The Hellenistic Age
The Hellenistic age was the period between the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great and the establishment of Roman supremacy. Alexander the Great was the son of King Philip of Mecedon who brought all of Greece under his authority. When Philip was murdered Alexander the Great took the throne. He reigned for thirteen years. Alexander was always looking for new conquest; he and his army succeed in controlling all of Greece, Persia and part of India. It was said that Alexander had the face of a god, the physique of an Olympic athlete, was a brilliant general which he inherited from his father and very intelligent; his intelligence was acquired somewhat by the teaching of his tutor Socrotes. Under Alexander a great cosmopolitan culture developed. The new culture has thus been termed "Hellenistic" - not purely Greek, because of all the towns under his control, it was a melting pot. After Alexander's death the empire was divided into three large portions each general taking a portion.
Egypt under the general Ptolemy, who established the Ptolemies dynasty this was ruled with all the pomp and authority of the pharaohs. Second was the general Seleucus, who founded Seleucid dynasty consisting of Northern Syria and most of the remaining provinces of the old Persian Empire. This empire was ruled very loosely and its subject began to rebel against the policies of Seleucid. Third we have general Antigonid who ruled the Macedonia area. His empire was known as the Antigonid dynasty. His power was usually not very strong over the poleis. These huge political units now overshadowed the old city-states. The urban elite in these kingdoms spoke Koine (common) Greek, which became the new international language. The religion, art and literature were a cosmopolitan blend of Greek and native elements.
Many new cities were founded, most important of which was Alexandria in Egypt. Under the Ptolemies, who used their wealth to attract poets, scholars, artists, and scientists, the city became a great economic, cultural, and religious center. A new institute of studying was encouraged during this time period; a literary criticism was pursued. Scholarship rather than inspiration marked poetry. Many advances were made in science as empirical medicine, astronomy, and mathematics. Hellenistic physicians, made dissection of human bodies which enabled them to discover the nervous system and other parts of the body; their pioneering work help develop a variety of new surgical operations. Euclid organized plane and solid geometry into a systematic, integrated body of knowledge. Archimedes of Syracuse did brilliant original work in both pure and applied mathematics, discovering specific gravity. Eratosthenes produced the most accurate and thorough maps that had yet been made, complete with lines of longitude and latitude and climatic zones. Aristarchus of Samos suggested that the earth rotates daily on its axis and revolves yearly around the sun, even though his theory was not widely accepted he was a pioneer in this thinking. Later astronomer Hipparchus developed a complete system of circles and subcircles centered on the earth that accounted exceedingly well for the observed motions of the sun and moon.
Two of the main philosophical schools of the age were Stoicism and Epicureanism. The Stoicism derives its name from an Athenian civic building, the "Painted Stoa," in which Zeno, the founder of Stoic philosophy taught his followers that one should live according to nature.
He taught that every one should do the best they can at what ever it is they do, this would manifest into virtue. The significant thing is not individual accomplishment but individual effort. The Epicureans held that all things are composed of atoms and that a simple life is preferable to empty wealth and fame. Their goal was ataraxia, or tranquility. He taught that people should seek happiness not virtue. Happiness is best achieved not by chasing pleasures but by living simply and unobtrusively, by being kind, generous, learning to endure pain, and avoiding needless fears.
The religion of the Hellenistic Age saw a revival of mystery and salvation cults, such as Orphism, Dionysus and Demeter. From Egypt came the cult of Osiris, From Asia Minor came a version of the fertility cult of the Great Mother, from Persia came the cult of Mithras and from other Near Eastern came neo-Babylonian astrology, magic, witchcraft, and sorcery. Some of the upper class devoted to worship the Goddess of Fortune. This Age corabined the Greek goRAB with Eastern deities; a process known as syncretism, or the mixing of religions. Many people believed that different goRAB of the many religions was a manifestation of the same god, and that they all syrabolized a single divine spirit. A common culture was developing with common ideas and common goRAB. Alexander's dream of a homogeneous world synthesizing Greek and Near Eastern cultures was gradually coming into being.
The Hellenistic age was the period between the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great and the establishment of Roman supremacy. Alexander the Great was the son of King Philip of Mecedon who brought all of Greece under his authority. When Philip was murdered Alexander the Great took the throne. He reigned for thirteen years. Alexander was always looking for new conquest; he and his army succeed in controlling all of Greece, Persia and part of India. It was said that Alexander had the face of a god, the physique of an Olympic athlete, was a brilliant general which he inherited from his father and very intelligent; his intelligence was acquired somewhat by the teaching of his tutor Socrotes. Under Alexander a great cosmopolitan culture developed. The new culture has thus been termed "Hellenistic" - not purely Greek, because of all the towns under his control, it was a melting pot. After Alexander's death the empire was divided into three large portions each general taking a portion.
Egypt under the general Ptolemy, who established the Ptolemies dynasty this was ruled with all the pomp and authority of the pharaohs. Second was the general Seleucus, who founded Seleucid dynasty consisting of Northern Syria and most of the remaining provinces of the old Persian Empire. This empire was ruled very loosely and its subject began to rebel against the policies of Seleucid. Third we have general Antigonid who ruled the Macedonia area. His empire was known as the Antigonid dynasty. His power was usually not very strong over the poleis. These huge political units now overshadowed the old city-states. The urban elite in these kingdoms spoke Koine (common) Greek, which became the new international language. The religion, art and literature were a cosmopolitan blend of Greek and native elements.
Many new cities were founded, most important of which was Alexandria in Egypt. Under the Ptolemies, who used their wealth to attract poets, scholars, artists, and scientists, the city became a great economic, cultural, and religious center. A new institute of studying was encouraged during this time period; a literary criticism was pursued. Scholarship rather than inspiration marked poetry. Many advances were made in science as empirical medicine, astronomy, and mathematics. Hellenistic physicians, made dissection of human bodies which enabled them to discover the nervous system and other parts of the body; their pioneering work help develop a variety of new surgical operations. Euclid organized plane and solid geometry into a systematic, integrated body of knowledge. Archimedes of Syracuse did brilliant original work in both pure and applied mathematics, discovering specific gravity. Eratosthenes produced the most accurate and thorough maps that had yet been made, complete with lines of longitude and latitude and climatic zones. Aristarchus of Samos suggested that the earth rotates daily on its axis and revolves yearly around the sun, even though his theory was not widely accepted he was a pioneer in this thinking. Later astronomer Hipparchus developed a complete system of circles and subcircles centered on the earth that accounted exceedingly well for the observed motions of the sun and moon.
Two of the main philosophical schools of the age were Stoicism and Epicureanism. The Stoicism derives its name from an Athenian civic building, the "Painted Stoa," in which Zeno, the founder of Stoic philosophy taught his followers that one should live according to nature.
He taught that every one should do the best they can at what ever it is they do, this would manifest into virtue. The significant thing is not individual accomplishment but individual effort. The Epicureans held that all things are composed of atoms and that a simple life is preferable to empty wealth and fame. Their goal was ataraxia, or tranquility. He taught that people should seek happiness not virtue. Happiness is best achieved not by chasing pleasures but by living simply and unobtrusively, by being kind, generous, learning to endure pain, and avoiding needless fears.
The religion of the Hellenistic Age saw a revival of mystery and salvation cults, such as Orphism, Dionysus and Demeter. From Egypt came the cult of Osiris, From Asia Minor came a version of the fertility cult of the Great Mother, from Persia came the cult of Mithras and from other Near Eastern came neo-Babylonian astrology, magic, witchcraft, and sorcery. Some of the upper class devoted to worship the Goddess of Fortune. This Age corabined the Greek goRAB with Eastern deities; a process known as syncretism, or the mixing of religions. Many people believed that different goRAB of the many religions was a manifestation of the same god, and that they all syrabolized a single divine spirit. A common culture was developing with common ideas and common goRAB. Alexander's dream of a homogeneous world synthesizing Greek and Near Eastern cultures was gradually coming into being.