WESTERNCIVILIZATIONS

by

Judith Coffin

Robert Stacey

Joshua Cole

Carol Symes

Norton Lecture Slides

BRIEF THIRD EDITION

The Greek World Expands, 400–150 B.C.E.

Chapter 4

How do historians account for the remarkable successes of Alexander the Great?

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In what ways does the Hellenistic world resemble the world we live in today? What accounts for

these similarities?

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Downfall of the Greek Polis

• The Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.E.)—Spartan dominance

• The Corinthian War (395–387 B.C.E.)– Failed response to Spartan dominance– Followed by pattern of Greek-on-Greek

violence

Downfall of the Greek Polis

• The struggle for hegemony– Thebes and Sparta– Epaminondas and the Battle of Leuctra

(371 B.C.E.)– Spartan defeat– Emergence of Athenian naval confederacy– Strife between democrats and oligarchs

Downfall of the Greek Polis

• Social and economic crises– Declining wealth– Decline in the standard of living– Increased taxes and widespread

unemployment– The problems of mercenary armies

Downfall of the Greek Polis

• The cultural and intellectual response– Art and literature

• Heightened sense of realism• Drama in decline compared to fifth century• The flight from social and political commentary• Art privately funded, control of message

– Drama as diversion and escape• Focus on “safe” topics, avoid controversy• Slapstick topics

Downfall of the Greek Polis

• The cultural and intellectual response– Philosophy and political thought in the age of

Plato and Aristotle• Plato (c. 429–349 B.C.E.)

– Strove to vindicate Socrates– Introduced more structured framework– The Academy– Wrote a series of dialogues– Social harmony more important than individual liberty– Government by a superior group of “guardians”

Downfall of the Greek Polis

• The cultural and intellectual response– Philosophy and political thought in the age of

Plato and Aristotle• Aristotle and Aristotelian thought

– Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.)– Trained as a scientist– Trusted his senses and sense perception– The highest good is the harmonious functioning of mind

and body– “Man is by nature a political animal”

Plato and Aristotle

The Rise of Macedon and the Conquests of Alexander

• The reign of Philip II (359–336 B.C.E.)– Stabilized his borders: warfare and diplomacy– Reorganized the army– The phalanx as fighting machine– Dynastic marriages– Expansion brought conflict with Athens– Battle of Chaeronae (338 B.C.E.)

• League of Corinth

– Assassination of Philip

Philip II of Macedonia

Macedonian Phalanx

The Rise of Macedon and the Conquests of Alexander

• The conquests and reign of Alexander (336–323 B.C.E.)– Visionary, genius, or butcher?– Further expansion– Difficulty in modern Afghanistan– Queen Roxane

Alexander’s World

The Rise of Macedon and the Conquests of Alexander

• The conquests and reign of Alexander (336–323 B.C.E.)– The new empire

• New cities• Mass marriages• Breeding a new nobility• Installs no administrative apparatus

– Death of Alexander

The campaigns of Alexander

Marble Head of Alexander

The Hellenistic Kingdoms

• Ptolemaic Egypt– Most durable kingdom– Alexandria– Personal enrichment– Alexander as pharaoh

• Seleucid Asia– Near Eastern traditions– A Hellenized population– Planted new cities

The Hellenistic Kingdoms

• Antigonid Macedon and Greece– Antigonus

• Keeping Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Asia at war

– Aetolian and Achaean Leagues• Model of federalism

The Hellenistic World

Two Portraits of Ptolemy I of Egypt

From Polis to Cosmopolis—The Growth of Trade and

Urbanization• Long-distance trade

– Harbors improved– Encouragement of industry– Explosive population growth– Improved standard of living for some

• Cities– Importation of Greek officials and soldiers– Alexandria

From Polis to Cosmopolis—The Growth of Trade and

Urbanization• Wealth and poverty

– Significant economic growth– Primarily agricultural economy– Manual laborers and artisans largely

impoverished

Hellenistic Worldviews

• Stoicism– Founded by Zeno of Citium (324–270 B.C.E.)– Cosmos is ordered and rational– The individual is not the master of his own life– Submit to the universal order of things– Tranquility of mind

Hellenistic Worldviews

• Epicureanism– Founded by Epicurus (c. 342–270 B.C.E.)– Democritus and atomism– There is no ultimate purpose of the universe– Highest good is pleasure– The wise man should abandon politics

Hellenistic Worldviews

• Skepticism– Carneades (c. 213–129 B.C.E.)

• All knowledge is limited and relative• Inability to prove anything• Happiness—abandon quest for truth

• Religion– A vehicle for escape– Persistence of belief in gods who protected

the polis

Hellenistic Worldviews

• Religion– “Ordinary” Greeks and personal religion– Migration of gods to the Near East and Egypt– Combination of Greek and non-Greek cults– Greek influence on Jewish communities

outside Palestine

Scientific Revolution of Antiquity: Science and Medicine• Origins

– Mesopotamian and Egyptian science– Hellenistic rulers patronized scientific

research• Sole motive was prestige

Scientific Revolution of Antiquity: Science and Medicine• Astronomy, mathematics, and geography

– Aristarchus of Samos (310–230 B.C.E.)• Heliocentric worldview

– Euclid (fl. fourth century B.C.E.)• Wrote first geometry text

– Eratosthenes (c. 276–194 B.C.E.)• Calculated circumference of the earth

The Citadel of Pergamon

Scientific Revolution of Antiquity: Science and Medicine• Physics

– Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287–212 B.C.E.)• Discovered law of floating bodies

• Medicine– Herophilus of Chalcedon (c. 335–c. 280

B.C.E.)• Anatomist—practiced human dissection• Detailed description of the brain• Rejected notion of four humors

Dying Gaul

Scientific Revolution of Antiquity: Science and Medicine• Architecture and Sculpture

– Architecture drew on Greek models influenced by Egypt and Persia

– Sculpture—most influential of the arts• Focus on extreme naturalism• Extravagance

• Hellenistic Culture: Literature and Art– Pastoral literature– Prose

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (left)

Laocoön and his Sons (right)

Conclusion

• The Transformation of the Polis– From polis to cosmopolis

• From Hellene to Hellenistic• The breakdown of traditional values

– The Hellenistic Age as an age of transition between Greece and Rome

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WESTERNCIVILIZATIONS

BRIEF THIRD EDITION

This concludes the Norton Lecture Slide Set for Chapter 4

by

Judith Coffin

Robert Stacey

Joshua Cole

Carol Symes