Alexander the Great
and Hellenistic
World
- How did the Hellenistic World differ from the
world of Classical Greece?
What cultural traditions remained?
- How did Hellenistic philosophy and religion
reflect the needs of the Òalienated individualÓ?
Key Terms
1) HegelÕs ÒGreat Man Theory
of HistoryÓ & Zeitgeist
2) koine
3) Cynicism & Diogenes
4) Epicureanism
5) Stoicism
6) Skepticism
7) Mithraism
I. Alexander
the Great (356-323 B.C.E.) and the Rise of the Hellenistic World
- Alexander
the Great, the Zeitgeist, and GFW HegelÕs ÒThe
Great ManÓ Theory of History
- The Hellenistic
Kingdoms: Ptolemaic,
Seleucid, and Antigonid
o
West meets East: Cultural Fusion and ÒHellenizationÓ
o
Royal Government & King Worship: The Eastern Model
o
Urban Elites & CitiesÕ Relative Autonomy
o
Cosmopolitanism and a lingua franca (Koine)
o
Large Cities (cosmopolis) and Large Economies
Alexandria (Library
and Lighthouse)
o
Alienated Individuals and the Decline of Civic Identity
II. Hellenistic Thought and Religion
- The Advance of Science: StratoÕs Physics and
AristarchusÕs Astronomy
- Withdrawing into the Self: ÒComfortÓ Philosophies for the
Individual
o
Cynicism: Diogenes
(400-325) (Diogenes
Meets Alexander in Corinth)
o
Epicureanism: Epicurus (342-271)
o
Stoicism: Zeno (325-263) and Epictetus
(55 AD – 135 AD)
o
Skepticism: Carneades (213-129)
- Popular Religion, Mystery Cults, and the Origins
of Christianity
o
Cult of Osiris
and Isis
Looking
Ahead: Hellenistic Culture and
Roman Civilization — The Conquest of the Conquered?