4.7: Hellenistic Period

Historians consider the death of Alexander to be the beginning of the Hellenistic Period. While city-states continued to exist, the main unit of organization was the great Hellenistic kingdoms, which encompassed much greater territory and contributed to the thorough Hellenization of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. The age also coincided with the rise of Rome as a military power in the West. Ultimately, the Hellenistic kingdoms were conquered and absorbed by Rome.

4.7.1: Hellenistic Kingdoms

Although Alexander had several children from his different wives, he did not leave an heir old enough to take power upon his death. Indeed, his only son, Alexander IV, was only born several months after his father’s death. Instead, Alexander’s most talented generals turned against each other in a contest for the control of the empire that they had helped create.

Map \(\PageIndex{1}\): Map of the Initial partition of Alexander’s empire, before the Wars of the Diadochi Author: User “Fornadan” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

These Wars of the Diadochi ended with a partition of Alexander’s empire into a number of kingdoms. The four most influential dynasties which retained power for the remainder of the Hellenistic Age were:

• Seleucus, who took control of Syria and the surrounding areas, thus creating the Seleucid Empire (312 BC to 63 BCE).
• Antigonus Monophthalmos, the One-Eyed, who took over the territory of Asia Minor and northern Syria, establishing the Antigonid Dynasty (306–168 BCE)
• the Attalid Dynasty, which took power over the Kingdom of Pergamon (282 BC–129 BCE), after the death of its initial ruler, Lysimachus, a general of Alexander
• Ptolemy, Alexander’s most influential general, who took control over Egypt, establishing the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 to 30 BCE)

Map \(\PageIndex{2}\): Map of the Hellenistic Kingdoms c. 303 BCE Author: User “Javierfv1212” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

The Ptolemaic kingdom proved to be the longest-lasting and most successful of the kingdoms carved from Alexander’s initial empire. Aiming to make Alexandria the new Athens of the Mediterranean, Ptolemy I spared no expense in building the Museaum, an institution of learning and research that included, most famously, the Great Library. Even with the Greek influences, the Egyptian royal custom of brother-sister marriages was practiced. The last of the Ptolemaic rulers, Cleopatra VII, first married and ruled jointly with her brother Ptolemy XIII. After defeating him in a civil war, she then married another brother, Ptolemy XIV, remaining his wife until his death, possibly from sisterly poisoning. Best known for her affairs with Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, Cleopatra teamed with Marcus Antonius in a bid for the Roman Empire. The last surviving ruler who was descended from one of Alexander’s generals, she was finally defeated by Octavian, the future Roman emperor Augustus, in 30 BCE.

4.7.2: Hellenistic Culture

The Hellenistic kingdoms spread Greek language, culture, and art all over the areas of Alexander’s former conquests. Furthermore, many Hellenistic kings, especially the Ptolemies, were patrons of art and ideas. Thus, the Hellenistic era saw the flourishing of art and architecture, philosophy, medical and scientific writing, and even translations of texts of other civilizations into Greek. The undisputed center for these advances was Alexandria.

Combining the practical with the ambitious, the Pharos, or Lighthouse, of Alexandria was one of the most famous examples of Hellenistic architecture and has remained a symbol of the city to the present day. Constructed in 280 BCE, it was considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and was one of the tallest buildings in the world at the time. While its practical purpose was to guide ships into the harbor at night, it also exemplified the bold advances and experimental spirit of Hellenistic architecture. Indeed, it was located on a man-made mole off the coast of the city. The building comprised three layers, the top one of which housed the furnace that produced the light.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Pharos, or Lighthouse, of Alexandria Author: Emad Victor SHENOUDA Source: Wikimedia Commons License: © Emad Victor SHENOUDA. Used with permission

Both the scientific and medical texts from the Hellenistic Period reveal a fascination with an ordered universe and an interest in discovering how it worked. Herophilus of Chalcedon pioneered dissection in the early third BCE and was especially interested in the human brain and the nervous system. The mathematician Euclid, who lived and worked in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323 – 283 BCE), wrote the Elements, an encyclopedic work of mathematics that effectively created the discipline of geometry. The third-century BCE scientist and inventor Archimedes of Syracuse specialized in applying mathematical concepts to create such devices as a screw pump and a variety of war machines, including the heat ray.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): The Archimedes Heat Ray Author: User “Pbrokos13” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0

The same fascination with studying the order of the universe appears in Hellenistic philosophy and stems ultimately from the philosophy of Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE), considered to be the last Classical Greek philosopher. Aristotle wrote on political theory, poetry, music, and a variety of sciences. He specifically argued for empiricism, that is, the belief that knowledge is acquired from sensory experiences rather than from intuition. In the sciences, this approach required experiments and the careful gathering of data. While Aristotle’s influence on the Hellenistic philosophers is undeniable, alternative theories were developed.

• Skepticism, especially as formulated by Pyrrho in the third century BCE, argued that it was impossible to reach any accurate conclusions about the world and the key to happiness was to stop trying.
• Cynic philosophers, starting in the fourth century BCE, advocated the ascetic life of simplicity and freedom from possessions.
• Stoicism argued for letting go of all emotions and developing a self-control that would allow one to live in accordance with nature.
• Epicureanism argued for the absence of pain as the ultimate goal in life and saw the universe as ruled by random chance, separate from the intervention of the gods.

All of these philosophies aimed to provide a coherent system that made sense of the world and provided a purpose for human life.

Finally, the Hellenistic Period saw the translation of texts of other civilizations into Greek. For example, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek. Jews formed a significant minority of the population of Alexandria, as well as other major cities around the Mediterranean. By the third century BCE, these Jews appear to have largely lost the knowledge of Hebrew; thus, a translation of the sacred texts into Greek was necessary. As later legend has it, Ptolemy II Philadelphus allegedly commissioned seventy-two scholars to translate the documents for his Royal Library, which gave the text the title of Septuagint.