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Alexander
Statue
This
statue is of Alexander the Great. After his father consolidated
most of Greece into one kingdom by about 338 BC, Alexander
conquered the Persian empire (modern Iran, Pakistan), the middle
east (Turkey, Israel, Syria, and Iraq), and Egypt, all by the
time he was 33. In short, Alexander conquered most of what
people assumed to be the civilized world!
How is this statue of Alexander the
Great significant for understanding the world of Paul?
Alexander the Great's conquest spread Greek influence, trade
and ideas all over the world. It made Greek the
"English" of its day; everyone educated spoke it, so
much so that the Jews translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek
(the Septuagint).
It also opened up Greeks to outside influence as well. One
can see the strong influence of Egyptian religion in
Thessaoloniki
source:
info on Philipp II: http://faq.macedonia.org/history/11.2.html
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