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The Empire of Alexander the Great
In 334 B.C. Alexander the Great took his Greek armies to the east and in only a few years completed his creation of an empire out of much of southwest Asia In the new empire, barriers to trade and the movement of peoples were removed; markets were put in touch with one another. In the next generation thousands of Greek traders and artisans would enter this wider world to seek their fortunes. Alexander’s actions had several important consequences for the region occupied by the empire.
The first of these was the expansion of Greek civilization throughout the Middle East. Greek became the great international language. Towns and cities were established not only as garrisons (military posts) but as centers for the diffusion of Greek language, literature, and thought, particularly through libraries, as at Antioch (in modern Turkey) and the most famous of all, at Alexandria in Egypt, which would be the finest in the world for the next thousand years.
Second, this internationalism spelled the end of the classical Greek city-state——the unit of government in ancient Greece——and everything it stood for. Most city-states had been quite small in terms of citizenry, and this was considered to be a good thing. The focus of life was the agora, the open marketplace where assemblies could be held and where issues of the day, as well as more fundamental topics such as the purpose of government or the relationship between law and freedom, could be discussed and decisions made by individuals in person. The philosopher Plato (428-348 B.C.) felt that the ideal city-state should have about 5,000 citizens, because to the Greeks it was important that everyone in the community should know each other. In decision making, the whole body of citizens together would have the necessary knowledge in order generally to reach the right decision, even though the individual might not be particularly qualified to decide. The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), who lived at a time when the city-state system was declining, believed that a political entity of 100,000 simply would not be able to govern itself.
This implied that the city-state was based on the idea that citizens were not specialists but had multiple interests and talents——each a so-called jack-of-all-trades who could engage in many areas of life and politics. It implied a respect for the wholeness of life and a consequent dislike of specialization. It implied economic and military self-sufficiency. But with the development of trade and commerce in Alexander’s empire came the growth of cities; it was no longer possible to be a jack-of-all-trades. One now had to specialize, and with specialization came professionalism. There were getting to be too many persons to know, an easily observable community of interests was being replaced by a multiplicity of interests. The city-state was simply too "small-time."
Third, Greek philosophy was opened up to the philosophy and religion of the East At the peak of the Greek city-state, religion played an important part. Its gods—such as Zeus, father of the gods, and his wife Hera—were thought of very much as being like human beings but with superhuman abilities. Their worship was linked to the rituals connected with one’s progress through life—birth, marriage, and death— and with invoking protection against danger, making prophecies, and promoting healing, rather than to any code of behavior. Nor was there much of a theory of afterlife.
Even before Alexander’s time, a life spent in the service of their city-state no longer seemed ideal to Greeks The Athenian philosopher Socrates (470-399 B.C.) was the first person in Greece to propose a morality based on individual conscience rather than the demands of the state, and for this he was accused of not believing in the city’s gods and so corrupting the youth, and he was condemned to death. Greek philosophy—or even a focus on conscience—might complement religion but was no substitute for it, and this made Greeks receptive to the religious systems of the Middle East, even if they never adopted them completely The combination of the religious instinct of Asia with the philosophic spirit of Greece spread across the world in the era after Alexander’s death, blending the culture of the Middle East with the culture of Greece.
1. According to paragraph 1, Alexander the Great did which of the following?
O Regulated the movement and resettlement in southwest Asia of thousands of Greek people
O Opened up opportunities in new markets for traders and artisans
O Created new restrictions on trade
O Encouraged Greek citizens to choose military careers over careers in trade
2. The word "diffusion" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O adoption
O spread
O teaching
O learning
3. In paragraph 2,the author mentions the libraries at Antioch and Alexandria in order to
O provide evidence that the library was a cultural institution in the East before it spread to the West
O explain why it was important for Greek to become the great international language
O identify two of the sources of Greek cultural influence within Alexander’s empire
O support the claim that the Greeks transformed Middle Eastern garrisons and military posts into cultural centers
4. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
O Assemblies were held in the agora to discuss some issues of the day, but more fundamental questions were decided by key individuals.
O In a culture where philosophical discussions were frequent, some individuals questioned the value of a life focused on the marketplace.
O Life centered around the agora, an open marketplace and site for public debate, where individuals could participate in decision making.
O The focus of individuals was on fundamental topics such as the purpose of government and the connection between law and freedom.
5. According to paragraph 3，Plato believed that the ideal city-state should be
O governed by a ruling body of about 5,000 city leaders with a total population of no more than 100,000
O led by the most qualified individual
O governed by the group of citizens with the most knowledge about the issues of the day
O small enough so that everyone would know each other
6. Why does the author mention "The philosopher Aristotle"?
O To provide additional evidence that the ancient Greeks believed that political units must be small
O To demonstrate the accuracy of philosophers’ predictions about the end of the classical Greek city-state
O To show how changes in the city-state system from the fifth to the third century B C. were reflected in the ideas of its philosophers
O To support the claim that small city-states were ideally suited to produce philosophical inquiry
7. The word "declining" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O at its best
O rapidly expanding
O first being formed
O weakening
8. According to paragraph 4, Alexander's empire was characterized by all of the following EXCEPT
O decreased need for military control
O growing professionalism
O growth of cities
O specialization in trades
9. The word ”peak” in the passage is closest in meaning to
O end
O command
O high point
O beginning
10. According to paragraph 5, religion in the Greek city-state involved
O a set of rules governing behavior
O a detailed conception of life after death
O rituals related to significant life events
O worship of gods who were not like humans
11. According to paragraph 6，what was the basis for the accusation against Socrates?
O He encouraged people to be guided by their own consciences instead of by the state.
O He stated that people had a duty to fight against the corruption of their leaders.
O He reasoned that the needs of the youth were more important than the needs of the state.
O He argued that people’s behavior should be guided by the religious systems of the Middle East.
12.The word "propose" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O suggest
O deny
O consider
O question
13. Look at the four squares [] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
Likewise, the collective decision-making process of the open marketplace was no longer practical.
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [] to add the sentence to the passage.
14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
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Alexander the Great’s creation of a vast empire had important consequences for Greece and the conquered areas of southwest Asia.
Answer choices
Scholars from Antioch, Alexandria, and other Middle Eastern cultural centers came to Greece to study the Greek language and culture.
Increasing urbanization and the elimination of trade barriers meant the end of the Greek city-state and the creation of a much larger political and economic body.
The professionalism and specialization so prized by the ancient Greeks were replaced by a more generalized philosophy of education in the empire.
The expansion of Alexander’s empire led to the diffusion of Greek language, literature, and thought throughout the Middle East.
The empire saw the birth of a new culture, merging Greek philosophical ideas with the religious spirit of Asia.
Religion played an important part in the expansion of the empire, as Alexander introduced Zeus and the other Greek gods to Asia.