The Hellenistic Age, 336-31
B.C.E.
The West
CHAPTER 4
Unity and Expansion Under
King Philip
• Hereditary monarchy supported by army of
free citizens, who fought for spoils of war
• Philip II (382-336 B.C.E.): unified nobility;
reorganized and revolutionized army
• 338 B.C.E. Battle of Chaeronea:
Macedonians defeat Greek poleis
• League of Corinth: established by Philip II,
to control Greek states
The Conquests of Alexander
• Defeated Persians and created an empire
stretching from Eastern Mediterranean to
India
• Greek settlers became the cultural and
political élite in conquered lands
• Dissemination
of
Hellenic
culture
throughout conquered lands
Successor Kingdoms: Dividing
the Spoils
• Several smaller Hellenic kingdoms arose from
conquests, after the death of Alexander: Ptolemaic
dynasty in Egypt, Antigonid dynasty in Macedon,
Seleucid dynasty in old Persian empire
• Hereditary
monarchies
with
centralized
bureaucracies and large, professional armies
• Ruling élite uniformly Greek and Macedonian
• Hellenistic religion legitimized monarchical rule
Cities: The Heart of Hellenic
Life
• Cities served as administrative and cultural
centers, and were showcases of art and design
• Increasing social differentiation, as urban élite
became wealthy and powerful under monarchical
rule
• Persistence of older religious and cultural
traditions in some conquered cities, such as
Jerusalem and Babylon
New Opportunities for Women
• In Egypt and other Hellenized lands, Greek
women enjoyed full citizenship and held
high religious offices
• Wives of Hellenic kings emerged as models
for powerful and virtuous women
• Increasing eroticization and idealization of
the female form
• Gender hierarchy favoring men persisted
Hellenistic Literature,
Philosophy and Science
• New forms of drama and poetry evolved
• Platonic and Aristotelian schools continued
• New schools of philosophy arose:
Epicureanism, Stoicism, Cynicism
• Alexandria, Egypt, became center for
scientific learning
• Advances in mathematics, astronomy and
medicine
Encounters with Foreign
Peoples
• Hellenistic explorers traveled down east and west
coasts of Africa, circumnavigated the British Isles,
and reached Scandinavia
• Greeks considered non-Greeks to be inferior
barbarians
• Language was a major barrier to acceptance of
Hellenic culture
• Myths of messianic, military resistance to Greek
rule persisted
Celts on the Fringes of the
Hellenistic World
• Celtic civilization arose north of the Alps, in
eighth century B.C.E., and established
commercial links with Hellenistic kingdoms
• Celtic military activities restricted the
expansion of Hellenistic world
• Ca. 400-200 B.C.E. hostile Celtic
migrations into Hellenistic territories
Roman Origins and Etruscan
Influences
• Settlements began in Rome ca. 1000 B.C.E.
• Control of Tiber River crossings and major
trade routes allowed Rome to grow
• Romans absorbed Hellenic culture through
contacts with Etruscans, in seventh and
sixth centuries B.C.E.
The Beginnings of the Roman
State
• Ca. 500 B.C.E. Roman monarchy abolished and
republic is founded
• Political participation by all free, male citizens
who could afford their own weapon
• Political power controlled by an oligarchy of
patrician families
• Social conflict between patrician and plebian
classes shaped political institutions and broadened
access to effective power
Roman Territorial Expansion
• By 263 B.C.E., Rome had conquered the
entire Italian peninsula through political
alliances, careful diplomacy and military
tenacity and discipline
• Conquered peoples were expected to
provide loyalty and military service
Rome and the Hellenistic
World
• Rome destroyed the imperial power of Carthage in
three wars between 264 and 146 B.C.E.
• Rome seized control of Greece in three wars
against Macedon, between 215 and 168 B.C.E.
• Influx of Hellenistic ideas, about literature, art,
science, philosophy, rhetoric and education, into
Rome
• Against some resistance, Rome adopted and
“Romanized” the Greek intellectual inheritance
Life in the Roman Republic
• Patrician families exerted influence through
networks of political patronage
• Hierarchical
social
order:
senators,
equestrians, plebeians, Roman allies, slaves
• Slaves comprised about one-third of the
population
• Family life mirrored social structure: male
head-of-household held all authority
The Gracchi
• Tiberus Gracchus (162-133 B.C.E.) initiated program of land redistribution to
limit wealth of large landholders
• Gaius Gracchus, after 123 B.C.E., sped up
program of land reform, attempted to dilute
power of corrupt provincial administrators
• Gaius Marius (157-86 B.C.E.) first Roman
general to use army for political gain
The Social War and the First
Triumvirate
• 88 B.C.E. Rome granted full citizenship rights to
remainder of Italian population, after their
unsuccessful revolt
• Broadening of citizenship weakened political
power of Roman patricians
• Dictatorship of Sulla (88-80 B.C.E.) set precedent
for military intervention in politics
• First triumvirate of Pompey, Julius Caesar and
Crassus circumvented legal restraints to gain
political power
Julius Caesar and the End of
the Roman Republic
• Caesar used his loyal legions to become dictator in
44 B.C.E.
• Caesar permanently destroyed the power of the
Senate and reorganized the calendar
• Following the assassination of Caesar, the Second
Triumvirate of Mark Antony, Octavian Caesar and
Marcus Lepidus seized power
• Octavian eliminated his fellow triumvirs and
established a new political system: the Roman
Empire
Defining the West in the
Hellenistic Age
• Cultural and geographical boundaries of the
West began to form during Hellenistic Age
• Interaction
of
Hellenistic,
Roman,
Phoenician and Middle Eastern cultures
formed the foundation of Western
civilization