Alexander's army was not large, but it was the best trained in the world. Think of the Macedonian phalanx! All the cities of Persia fell into his hands. Before he was thirty years old, southwestern Asia and Egypt recognized his rule. Alexandria, situated at the mouth of the Nile River, was founded by him. It became a center of Greek ideas and boasted the largest library in the Old World. =273. Why Alexander Failed.= Alexander's army made its way to India. But its great general, now only thirty-two, was drunk with power. He even permitted the people he conquered to worship him as a god. He loved the wine-cup too well and was stricken with a fever and died. There was no one to take his place, but much that was finest and best in Greek life remained to the world. SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL =The Leading Facts.= _1._ Greece, a land of hills, mountains, plains, bays, and gulfs. _2._ Greeks traded and planted colonies. _3._ The deeds of Greek heroes. _4._ The great men of the newer Greece. =5.= The reason why the Persians attacked the Greeks. =6.= Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis. _7._ Alexander the Great, his father, his education, his army, and his victories. =8.= Spread of Greek ideas. =Study Questions.= _1._ See map for the boundaries of "Greater Greece." _2._ Name heroes among the ancient Greeks. Do you know of any others? _3._ What was their favorite story? _4._ What was the cause of the Trojan War? _5._ Who was Helen and for what was she famous? _6._ Who was Socrates? Plato? Aristotle? _7._ How is Aristotle connected with Columbus? _8._ Who were the Persians? _9._ Why did they attack the Greeks? _10._ Name the great battles. _11._ How was Alexander able to beat the Persians in their own land? _12._ How did Alexander benefit the world in what he did? =Suggested Readings.= Guerber. _The Story of the Greeks_; Hall, _Life in Ancient Greece_, II, 166; Harding, _Stories of Greek Gods, Heroes, and Men_; Tappan, _The Story of the Greek People_; Yonge, _Young Folks' History of Greece_; Mace-Tanner, _Old Europe and Young America_, 24-73; Hall, _Four Old Greeks_. WHEN ROME RULED THE WORLD =274. Rome, the Eternal City.= Italy looks like a big boot hanging from the Alps Mountains down into the Mediterranean Sea. "Sunny Italy," people call it. [Sidenote: =An old Roman myth=] The ancient Romans all believed that their city, Rome, was founded by a hero called Romulus. He had a twin brother, Remus. A wicked uncle threw them while babies into a basket and set it adrift on the river Tiber. But the boys--so the story runs--were found by a she-wolf that nursed them until they became men, strong and cruel. With the aid of others as brave as himself, Romulus founded the city of Rome. [Sidenote: =How Rome was ruled=]