Alexander III the Great, the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian
Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. He was
born in 356 BC in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, and was the son of
Phillip II, King of Macedonia.
His father married Cleopatra, a Macedonian girl of great nobility, and Alexander
and his mother fled to the country of Epirus. Many years later Alexander
returned and after the assignation of his father in 336 BC, the dream of
conquering the Persian Empire fell on the shoulder’s of his successor, King
Alexander III.
Phillip’s death sparked rebellions among many other nations. Alexander acted
quickly and executed all his domestic enemies and even gained control of
southern Greece.
He then set out on his quest of combining Greek culture with local cultures
across the eastern world from Libya through to India. He established 33 Greek
settlements and fused their cultures with that of the Hellenes. Only Alexander
himself was capable of maintaining such an empire, as is seen in the years to
follow his death.
MAP OF SEVEN HELLENISTIC
KINGDOMS FOUND ON PAGE
113 OF TEXT
The Hellenistic Kingdoms were a product of the Macedonian
generals of Alexander the Great. After his death in 323 BCE, his
generals individually seized control of different parts of his empire,
claimed themselves kings and continued his Hellenisation policy
within their territory. Hellenisation involved establishing Greek cities
and promoting Greek (Hellenic) culture. There were a total of four
kingdoms established:
- Macedonia under the Antigonid Dynasty
- Syria & Eastern Countries under the Seleucids
- The Attalid Kingdom in Asia Minor under Pergamum
- Egypt under Ptolemies
-Theocracy Monarchy Government
-All kingdoms had different management styles due to the territory
and its history
-Greek cities independent “allies”
-Had well financed mercenary forces to uphold law
-Kings provided constant source of employment and adventure
through their militaries
-Most kingdoms were populated by non-Greeks
-Many different dialects of the Greek language due to these
kingdoms
- New opportunities in trade and manufacturing
-Large part of wealth brought in by Alexander’s soldiers
-Based on:
Agriculture, stockbreeding
Iron, copper, timber, resin, pitch, hemp, & flax were exported
goods
-Secondary and tertiary economic activities in urban centers began
to appear
-3 Major Stimulants:
1. The opening up of the vast land in between the Nile and the
Indus River creating trade
2. The great release of Persian gold & silver into circulation. This
increased prices and speculation and increased investment
3. Promotion of industry and trade by the government
In the economic world, women were shown to have increased
involvement in things like making loans, selling property, and managing
slaves. Although most of these transactions still required their official
male guardians, Spartan women were a huge exception, being
considerably wealthy and even owning 40% of the land. To contrast this,
women in Athens were still extremely restricted and supervised.
This The creation of Hellenistic Monarchies gave way to Hellenistic
Queens. In Macedonia, a pattern of alliance between mothers and sons
provided openings for women to take an active role in politics.
OF THE FIRST 8 PTOLEMIAC RULERS, 4 WED THEIR SISTERS.
PTOLEMY II AND HIS SISTER WIFE ARSINOE II WERE BOTH
WORSHIPPED AS GODS. SHE WAS ALSO THE FIRST EGYPTIAN QUEEN
WHOSE PICTURE APPEARED ON A COIN WITH THAT OF HER HUSBAND.
Art of the Hellenistic Era underwent dramatic transformations
and evolved on the road paved previously by the Classical
artist. While the Classical Greek concepts were not entirely
abandoned, the artist of the Hellenistic era expanded his formal
horizons with dramatic posing, sweeping lines, and high
contrast of light, shadow and emotions. The conventions and
rules of the classical period gave way to the experimentation and
a sense of freedom that allowed the artist to explore his subjects
from different unique points of view. the Idealism of classical art
gave way to a higher degree of Naturalism which comes as a
logical conclusion to the efforts of the great fourth century sculptors
(Praxitelis, Skopas, and Lysipos) who worked towards a more
realistic way of expressing the human figure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVQTtD-Pwp4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAxfQpvmVLw&feature=related
The
Spearbutt
The spearhead was by this date usually made of iron, but bronze,
which does not rust, was used for the butt which would often be
planted in the ground. Although it was hollow, it was still very
heavy and if the shaft broke in battle, the butt could still be used as
a weapon.
Light armed troops were also often employed by the Greeks to
back up the heavy infantry. These were commonly specialist
forces that consisted of archers from Crete and slingers from
Rhodes. The sling was made from two strips of leather, linen,
gut or twisted horsehair and things like small pebbles, clay
balls, and later bullets of lead were used as ammunition.
Sling Bullets
Hellenistic theatres were
very visual and audible.
They were later designed
having a high stage, with a
marble frieze below and a
short flight of steps up from
the orchestra, where the
chorus sang. The great
Hellenistic theatre at
Epidaurus had what is
believed to have been a
high, two-level stagehouse.
A bouleuterion was a building which housed citizens' representatives who
assembled in order to confer and decide about public affairs. It is where the
administration took place. The word Bouleuterion is composed from Greek 'boule'
(council) and the suffix -terion (place for doing something). It is shaped as early
Greek temples were shaped in a kind of square horse-shoe and it has tiered
seating arrangement.
The temple of Athena is considerably smaller than the other temples of the
Acropolis. It is the first building that greets the visitors who approach the Propylaia
and is most widely known for the unique style that it was built with. It faces to the
east and its entrance is lined with four massive columns that support a shallow
porch. The west end is similarly treated with four Ionic columns and a porch, but
they precede a blind wall. The inclusion of a tetrastyle (four columns) at the back of
the temple was necessary for this side faced the entrance to the Acropolis.
The eastern religions that appealed to the Greeks the most were the
mystery religions. Mystery cults, complete with their secret initiations
and promises of salvation, seemed to offer appealing advantages to the
mystery religions of the Greeks. The eastern mystery cults also greatly
influenced the Greek religions and mystery cults as their temples were
easily accessible throughout the Greek cities.
All mystery religions were all based on the same fundamental
principles: the offer of salvation and eternal life. The Egyptian cult of
Isis (goddess of women, marriage, and children) was one of the most
popular mystery cults. Isis was said to have been the giver of
civilization, who brought laws and letters of mankind. Mystery cults are
also said to have paved the way for Christianity.
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http://herculean.wordpress.com/2007/04/12/hellenistic-kingdoms-from-greece-to-india-alexander-thegreat%E2%80%99s-successor-kingdoms/
http://www.ancientanatolia.com/historical/hellenistic_period.htm
http://herculean.wordpress.com/2007/04/12/hellenistic-kingdoms-from-greece-to-india-alexander-thegreat%E2%80%99s-successor-kingdoms/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_Hellenistic_kingdom&alreadyAsked=1&rtitle=What_is_the_Hellenisti
c_kingdom
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ical&source=bl&ots=k0ptn1Jxjm&sig=579UjgXPKfBXmyrpHnwGLHs8gg&hl=en&ei=vSa9SuXDG5L4sQPHypFA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v
=onepage&q=&f=false
http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/HellenicMacedonia/en/A1.5.4.html
http://www.greek-thesaurus.gr/hellenistic-age-economic-social.html
http://books.google.ca/books?id=INUT5sZku1UC&pg=RA1-PA463&lpg=RA1PA463&dq=The+Hellenistic+Period+Social&source=bl&ots=gDXi91QHLN&sig=MIUu3Mg4iX2UvuGS9KabdLjag
rM&hl=en&ei=tsu_SoSVFoiwsgOCsKE7&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=The%20
Hellenistic%20Period%20Social&f=false
http://www.greeklandscapes.com/greece/athens_museum_hellenistic.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/260411/Hellenistic-theatre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouleuterion
http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/athena-nike.html
World History textbook, William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, 2004