic (Greek-like) culture. Emphasize that the Hellenistic Age infused Egyptian, Persian, Hebrew, and Greek culture and that it yielded its own unique accomplishments in art, architecture, math, science, and literature.
Show students the following video to highlight some of the differences between Hellenic and Hellenistic culture:
The Rise of the Cosmopolis: A Comparison of the Hellenistic Altar of Zeus and the Classical Parthenon
Note that Hellenistic culture, while Greek in origin, was distinct from Greek culture.
In this activity, students will use assets to complete a chart that examines other aspects of Hellenistic culture and achievement. Divide the class into 10 groups of 2-3 students each. Assign each group one block of assets from the chart below. Give students approximately 15 minutes to view/read their assets and create a poster-size visual, complete with a caption, that reflects what they learned about Hellenistic contributions to world history.
After 15 minutes, each group should present its findings; other students should record notes to complete their charts.
Discipline / Assets / Notes on characteristics of the Hellenistic Age – key points to rememberArchitecture / The Rise of the Cosmopolis: A Comparison of the Hellenistic Altar of Zeus and the Classical Parthenon (video)
Art / Compare/contrast the images:
Face of Athena (image - Hellenic)
Detail Head of Laocoön (image - Hellenistic)
Literature / The lyric poet Posidippus (image)
Philosophy / Epicureanism (article)
Stoicism (article)
Math / Euclid (article)
Euclid (video)
Apollonius of Perga (article)
Introduction (Apollonius) (video)
Science / Aristarchus of Samos (article)
Aristarchus: A Heliocentric Universe (video)
Hipparchus (article)
Retrograde Motion (Hipparchus) (video)
Archimedes (article)
Archimedes and Greek Mechanics (video)
To conclude this portion of the lesson, discuss the impact of the Hellenistic Age on human progress. Possible questions to facilitate this discussion might include:
· How did art evolve from the Hellenic to the Hellenistic periods? Which art form is better represented in contemporary art forms?
· Stoic and epicurean are words that sometimes occur on the SAT. What is the origin and meaning of each word?
· How would the world be different if Euclid and Apollonius had not made advancements in geometry?
· Which Hellenistic achievements in astronomy increased our understanding of the universe?
· What inventions by Archimedes are still used today?
Humanities Extension:
The world of mythology began in ancient Greece. Their world of gods, myths, and explanations for the supernatural was an integral part of their culture. From the following list of known and unknown mythological characters, choose two familiar and one unfamiliar. Research the history of each god, including their importance in the culture. Then chart each one in a PowerPoint (PPT) presentation to show their likenesses and differences and their influences on today’s language. Lastly, compare those individuals to individuals of today that might be considered as heroes or villains. List: Achilles, Adonia, Asclepius, Arachne, Jason, Heracles, Lycaon, Odysseus, Narcissus, Perseus, Pygmalion, Thesus, Triptolemus
Projects:
Students may select a project from the suggestions below or may propose their own. Teachers may opt to provide class time to complete this project, or they may choose to assign it as homework.
Cause and Effect: Using Publisher or similar presentation software, create a 1-page newsletter, complete with news articles, that addresses the methods Alexander the Great used to spread Hellenic civilization to the areas he conquered and the results of his doing so. At least one article must define cultural diffusion.
Change and Continuity: Using PowerPoint (PPT) or similar presentation software, create a slideshow that applies what you learned in this lesson and what you learned previously about Athens to compare and contrast aspects of Hellenic and Hellenistic civilization. Note the characteristics that Hellenistic civilization adopted from Hellenic civilization (continuity), and those characteristics that were uniquely Hellenistic (change).