The Hellenistic Era

A period marked with much change, Hellenistic Era began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. From political structures to individual ideologies, the Hellenistic Period marked a time of progress and prosperity for the Greeks who were at the peak of their power. When comparing the Classical and Hellenistic Periods there are many similarities and key differences which are going to be discussed below.

During the span of the Classical and Hellenistic periods in Ancient Greece, many changes occurred that differentiated one from the other. There were many facets of society that were affected as a result from the Classical period leading to the Hellenistic period.

In western ancient world, there were kings who tried to bring the world come together ideologically, culturally and politically. This caused lots of cultural exchange between people and help them understand and respect each other’s ways of life. On the other hand, politically, it created a lot of major wars. It took a large amount of resources and decades to end these wars. As a result of these wars, most kingdoms suffered from both economical and political problems. Therefore, it is fair to say that Greek/Hellenistic civilization could be characterized as being a period of intellectual and cultural achievement but political failure.

The veneration of deities has been a customary practice of humans for millennia. The first notable occurrence may have occurred around burial sites of the primitive Neanderthals and Homo-erectus. However, these ceremonies, if they can be called that, were more a prehistoric curiosity of life and death, rather than a deistic acknowledgment of an omnipotent god, or demon. It is also interesting to note, god worship becomes more developed in pursuance to the advancement of a civilization. This scrutiny can be attested in how synagogues, churches and mosques proliferate as civilizations grow. That is, the more prosperous a country becomes, the more they are disposed towards reverencing a deity greater than themselves. Take note of the

Daniel Otani 9 November 2014 Jewish History. Zeffren Isolation, Accommodation, and Assimilation in the Hellenistic Period During the Hellenistic period, Jewish individuals faced many challenges and threats, which were resolved by isolation, accommodation, or assimilation. Hellenism was so powerful and influential, because Alexander set it as the most “civilized” way of life. It included many Greek ideas and contradicted the Jewish belief in one G-d by practicing polytheism.

They taste rotten when entering my lips, their tails stick to my mouth like ticks.

With the rise of Alexander “The Great” begins the Hellenistic Age which is used to describe a time which Greek culture spread to places like Egypt and Asia. Due to this Greek culture had changed from what it was during Classical Greece as they were able to achieve much more with this new diverse culture. The Classical Age of Greece is known for its work in philosophy and the arts. The work of Greek philosophers of this time such Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle cannot go unnoticed in these contexts as their accomplishments still have lasting effects on our world today. Along with the great work of these philosophers, came other great works in architecture and drama. Beginning in 448 B.C. Pericles began the construction of the Acropolis,

“Do you know when you play something beautifully?” Is the question that startles me out of my self-pity tantrum. Shannon waits patiently looking at me with his eyebrows slightly raised while I furrow mine in thought. Do I? I want to say yes just to prove him wrong, but he wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t already know the answer. We both like to be right too much to not know when the other is lying. “That’s what I thought.” He sighs out. “This is going to be a long lecture,” I think to myself, “and the lesson has just started.”

The Hellenistic civilization marked an important time in Greek culture. This was the period between 323 and 31 BC, at one point the Greek society changed from being withdrawn and localized to an aggressive multinational, unprotected, and eager culture that infused together southwest Asia and eastern Mediterranean. The Hellenistic world involved many different people but the Greeks’ thinking and way of life influenced most of the matters.1 Every aspect related to culture followed the beliefs of the Greeks and this led to the Greek language becoming established, as the official language of this area. The following arguments are centralized around

Syncretism is the process of adapting beliefs or practices from different cultures and religious systems while incorporating and accepting them into a new system of practices and beliefs. There are countless examples of syncretism throughout history such as the Hellenistic period, the Roman Empire, and the Enlightenment Period. Syncretism has often been believed to stray from the purity of religion; therefore, it is seen as a malicious and personal attack on the foundation of ones beliefs. Andre’ Droogers, a professor at the University of Amsterdam states, “Syncretism is generally seen as mixing of religions, and it is widely accepted that no religion, except the most isolated, is free of syncretism, both in respect to its origin and to its

Anthropocentric view places humans as the center of this world, where we develop the commodity economy to own the other living/ non-living matters in the world because we are superior (Waters, 2011). Our language gives no life to objects and we try to teach the children that same language (Kimmerer, 2013). However, Kimmerer (2013) proposes that humans need to learn the aboriginal language and way of knowing, where they have a gift economy to see the goods as gifts from the Earth. Meanwhile, humans establish relationships with the nature as we need to repay back with gratitude, reciprocity, and care towards the nature (Kimmerer, 2013). In addition, Kimmerer (2013) talks about listening to languages that are not our own. We are so used to listen and speak in scientific language, which creates distance and objectifies the world we are living in. Rather, we need to really listen to the other languages, which brings life and

Strumming the strings of her lute, she entrances the crowded travern. She casts spells upon others, using only her voice and sheer charisma. She smiles, regaling them with tales of brave knights and fearsome dragons, or beautiful maidens with flowing golden hair. Someone tosses a coin at her, and it lands near her dancing feet with a metallic clang. She nods in appreciation, but never misses a note or bar in her song. The bard continues this way until closing time, before rejoining the others in her band of theives. Leaving satisfied that her pockets are heavy with jangling

When Alexander the Great died, and left his huge empire to his successors, he also left much change in his wake. Alexander the Great(356 – 323 B.C.), a conqueror of much of the known world in his time, left a powerful influence when he died. He started the Hellenistic Period, the era of Greek culture. His fallen empire reigned on in the form of kingdoms, each practicing the Greek way of life. His tremendous imprint in the East still affects us all today. The Hellenistic Period has positively benefitted modern society by bringing ideas together from the East and West that very much changed the way people thought and acted, and by bringing more positive views on democracy, democratic-republics and the

This paper will look at the political including economic, and cultural and social developments during the Hellenistic period. I personally found that there are many positive developments; whereas the least positive development I found were the multiple wars that ravaged the Hellenistic civilization especially the Wars of the Successors (322 – 275 B.C.).

The Hellenic and Hellenistic shift was a turning point for Greek culture. The Hellenic are those who lived in ancient Greece before Alexander the Great. The Hellenistics are those who lived in the period after Alexander the Great’s conquest. Alexander the Great was a mighty and strong leader of the Greek people. The people that were under his following respected him greatly. We can tell the drastic changes that occurred after Alexander Great was leader by the art, philosophies, and religion. The Hellenistic Changes that occurred showed us that the Hellenistic priorities transformed drastically from what the Hellenic ways were like.