Civilizations of the Bible

The World of the “Greeks,”

continued
The Heritage of Hellenism?
The Hellenic Classical Age,
c. 776 - 338 B.C.
Rivalry among the Poleis, c.
776-490 B.C.
Metropolis + colonies
Persian Wars, 490-448 B.C.
Delian League, 477 B.C.
“Golden Age” of Athens
Pericles, r. 462-429 B.C.
Peloponnesian War, 431-404
B.C.
The Hellenic World
Kingdom of Macedon
barbaroi?
Philip II, r. 359 – 336 B.C.
improved Phalanx + Cavalry
expansion into Thrace
Greek reaction
Battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.)
“League of Corinth”
“Were I not Alexander. . .”
Alexander the Great, r. 336-323 B.C.
pupil of Aristotle
Invasion of Persia, 334-331 B.C.
Darius III, r. 336-330 B.C.
Battle of Granicus River (334 B.C.)
• Ionia liberated, Lydia conquered
Battle of Issus (333 B.C.)
• Fall of Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine and Egypt
Battle of Gaugamela (331 B.C.)
• Fall of Mesopotamia and Persia
• Persepolis burned, 330 B.C.
 The Conquests of
Alexander the Great
 Alexander’s Empire
“Hellenization”or “Orientalization”?
founding new “Greek” cities: Alexandria
promoted settlement of his soldiers
endorsing local elites and practices
Eastward expansion:
Media, 330 B.C.
Parthia and Gandara, 330-329 B.C.
Bactria and Sogdiana, 329-328 B.C.
Valley of the Indus River, 327-326 B.C.
After Alexander

Wars of Succession, 323 – 283 B.C.

Ptolemy in Egypt
Seleucus in Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor
Antigonus in Macedonia and Greece
Kingdom of Pergamon
“Hellenistic” Kingdoms, 323 – 30 B.C.
Ptolemies, Seleucids, Antigonids, Attalids
The Hellenistic Kingdoms
The “Jews” in the Hellenistic World

battleground Judaea
Seleucids versus Ptolemies
Antiochus IV “Epiphanes,” r. 175-163 B.C.
Maccabean Revolt, 165-128 B.C.
Hasmonean Dynasty, c. 164-63 B.C.
Jewish communities in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Asia
Minor, Macedonia, Greece
The Hellenistic World
Social elite of Greeks
Economic boom
access to agricultural wealth
of Egypt
shift of manufacturing
centers to the East
commercial expansion
• new infrastructure
• standard coinage
The Hellenistic World

Wealthy new poleis

showcases for art, architecture, literature
“Cultural Integration”
The Hellenistic World

Koine Greek as the common language

promoted exchange of ideas
• Ptolemaic Library of Alexandria, Mouseion
facilitated exchange of religious traditions
• Septuagint, c. 250 B.C.
A Golden Age of Learning
Medicine
Herophilos (c. 300 B.C.)
Astronomy
Hipparchus (c. 150 B.C.)
Geometry
Euclid (c. 300 B.C.)
Physics
Archimedes of Syracuse (287-212 B.C.)
New Schools of Philosophy
“The Garden” of Epicureanism
Epicurus of Athens, c. 341 – 270 B.C.
Stoicism
Zeno of Citium, c. 335 – 263 B.C.
Religion in the Hellenistic World
Olympian gods
Astrology and Magic
Mystery Cults
Demeter and Persephone
Isis and Serapis
Atargatis and Hadad
 Legacy of the Hellenistic World

Spread of revived Classical Greek “western”

culture to the Near East
Preservation of the “heritage” of ancient Near
Eastern civilizations
Creation of a common market and common
language in the Eastern Mediterranean