Ancient History: A Concise Overview of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome: Including the Egyptian Mythology, the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Republic by Eric

Author:Eric
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4: Hellenistic Greece

The Hellenistic period of Ancient Greek history roughly incorporates the time between when Alexander the Great died and concluded with the rise of the Roman Empire. In Ancient Greek, the word Hellas was the original name of Greece, and this is where the word Hellenistic can draw its lineage from.

This period is when the cultural influence of Greece as well as its power was at its zenith throughout the Mediterranean, as well as the rest of Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. Considered as the golden age for Greece, the arts were flourishing along with theatre, literature, sciences, philosophy, mathematics, music, architecture, exploration, and all manner of other fields and disciplines. The Hellenistic period of Ancient Greek history is also considered to be one of acute transition and has even been associated with a time of degeneration and decadence, especially when compared to the relative period of enlightenment that was experienced during the Greek Classical period.

Many new and long-lasting cultural innovations were taking place during this period, including but certainly not limited to the rise of Alexandrian poetry, which is characterized by the influences from the Alexander the Great founded city of Alexandria. Also coming to prominence during this era was the concept of New Comedy, which developed all through the period of Macedonian rule. The Septuagint was written in this time, which is the earlier known Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament from the original language of Hebrew. Philosophy also saw a major renewal in development, with the emergence of both the Stoic and Epicurean school of philosophy, which both came into prominence during the Hellenistic period of Ancient Greece.

In the period, science in Greece was being advanced by the timeless, enduring works of the great mathematician Euclid. Important mathematical and scientific contributions were also developed by the no less talented and legendary polymath Archimedes.

The sphere of influence of the religious beliefs in Hellenistic Greece expanded and came to include new gods into their panthea, such as the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis or various eastern gods like Attis or Cybele. There was also a fair amount of cultural and religious exchange between Hellenistic culture and the Buddhism that was taking hold in Bactria as well as in the northwest of India at the time.

After the invasion and conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great in the year 330 BC, the Hellenistic kingdoms had been established all the way through the south-west areas of Asia. Included are the Seleucid Empire and the Kingdom of Pergamon, as well the north-east of Africa, where the Ptolemaic Kingdom was located, and finally South Asia, the area that included the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Alexander the Great’s rise, conquest, and demise had certainly made major and long-lasting changes to the makeup and composure of the Greek world. The effect spread into the Hellenistic period of Ancient Greece and continue to influence the Greek world as well as the world at large for centuries to come.

The power vacuum

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