Dr. Graham Wrightson

Yeah. As you say, this rotation of kings and the Game of Thrones and all the assassinations and all that different stuff, even within the successes, even the first 10 years or so is just a crazy, exciting period. And then it sort of tails off a little bit when they all start dying and you get fewer power players involved.

Yeah. As you say, this rotation of kings and the Game of Thrones and all the assassinations and all that different stuff, even within the successes, even the first 10 years or so is just a crazy, exciting period. And then it sort of tails off a little bit when they all start dying and you get fewer power players involved.

Yeah. As you say, this rotation of kings and the Game of Thrones and all the assassinations and all that different stuff, even within the successes, even the first 10 years or so is just a crazy, exciting period. And then it sort of tails off a little bit when they all start dying and you get fewer power players involved.

For those who don't remember your school education, but you have the Greek city-states never unified as one country of Greece. So you have Athens and Sparta and Thebes, your three main ones at the end of the, or the beginning of the 300s through the mid-4th century.

For those who don't remember your school education, but you have the Greek city-states never unified as one country of Greece. So you have Athens and Sparta and Thebes, your three main ones at the end of the, or the beginning of the 300s through the mid-4th century.

For those who don't remember your school education, but you have the Greek city-states never unified as one country of Greece. So you have Athens and Sparta and Thebes, your three main ones at the end of the, or the beginning of the 300s through the mid-4th century.

And Alexander's father, Philip II, took over, took Macedon as this little kingdom, and then progressively, over his long reign, conquers all these different regions, mostly the Greek city-states and the areas they controlled. At the Battle of Chaeronea in 338, he defeats the Theban-Athenian alliance and then takes rule of Greece as hegemon, as leader, and creates the League of Corinth.

And Alexander's father, Philip II, took over, took Macedon as this little kingdom, and then progressively, over his long reign, conquers all these different regions, mostly the Greek city-states and the areas they controlled. At the Battle of Chaeronea in 338, he defeats the Theban-Athenian alliance and then takes rule of Greece as hegemon, as leader, and creates the League of Corinth.

And Alexander's father, Philip II, took over, took Macedon as this little kingdom, and then progressively, over his long reign, conquers all these different regions, mostly the Greek city-states and the areas they controlled. At the Battle of Chaeronea in 338, he defeats the Theban-Athenian alliance and then takes rule of Greece as hegemon, as leader, and creates the League of Corinth.

And rather than necessarily conquering Greece, Macedon is the forcibly elected leader of an amalgamation of Greek states. And for Philip, the invasion of Persia, which he plans and begins, is this propaganda to cement his role as leader of Greece that he's going to then invade Persia. So that's the Greek context. Rome is doing its own thing over in Italy.

And rather than necessarily conquering Greece, Macedon is the forcibly elected leader of an amalgamation of Greek states. And for Philip, the invasion of Persia, which he plans and begins, is this propaganda to cement his role as leader of Greece that he's going to then invade Persia. So that's the Greek context. Rome is doing its own thing over in Italy.

And rather than necessarily conquering Greece, Macedon is the forcibly elected leader of an amalgamation of Greek states. And for Philip, the invasion of Persia, which he plans and begins, is this propaganda to cement his role as leader of Greece that he's going to then invade Persia. So that's the Greek context. Rome is doing its own thing over in Italy.

And you have the Greek city-states in Sicily that are connected but separate. And then you have the Persian Empire that is the biggest in the world at the time, controls most of Western Asia and Egypt. And Macedon have been in contact with Persia for a while, as have the Greeks and all sorts of different background stuff that we won't deal with.

And you have the Greek city-states in Sicily that are connected but separate. And then you have the Persian Empire that is the biggest in the world at the time, controls most of Western Asia and Egypt. And Macedon have been in contact with Persia for a while, as have the Greeks and all sorts of different background stuff that we won't deal with.

And you have the Greek city-states in Sicily that are connected but separate. And then you have the Persian Empire that is the biggest in the world at the time, controls most of Western Asia and Egypt. And Macedon have been in contact with Persia for a while, as have the Greeks and all sorts of different background stuff that we won't deal with.

But Alexander begins the invasion of Persia as a continuation of his father's policies to cement his new position as the forcibly elected ruler of this League of Corinth empire.

But Alexander begins the invasion of Persia as a continuation of his father's policies to cement his new position as the forcibly elected ruler of this League of Corinth empire.

But Alexander begins the invasion of Persia as a continuation of his father's policies to cement his new position as the forcibly elected ruler of this League of Corinth empire.

alliance of Greek states and the Greeks are not happy to start with so he has to put down the revolt of Thebes almost as soon as he becomes king and destroys the entire city and enslaves everybody except for Pindar's house, the poet, because he loves Pindar and so that sort of keeps the Greeks in line and he forces them to send him 7,000 soldiers as their contribution to the campaign army and then they go off and invade Persia and so it's initially planned as a punishment for the Persian wars against Greece

alliance of Greek states and the Greeks are not happy to start with so he has to put down the revolt of Thebes almost as soon as he becomes king and destroys the entire city and enslaves everybody except for Pindar's house, the poet, because he loves Pindar and so that sort of keeps the Greeks in line and he forces them to send him 7,000 soldiers as their contribution to the campaign army and then they go off and invade Persia and so it's initially planned as a punishment for the Persian wars against Greece