Notes 2-24

• Phalanx- the square formation used in the ancient times where the two groups push up against each other, all standing in rows.
• The Greeks built the long walls. They built them all the way from the harbor to the city. They are two walls close together. The carts loaded with items from the harbor went into the gate and goes all the way down the long walls.
• The walls were a great defense, but if Sparta gets close enough, and push the Athenians into the walls, and close the gate. The Athenians are trapped within their own walls, and the plague breaks out. Sparta just waits, and then eventually go back home. The Athenians are left there, wondering what to do. It was a terrible blow to Athens.
• Sparta had allies and outposts in Sicily. If the Athenians could get around Sparta, they could attack Sicily where Sparta could never catch up to them.
• Alcibiades comes up with the idea to invade Sicily. It becomes known as the Sicilian Expedition. Someone committed a vast act of vandalism the night before the expedition, and Alcibiades enemies had convinced enough people that Alcibiades was behind it. In the heat of the moment, they were connived that he had something to do with it, even though it didn't make sense.
• They had a trial without Alcibiades there and he was convicted.They try to follow after the expedition and capture Alcibiades, but he refused and then took another boat to Sparta. When the Athenians get to Sicily, The Sicilian and Spartan armies were waiting for them. It was one of the greatest defeats every(of Athens).
• Athens come back, but it never comes back to as powerful as it had been.

Alexander the great

• Was Aristotle's student.
• Alexanders Dad was the King of Macedon. Philip was his name, and he is assassinated when Alexander is 19. Alexander becomes King. First thing he does is get revenge on the people that killed dad.
• He did not know what to do, so he decided to take over the world. He also decides that he finally will be the guy to take revenge on the Persians. He wants to take over and conquer it. He did that, and then at the age when he would have been getting out of college today, he had conquered half of the know world.
• He goes to Troy, but nothing is there. The Trojan war happened a thousand years ago. He throws a spear onto the shore and says that that is the spear he uses to conquer Persia.
• He comes down the coast, has a couple battles and defeats the Persians he meets there, and ends up in a town known as Gordian. There is a strange legend at Gordian. Out in the field, there is an ox cart. The two bars of the cart are tied up by a huge knot. The take all of the ends of the knot and then tuck it underneath, so you wouldn't know where to start to untie it.
• Alexander says that he is going to untie the rope. His friends are scared that he won't be able to untie it. He slices the knot and cops it in half, and opens it up. He says that it doesn't matter how you undo the knot.
• Then, he continues down the coast, and crosses into Egypt. When he gets to Egypt, he is hailed as a King. They love him, because they also hate Persia.
• He and a few of his friends take a caravan out into the desert and land at an oasis called Siwa Oasis. It is still there today. There is an oracle there at Siwa. The priest at the oracle greets him as the son of God. That makes Alexander feel pretty good:) Now he is ready to conquer Persia.

Here is a video I found about Alexander the Great:)