Miguel Espinal Western Civilization 101: Chapter 4 Professor Brathwaite Assignment # 4

1. Explain the downfall of the polis.

The Greeks wasted their energies fighting one another and left the way open for an outside power, to come in and take over. The century of conflict was its greatest tragedy; gradually, large estates worked by tenant farmers or slaves would replace the small family owned farms worked by independent farmers. And once these farmers, the backbone of the traditional polis, went into decline, so did the polis itself. 1. Explain the power of the Theban sacred Band. One hundred and fifty couples provided the full complement of three hundred men. The inspiration for the formation of this battalion was the Platonic concept that no one would show more courage than a man in love, fighting alongside his lover. The Theban commander Gorgidas organized this group of extremely strong soldiers thus The Sacred Band was undefeated for 45 years. 2. What was Aristotles primary philosophical concern? Aristotle concerned himself more with how philosophy applied to subjects like writing, the arts, science, and logic. Greek philosopher, scientist, and educator, he was

an adept student at Plato's Academy. Many of his theories can be seen as drawn from Plato's teaching, but he was more practical in many respects. 3. What was Aristotles view regarding slavery? Aristotle raises the question of whether slavery is natural or conventional. He asserts that the former is the case. So, Aristotle's theory of slavery holds that some people are naturally slaves and others are naturally masters. There is no difficulty in answering this question; this suggests that anyone who is ruled must be a slave, which does not seem at all right.

4. Alexander the Great carried two items with him on his journey to Persia in 334 B.C.E. What were they and what was the significance? a. Alexander's mother taught him that Achilles was his ancestor, and that his father was descended from Hercules. Alexander learned by heart the Iliad, a story about the deeds of Achilles. He carried a copy of the Iliad with him, and Achilles became Alexander's model. b. A very beautiful and costly casket, which King Darius had used for his jewelry or for some other rich treasures. Alexander determined to make use of this box as a depository for his beautiful copy of Homer, and he always carried it with him, thus protected, in all his subsequent campaigns.

5. Summarize the key points regarding the reign of King Phillip II of Macedonia and Alexander the Great. a. Philip's first achievement was to unify Macedon through his army. He raised troops and made his army an example of wealth, honor and power in the land; if Philip II had not been the father of Alexander the Great, he would be more widely known as a first-rate military innovator, tactician and strategist, and as a consummate politician. The conquests of Alexander would have been impossible without the army his father created. b. The most important achievement of Alexander was the fact that he spread Greek culture and language. Alexander managed to unite the Greek states under his powerful command. He made an incredible campaign for 10 years and won every battle he fought. The significance of Alexander is that he conquered a lot of land with his Macedonian army and he was under the age of 30 when he did this.