3.7 |The Blending of Greek and Asiatic Culture The Hellenistic Age 3.7 |The Blending of Greek and Asiatic Culture

Hellenistic Culture From “Hellene” meaning Greek A mixture of Greek, Egyptian, and Persian cultures A change in Greek mentality c. 500 – 323 B.C. (Classical) Defined by confidence, arrogance, and humanism c. 323 – 30 B.C. (Hellenistic) Resignation to fate, recognition of helplessness before forces too great for humans to manage

How did it happen? Political changes influenced cultural changes Alexander’s conquest of Persia created a new social and cultural breeding ground Alexander married his Greek generals (nobility) to the Persian nobility they conquered Maintained Persian networks of administration [efficient] Greek cities in Asia Alexander built a number of new Greek cities [all Alexandria] The most famous Alexandria is in Egypt The focus on the polis [C-G] transformed into a focus on the kingdom [H-G]

How did it work? The glue that bound this new system together was the Greek language The administrative courts of Greece and Asia would speak Greek The populace could continue using their own local language Education however, would be in Greek If you wanted to learn and move up in life, you had to learn Greek Greek became an international language Just like English today

Hellenistic Education Greek education brought to new heights Seriously, these guys were brilliant

Why was it so much better? Where was it? The unifying cultural link of Greek meant that it was everywhere, and it was uniform Centers of education located in powerful Hellenistic cities, like Alexandria Egypt The Library of Alexandria Massive collection of Greek documents

Education for Practical Use Inventions of ingenuity to make life better Archimedes – the water screw Ptolemy – a useful map of the world The watermill [based on early designs] The crane Plumbing [not the first time] But showers Organized and useful cities Circumference of the Earth Eratosthenes Ptolemy and the Geocentric model

The Evolution of Greek Art Archaic c. 800 – 500 B.C. Egyptian influence Classical c. 500 – 323 B.C. This is Greek Hellenistic c. 323 – 30 B.C. Greek, but more dramatic, emotional, and the epitome of Greek artistic endeavors

Years approximate. Cultural and conflict areas. The Persian Wars Etruria Rome Greece Carthage Persia

The Peloponnesian war Etruria Rome Carthage Persia

Macedonian domination of greece Rome Carthage Persia

Alexander the Great Rome Alexander’s Empire Carthage

The Hellenistic age Rome Hellenistic Kingdoms Carthage