ALEXANDER THE GREAT, KING OF MACEDON FROM 336 TO 323 B.C. Greek ways of living were also carried eastward as well as westward. The enlargement of the Greek world in this direction was due to Alexander the Great, the most skilful soldier and the ablest leader of men among all the Greeks. Alexander was king of Macedon, and like the earlier Greeks he regarded the Persians as his enemies, and made war upon them. After conquering the Persians he marched across western Asia until he had reached the Indus River in India. He was a builder of cities as well as a conqueror. He founded seventy cities, and sixteen of them were named for him. The most important was the Alexandria which is still the chief seaport of Egypt. Greek became the language commonly spoken throughout the lands near the eastern Mediterranean. This is the reason why in later times the New Testament was written in Greek. ALEXANDRIA. Of this Greek world Athens ceased to be the center and Alexandria took its place. At Alexandria there was a great library which contained over five hundred thousand volumes or rolls. There also was the museum or university, in which many learned men were at work. The best known of these men was Euclid, who perfected the mathematics which we call geometry, and Ptolemy, whose ideas about geography and the shape and size of the globe Columbus carefully studied before he set out on his great voyage. Alexandria was also a center of trade and commerce. From Alexandria, because its ships were the first foreign ships to be admitted to a Roman port, the Romans gained their liking for many of the beautiful things which the Greeks made. QUESTIONS 1. Why were the Greek colonies important? Why did the Greeks emigrate to the colonies? 2. Point out on the map, the lands to which they might go. Name several cities which they built. 3. What were the ties between the daughter and the mother city? 4. Why was a part of southern Italy called Great Greece? 5. Describe a Greek trireme and the way it was managed. 6. Of what country was Alexander the Great king? When did he reign? How far east did he march? What did he do besides winning victories? 7. Why was the city of Alexandria famous in Ancient Times? 8. Of what help was Ptolemy to Columbus? EXERCISES 1. Find out the colonies we have. For what purpose do Americans go to these colonies? Is it as hard to reach them as it was for the Greeks to reach their colonies? 2. What country now has the most colonies? 3. Learn and tell the story of Ulysses and the Cyclops. 4. Find out what is meant at Constantinople by "the Golden Horn?" Who now live at Constantinople, at Naples, at Marseilles? 5. Collect pictures of these cities. REVIEW (Chapters II, III, and IV) _Ten things we owe to the Greeks_: 1. Many useful words. 2. Many interesting tales.