5.4 The Spread of Greek Culture

What Happened last? Alexander the Great died. His kingdom had been divided up among his generals

Empire After Alexander Alexander named no successor – weak brother & infant son Military struggle resulted in carving the empire into 3 dynasties controlled by Macedonian generals – 20 years of conflict Successor kingdoms collectively known as the “Diadochi ” Antigonids – Macedonia – Northern Greece Ptolemies - Egypt Seleucids – Western Asia

Significance of the Hellenistic Era Spread of Greek culture throughout the eastern Mediterranean & Near East Shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of various ethnicities Blending of Greek culture with Near Eastern influences Shift from the political dominance of the city-state to that of larger monarchies Cultural centers shifted away from mainland Greece to cosmopolitan cities New religious, philosophical and cultures concepts emerge New naturalistic artistic styles emerge

Philosophers, poets, scientists, and writers moved to the new Greek cities in southwest Asia, particularly Alexandria, during the Hellenistic Era Hellenistic kings wanted to make their cities like those in Greece, so they hired Greek architects and sculptors. The writers of the Hellenistic Era produced a large body of literature.

Greek Culture Spreads Appolonius wrote the epic poem Argonautica, recounting the legend of Jason and his band of heroes. Theocritus wrote short poems about beauty and nature. Athenians still created plays, but the plays of the Hellenistic Era were about love and relationships.

Philosophy Epicurus, the founder of Epicureanism, taught that happiness was the goal of life Stoicism was developed by a Phoenician named Zeno. Stoics believe that happiness comes from reason, not emotions

Astronomers study the stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies. Aristarchus was an astronomer who claimed that the sun was at the center of the universe and that Earth revolved around the sun. Eratosthenes was an astronomer who believed that the earth was round and measured Earth’s circumference.

Euclid, one of the most famous Greek mathematicians, described plane geometry. He said, “there is no royal way to learn geometry.” Plane geometry is the study of points, lines, angles, and surfaces. Archimedes was the most famous scientist of the Hellenistic Era.

The Spread of Greek Culture Greek Science and Math He worked on solid geometry—the study of spheres and cylinders. He also determined the value of pi, a number used to measure the area of circles. Archimedes invented the catapult, among other weapons.

Archimedes said, “Give me a lever and a place to stand on and I will move the earth.”

Greek Civilization Review Vocabulary Define Match the vocabulary word that completes each sentence. __ 1. a short tale that teaches a lesson __ 2. traditional story about gods and heroes _ 3. long poems told about heroic deeds A. epic B. fable C. myth