Hellenistic Age was a period in ancient history when Greek culture dominated much of what was then the civilized world. It began after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., and lasted nearly 200 years in Greece and almost 300 years in the Near East. The term Hellenistic is used to distinguish this period from the earlier Greek classical or Hellenic period.
The Hellenistic Age was a period of great achievement in scholarship, science, and the arts. The mathematician Euclid developed the principles of geometry, and the mathematician and inventor Archimedes discovered many basic laws of physics. The astronomer Aristarchus of Samos suggested that all the planets, including the earth, revolve around the sun. The mathematician Eratosthenes made a reasonably correct calculation of the earth’s polar circumference.
Paintings and sculpture became more realistic. Hellenistic sculptors created such masterpieces as the Laocoon and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
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Philosophers were concerned with how people could achieve peace of mind. The major groups were (1) the Stoics, (2) the Epicureans, and (3) the Cynics. Stoics believed happiness resulted when people learned to accept events beyond their control and did their duty. Epicureans sought pleasure in moderation and avoidance of pain. Cynics tried to disregard all desires and pursued virtue. For religion, many people worshiped such Egyptian divinities as Isis and Serapis.
Earlier, Greece had been divided into independent city-states, each of which consisted of a city and its surrounding territory. During the Hellenistic Age, the city-states lost their independence. They came under the control of monarchies that governed large kingdoms. Some monarchs claimed to rule by divine right.
The major dynasties of the age were the Ptolemies of Egypt, Antigonids of Macedonia, Seleucids of Syria, and Attalids of Pergamum (now western Turkey). They fought against each other and among themselves. This disunity helped the Romans conquer most of the Hellenistic world in the 100’s B.C.
