Carolina Ontaon Lengua y Cultura III ISCEM

Essay After doing some research about the Hellenistic period, I have concluded that Alexander the Greats conquests played a significant role in the history of Western Civilization I have learnt how the expansion of the Macedonian empire helped the mingling of cultures and the permeation of ideas to the point that new philosophical ideas emerged during this period. As Alexander expanded his empire to other territories, cross fertilization took place and the Hellenic culture started to mingle with other cultures. This fusion of cultures could take place due to the fact that Alexander had a peculiar way to carry out his conquests. He did not impose the Greek culture on the peoples he conquered, as most emperors usually did. On the other hand, he respected these other cultures giving people the freedom to continue with their customs and religious practices. In some occasions, he gave those people the possibility to take part in the Greek army and education, and even the privilege to become Greek citizens and join the elite. He also fostered a unified language in the vast Greek empire. He was open to diversity, and he believed in equality regardless the cultural differences. He often encouraged Greek soldiers to marry the local women of the conquered territories. In this way, the Hellenic culture mingled with the Persian, the Syrian and the Egyptian cultures. As a result, the Greek culture enriched thanks to the diversity of ideas that spread and the interchange of these ideas. Hellenistic philosophers started to propose cosmopolitan ideas, thinking in universal ethical laws that went beyond the territorial boundaries. These cosmopolitan ideas were also present in the peoples Alexander had conquered because most of them felt they were Hellenistic, and the split seemed to be geographical mainly. (we may be oversimplifying here I have done it myself in class. I should say something about this publicly!) As a consequence, new philosophies emerged during the Hellenistic age. Some of the most important ones were Cynicism, Stoicism, Epicureanism and Skepticism, in which we can notice traits of the oriental way of thinking and the influence of some of the Greek philosophers` ideas. The main concern of these philosophies was ethics, in relation to the good of the individual, rather than the good of society, which had been the concern of previous

philosophers, such as Aristotle or Socrates. Most Hellenistic philosophers sought the best way humans should live their lives in order to find peace of mind or freedom from problems. For example, the Stoics emphasized a stern morality as a way to live in harmony and find peace. This stern morality was later on embraced by Christianity. The major legacy of the Hellenistic age was its enriched culture with its philosophical ideas that would pave the way to the development of religious ideas that would in turn influence the emergence of Christianity.