Hellenistic Greece

• 1.Hellenistic Greeks Society and Culture of an Empire

2. Philip of Macedonia

• Warfarecontinued among the city states

• Finally, Philip of Macedonia conquered the peninsula 338 BCE

• He was assassinated two years later

• His son Alexander assumed the throne of Macedonia

3. Alexander the Great and His Successors

• Conquered Persia, Asia Minor (Turkey), Egypt, and Syria

• Military Technology: catapults and battering rams

• Expansion stopped in India, when an army with elephants induced soldiers to mutiny

• Alexander died in 323 BCE, probably ofMalaria

• The empire was divided into three segments

• Egypt: By the Ptolemy dynasty

• Persia by the Seleucid rulers

• Macedonia under Antigonus the One-Eyed

4. Hellenistic Greece: Main Developments

• Sculptures made for more realistic human forms, rather then the ideal

• Drama: melodramatic over the tragic;

• Meaning: preference of extravagant theatrics over characterization

• Philosophy: Metaphysics replaced by science and the practical

• Religion: spread of the mysteries such as Isis from Egypt, Mithra from Persia, Gnosticism

• Spread Greek classicism to the non-Greek worldincluding Rome

5. Philosophies of Hellenistic Greece

• Overall, became guides of the practical that guided everyday life

• Neglected the rational methods of investigation according to Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and the pre-Greek philosophers

• Four schools predominate: Skeptics, Cynics, Epicureans, and Stoics

• All placed the needs of individuals above that of community or the search for univeral truth

6. Hellenistic Philosophy: Skeptics and Cynics

• Skepticsharked back to the Sophists

• Denied the possibility of knowing anything for certain

• Argued therefore for the suspension of all intellectual judgment

• Cynicscalled for renunciation of societal values, conventions, and wealth

• This renunciation is the key to spiritual satisfaction

• Cynics anticipate the asceticism of a monastic Christianity

7. Hellenistic Philosophy: Epicureans

• Opposite of the popular idea eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die

• Epicureans(following Epicurus) argued that happiness follows from avoiding all physical excess

• Called for plain living and balance between body and mindnot unlike the Christians

• Argued that gods played no part in human life

• Death is nothing but the rearrangement of atoms that made up the body and all nature

8. Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoicism

• Derived fromstoa,or portico where Zenoof Cilium taught this philosophy (left)

• Tranquility of mind comes from acceptance of the will of nature

• The universe is governed by an impersonal intelligence (antithetical to Christianity)

• Advanced the notion of universal equality, a Christian theme

9. Architecture: Altar of Zeus

• Given to larger, monumental forms than that of Classical Greece.

• The Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, Asia Minor, commemorating a battle with the invading Gauls

10. Statuary Realism

• Themes of statue are victory of intellect over barbarism, Olympian gods over Titans

• Athena triumphs over Male, son of the Earth Mother

• Laco n and sons captured by sea serpent sent by Athena(lower left)

• This is in revenge for his warning the Trojans of an impeding attack

• The Hellenic ideal form is displace by realism that also portray children and the aging

• This anticipates Roman sculpture

11. Religious Themes

• Hellenistic thought also anticipates the Mysteries

• Some groups worship Isis or Osiris or both from Egypt

• From Persia came Mithra, God of the Sun in pre-Zoroastian times

• From Egypt also came Gnosticism, which refers to personal knowledge of the unseen world

• These themes were adopted later in Rome in along with Christianity as the empire entered decline

12. Developments in Science and Mathematics

• Archimedes:specific gravity; foundations of calculus, compound pulley; mechanical properties of the lever

• Aristarchus:Proposes the heliocentric theory of planetary movement

• Euclid:basics of plane geometry

• Hipparchus:Invents trigonometry; catalogues 805 fixed stars

• Herophilus:nervous system; arteries carry blood (not air) from the heart

13. Conclusion: Significance of Hellenistic Period

• Expanded the world view of Hellenic Greece to encompass that beyond that culture

• Created a practical perspective in intellectual life, reflected in everyday concerns

• Instilled realism in art and sculpture

• Emphasized the plot over characterization in drama

• Brought size into architecture

• Fostered scientific and mathematical innovations

• Set the foundations for Rome and later Christianity