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HELLENISTIC PERIOD
Alexandria Lighthouse,
one of the Seven Wonders of the World Many cities in Greece and Turkey are referred to as Hellenistic, but what exactly does Hellenistic mean? According to Greek mythology Hellen was a Thessalian king who was the grandson of Prometheus and the ancestor of all Greeks.
Hellenic refers to the period of Greek history before Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) and Hellenistic usually refers to the 300 year period between Alexander's birth and the defeat of Anthony and Cleopatra.
The center of Hellenistic Greece was Alexandria, Egypt. The Hellenistic period was a time when Greek culture was introduced all over the Mediterranean and as far east as India. Hellenistic philosophy stressed the private individual's search for happiness, with the Cynics emphasizing animal satisfaction and the Stoics emphasizing reason.
The Hellenized kingdom of Macedon, dominated Greece under Phillip II, who passed it to his son Alexander in 336 B.C. After Alexander’s death the empire was broken into three parts: 1) Macedon, including parts of Asia Minor and Greece under the the Antigonids; 2) Egypt ruled by the Ptolemies in Egypt (which included Cleopatra); and Selecuid Empire, under the Selecuids, who occupied a stretch of land that extended from present-day Syria and Lebanon to Persia.
Websites: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook Hellenistic World sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Perseus Project - Tufts University; perseus.tufts.edu ; ; Gutenberg.org gutenberg.org; Illustrated Greek History, Dr. Janice Siegel, Hampden–Sydney College hsc.edu/drjclassics ; Cambridge Classics External Gateway to Humanities Resources web.archive.org/web; Ancient Greek Sites on the Web from Medea showgate.com/medea ; Greek History Course from Reed web.archive.org
Hellenistic Achievements
The sciences thrived during the Hellenistic period, especially in Alexandria where the Ptolemies financed a great library, quasi-university and museum. Fields of study included mathematics (Euclid's “Geometry”, 300 B.C.), astronomy (heliocentric theory of Arisrtarchus, 310 B.C., Julian calendar 45 B.C., Ptolemy's “Almagest” 150 A.D.), geography (Ptolemy's “ Geography” , world map of Eratosthenes 276-194 B.C.), hydraulics (Archimedes, 287-212 B.C.), medicine (Galen, 130-200 A.D.), and chemistry. Inventors refined uses for siphons, valves, gears, springs, screws, levers, cams, and pulleys.↕ see Greek Science
Archimedes Hellenistic culture produced seats of learning throughout the Mediterranean. Hellenistic science differed from Greek science in at least two ways: first, it benefited from the cross-fertilization of Greek ideas with those that had developed in the larger Hellenistic world; secondly, to some extent, it was supported by royal patrons in the kingdoms founded by Alexander's successors. Especially important to Hellenistic science was the city of Alexandria in Egypt, which became a major center of scientific research in the 3rd century BC. Hellenistic scholars frequently employed the principles developed in earlier Greek thought: the application of mathematics and deliberate empirical research, in their scientific investigations. [Source: Wikipedia +]
Hellenistic Geometers such as Archimedes (c. 287 – 212 BC), Apollonius of Perga (c. 262 – c. 190 BC), and Euclid (c. 325 – 265 BC), whose Elements became the most important textbook in mathematics until the 19th century, built upon the work of the Hellenic era Pythagoreans. Euclid developed proofs for the Pythagorean Theorem, for the infinitude of primes, and worked on the five Platonic solids. Eratosthenes used his knowledge of geometry to measure the circumference of the Earth. His calculation was remarkably accurate. He was also the first to calculate the tilt of the Earth's axis (again with remarkable accuracy). Additionally, he may have accurately calculated the distance from the Earth to the Sun and invented the leap day. Known as the "Father of Geography ", Eratosthenes also created the first map of the world incorporating parallels and meridians, based on the available geographical knowledge of the era. +
Astronomers like Hipparchus (c. 190 – c. 120 BC) built upon the measurements of the Babylonian astronomers before him, to measure the precession of the Earth. Pliny reports that Hipparchus produced the first systematic star catalog after he observed a new star (it is uncertain whether this was a nova or a comet) and wished to preserve astronomical record of the stars, so that other new stars could be discovered. It has recently been claimed that a celestial globe based on Hipparchus's star catalog sits atop the broad shoulders of a large 2nd-century Roman statue known as the Farnese Atlas. Another astronomer, Aristarchos of Samos developed a heliocentric system. +
Antikythera Mechanism: an Ancient Computer?
In November 2006, in an article published in Nature, team of researchers lead by Mike Edmunds of the University of Cardiff announced they had pieced together and figured out of the functions of an ancient astronomical calculator made at the end of the 2nd century B.C. that was so sophisticated it has been described as the world’s first analog computer. The devise was more accurate and complex than any instrument that would appear for the next 1,000 years. [Source: Reuters]
Antikythera Mechanism The Antikythera Mechanism is the earliest known device to contain an intricate set of gear wheels. It was discovered by sponge divers on a shipwreck off Antikythera, a Greek island north of Crete, in 1901 but until recently no one knew what it did. Using X-ray tomography, computer models and copies of the actual pieces, scientists from Britain, Greece and the United States were able to reconstruct the device, whose sophistication was far beyond what was though possible for the ancient Greeks.
The lunch-box-size device was comprised of 37 gear wheels packed together sort of like the gears in a watch and was housed in a wooden case with inscriptions on the cover and bronze dials. It could add, multiply, divide and subtract. It was also able to align the number of lunar months with years and display where the sun and the moon were on the zodiac. On top of all that it also had a dial that indicated when solar and luna eclipses were likely to occur; it tracked the dates of the ancient Olympics and other sporting events; it took into account the elliptical orbits of the moon; and it may have had extra gears that predicted the motions of the planets.
Edmunds told Reuters, “It could be described as the first known calculator. Our recent work has applied very modern techniques that we believe have now revealed what its actual functions were...the actual astronomy is perfect for the period. What is extraordinary about the things is that they were able to make such a sophisticated technological device and be able to put that into metal.” Edmundssaid the device is unique. Nothing like it has ever been since, and devices that were as sophisticated would not appear until the Middle Ages, when the first cathedral clocks were put into use.
On the discovery that the Antikythera Mechanism tracked Olympic days Yanas Bitsakis, a Greek researcher involved with project told AP. “We were astonished because this is not an astronomic cycle but an Olympian cycle, one of social events. One does not need a piece of high technology to keep track of a simple four-year cycle .” He said the mechanics might have been seen as “microcosm illustrating the temporal harmonization of human and divine order.”
The device also has a function related to the Metonic calendar, which was used to reconcile a day difference between the lunar months and solar year. Researchers believe the Olympic tracking system gives the Antikythera Mechanism a connection to the colonies of Corinth, possible Syracuse in Sicily, where Archimedes lived and this in turn hints of a connection with Archimedes himself. Archimedes, who lived in Syracuse and died in 212 B.C. He invented a planetarium that calculated motions of the moon and the known planets and wrote a lost manuscript on astronomical mechanisms.
Hellenistic Sculpture
Apollo Belvedere
Hellenistic Sculpture (323 B.C. to 31 B.C.) was much more varied and extreme than sculpture produced during the Classical period. Some of the most beautiful pieces of Greek statuary, including the Nike of Samonthrace, the Dying Gaul, Apollo Belvedere , and the Lacoön Group, date back to Hellenistic times. The Dying Gual has the hair and facial features of an ethnic Gaul.
The Lacoon, now at Vatican Museum, features a father and two sons struggling to entangle themselves from the grasps of giant serpents. The 2000-year-old statue depicts the punishment meted out to a priest who warned the Trojans to beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
Adam Masterman, wrote in Quora.com: During the Hellenistic period (323031 B.C.) sculpture fully embraced naturalism. Figures look like individuals instead of ideals, and a full range of emotions and actions are portrayed. Poses are the most diverse of any of the periods, representing a wide variety of actions and physical states. The anatomical detail is the most closely resembling real bodies (and thus the least idealized), and particular attention is paid to how bodies morph and change in different positions, showing a strong tradition of empirical observation. Finally, the work is more ornate than in any other period, reflecting a preference for complexity of design that can also be seen in the architecture of the time.
See Separate Article: HELLENISTIC SCULPTURE europe.factsanddetails.com
Ptolemies
After the death of Alexander the Great, the Egyptian portion of his kingdom was ruled Ptolemy I, a Macedonian general. The Macedonian-Greek dynasty (the Ptolemies) he founded ruled Egypt for more than 300 years. There were 15 Ptolemic leaders and they ruled from 332 B.C. to 30 B.C. from Alexandria. Cleopatra was the last of Ptolemies. When she died in 30 B.C., Romans took over territory formally controlled by the Ptolemies.
Menthu and Ptolemy IV Chip Brown wrote in National Geographic, “The Ptolemies of Macedonia are one of history's most flamboyant dynasties, famous not only for wealth and wisdom but also for bloody rivalries and the sort of "family values" that modern-day exponents of the phrase would surely disavow, seeing as they included incest and fratricide. [Source: Chip Brown, National Geographic, July 2011]
The Ptolemies came to power after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, who in a caffeinated burst of activity beginning in 332 B.C. swept through Lower Egypt, displaced the hated Persian occupiers, and was hailed by the Egyptians as a divine liberator. He was recognized as pharaoh in the capital, Memphis. Along a strip of land between the Mediterranean and Lake Mareotis he laid out a blueprint for Alexandria, which would serve as Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years.
The dynasty's greatest legacy was Alexandria itself, with its hundred-foot-wide main avenue, its gleaming limestone colonnades, its harborside palaces and temples overseen by a towering lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, on the island of Pharos. Alexandria soon became the largest, most sophisticated city on the planet. It was a teeming cosmopolitan mix of Egyptians, Greeks, Jews, Romans, Nubians, and other peoples. The best and brightest of the Mediterranean world came to study at the Mouseion, the world's first academy, and at the great Alexandria library.
The Ptolemies' talent for intrigue was exceeded only by their flair for pageantry. If descriptions of the first dynastic festival of the Ptolemies around 280 B.C. are accurate, the party would cost millions of dollars today. The parade was a phantasmagoria of music, incense, blizzards of doves, camels laden with cinnamon, elephants in golden slippers, bulls with gilded horns. Among the floats was a 15-foot Dionysus pouring a libation from a golden goblet.
See Separate Articles: PTOLEMIES AND GREEK RULE OF EGYPT (330-30 B.C.) africame.factsanddetails.com ; LEADERS OF PTOLEMAIC DYNASTY (330-30 B.C.) africame.factsanddetails.com
Alexandria
Alexandria today is Egypt's second largest city and the country's largest port. In the time of the ancient Egyptians it wasn’t even built yet. But in the Greco-Roman era it was one of the greatest cities of antiquity. Regarded as the greatest intellectual center in the world, it was home to the great Alexandria Library and the Alexandria Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Alexander's military campaign was the founding of Alexandria. Arrian wrote that "he himself designed the general layout of the new town, indicating the position of the market square, the number of temples...and the precise limits of its outer defenses." After Alexander died, Alexandria grew into the center of Hellenistic Greece and was the greatest city for 300 years in Europe and the Mediterranean.
Chip Brown wrote in National Geographic, It was in Alexandria, “18 centuries before the Copernican revolution, that Aristarchus posited a heliocentric solar system and Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth. Alexandria was where the Hebrew Bible was first translated into Greek and where the poet Sotades the Obscene discovered the limits of artistic freedom when he unwisely scribbled some scurrilous verse about Ptolemy II's incestuous marriage to his sister. He was deep-sixed in a lead-lined chest.” [Source: Chip Brown, National Geographic, July 2011]
Book: “Alexandria & the Sea: Maritime origins and Underwater Explorations” by Kimberly Williams
See Separate Article: ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA: HISTORY, LIBRARY, SEVEN WONDERS europe.factsanddetails.com
Pergamon
Pergamon (about 100 kilometers north of present-day Izmir Turkey) emerged as a powerful city-state in the era of upheaval that followed the death of Alexander the Great. Located on the top of a small mountain with views in every direction, the ruins spread out over a large area and include the temples of Troy and Dionysus, the sanctuary of Demeter, the celebrated library, and a three-tiered gymnasium. Built into the side of the mountain is an impressive amphitheater with 15,000 seats.
Pergamon (Bergama) was a powerful Hellenistic colony that ruled over a large amount of land in Asia Minor in third and second centuries B.C. At it is height more than 200,000 people lived on the mountain and the surrounding plains. The library's collection of scrolls was so impressive the Egyptians slapped a papyrus embargo on Pergamon out of fear their collection of scrolls would surpass the collection in Alexandria. In response to this Pergamon scribes made "paper" from animal skins. The English word "parchment" is derived from "Pergamene paper." In the end Marc Anthony gave the city and library to Cleopatra who had many the scrolls transported to Alexandria.
The book of Revelations in the Bible referred to ancient Pergamon as a place "where Satan dwelleth." But despite this, and the fact that Roman priests used to martyr Christians here, Pergamon was the site of one the original "Seven Churches." Much of Pergamon was destroyed in a wave of earthquakes between the mid-forth and mid-sixth century that also brought down much or Troy, Aphrodisias, Ephesus and Smyrna. At the site today captions that explain how water was transported to the top of the mountain and stored (that, after all, was one of the big problems of having a city on top of a mountain).
According to UNESCO: Pergamon was founded in the 3rd century BC as the capital of the Attalid dynasty. Located in the Aegean Region, the heart of the Antique World, and at the crossroads between Europe and the Middle East, it became an important cultural, scientific and political centre. Creation of the capital on top of Kale Hill set the scene for the city. High steep sloping terrain and the Bakırçay Plain were integrated into the urban plan. The exceptional composition of monuments includes the extremely steep theatre, the lengthy stoa, a three-terraced Gymnasium, the Great Altar of Pergamon, the tumuli, pressured water pipelines, the city walls, and the Kybele Sanctuary which was perfectly aligned with Kale Hill. As the Attalid capital, Pergamon was the protector of cities in the Hellenistic Period. It had political and artistic power and built up a very intense relationship with its contemporary civilisations. The dynasty founded one of the largest libraries in Pergamon, and the rivalry between three Hellenistic dynasties caused the Attalid Dynasty to create the famous sculpture school.[Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site website =]
“After the city was passed to the Romans in 133 BC, Pergamon became a metropolis and was the capital of the Roman Province of Asia during the Roman imperial period. The Romans maintained the already existing structures of the Hellenistic Period while adding new functions as a cultural and imperial cult centre of the empire. Consequently, during the Roman Period, many important structures were built or further developed, including the Asclepion Sanctuary, a well-known healing centre whose sacred spring still flows; the Roman Theatre; one of the largest Roman amphitheatres; a great aqueduct; the Trajan Temple and the Serapeum. During the Byzantine Period due to the relocation of the trade roads and political centres from the Aegean Region to northwest Anatolia, especially to İstanbul (Constantinople), Pergamon was transformed from a major Hellenistic and Roman centre into a middle-sized town, and continued its cultural-religious importance as home to one of the Seven Churches of Asia. Pergamon now preserves and presents this transformation. =
“After the arrival of the Ottomans, Pergamon experienced one more cultural adjustment, which is especially evident on the Bakırçay Plain. The Ottomans provided the city with all necessary urban structures, such as mosques, baths, bridges, khans, bedestens (covered bazaars), arastas (Ottoman markets) and water systems overlaying the Roman and Byzantine settlement layers. The superimposition of all these different periods and cultures through continuous habitation in Pergamon, finds its reflection in Pergamon’s urban form and architecture as continuities, formations, transformations and losses due to the material existence and use of space by different eras and cultures. The re-use of structures by later cultures is particularly demonstrated by the Church of St. John, formerly part of the Serapeum, a sanctuary dedicated by the Romans to an Egyptian deity. It subsequently became an Ottoman Mosque as well as incorporating a Jewish Synagogue. =
“From the 3rd century BC onwards, the city was encircled by a ring of grave mounds of various sizes, which demonstrated Pergamon’s claim to the plain of Bakırçay. In addition to grave mounds, there were sanctuaries, such as the Kybele Sanctuary at Kapıkaya, sited on prominent hills and mountain peaks in the area surrounding the city. Pergamon is a testimony to the unique and integrated aesthetic achievement of the civilizations. It incorporates Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman structures, reflecting Paganism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam; preserving their cultural features within the historical landscape. =
The Attalids, Rulers of Pergamon in Asia Minor (283–129 B.C.)
Philetairos (not king) (283–263 B.C.)
Eumenes I (not formally king) (263–241 B.C.)
Attalos I Soter (241–197 B.C.)
Eumenes II Soter (197–159/8 B.C.)
Attalos II (159/8–139/8 B.C.)
Attalos III (139/8–133 B.C.)
Aristonikos ("Eumenes III") (133–129 B.C.)
Pergamon Altar
Importance of Pergamon
According to UNESCO: “The building of Pergamon into the slopes at the top of Kale Hill, exploiting the topography with manmade terraces and grand monuments dominating the surrounding plain, is a masterpiece of Hellenistic and Roman urban planning and design. The acropolis remained as Pergamon’s crown while the city developed on the lower slopes during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, extending its domination of the landscape. =[Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site website =]
The urban planning, architectural and engineering works of Pergamon reflect a synthesis nourished from the cumulative background of Anatolia. The Kybele Sanctuary at Kapıkaya, with local Anatolian roots, represents the continual use, synthesis of cultures and interchange of human values through time. The Serapeum, a Roman temple dedicated to an Egyptian deity exhibits the interchange of human values, as did the relocation of the Kybele meteorite to Rome, facilitated by the Attalids. =
‘Pergamon and its Multi-layered Cultural Landscape’ bears unique and exceptional testimony to Hellenistic urban and landscape planning. The architectural monuments including the Asclepion, Serapis Temple and Sanctuary, Kybele Sanctuary at Kapıkaya and Tumuli are exceptional testimonies to their period, culture and civilization. =
“The acropolis of Pergamon, with its urban planning and architectural remains is an outstanding ensemble of the Hellenistic Period. The Serapis Temple and Sanctuary, Asclepion, water supply system and amphitheatre combine to illustrate the Roman period in Anatolia as a significant stage in history.‘Pergamon and its Multi-layered Cultural Landscape’ is an outstanding historic urban landscape illustrating significant stages of human existence in the geography to which it belongs. =
“Pergamon is associated with important people, schools, ideas and traditions concerning art, architecture, planning, religion and science. The Pergamon sculpture school contributed the ‘Pergamon style’. The Kybele Cult represents a continual tradition and belief in Anatolia. Due to the consequent settling of Romans in Anatolia, following transfer of the Kybele cult idol to Rome by Pergamon’s Attalid king and the subsequent inheritance by Rome of Pergamon due to Attalid bequest in 133 BC, Pergamon is directly associated with the creation of an eastern Roman empire. The continual religious use of the Temple of Serapis, which was first constructed as a temple during the Roman period, converted and used as a church during late Roman and Byzantine periods, while one of its rotunda was used as a synagogue, and which then continued to be used but as a mosque beginning from 13th century onwards, is an example of the continuity of use for religious purposes at a particular place. The physician, surgeon and philosopher Galen was trained in Pergamon and his works were disseminated from there. Last but not least, there is the tradition of production of Parchment specific to Pergamon. =
Pergamum was discovered in the late 19th century by German engineer Carl Humann. With the help 2,000 workmen, 1,000 oxen and 500 camels, he excavated the famous Altar of Zeus from inside a wall of a Byzantine building. In all he uncovered 97 marble slabs and 2000 fragments from the main frieze, 36 slabs and 100 fragments of a smaller frieze and numerous statues and architectural pieces — all as good a quality as the Elgin marbles.
These items were packed in 462 cases and shipped off to Berlin. At first the Ottoman government wanted two thirds of the finds but eventually they signed a contract to sell them for 20,000 marks. Today the entire altar sits reassembled inside a huge room in Berlin's Pergamum museum. When I was in Pergamum the Turks had pinned up banners all over town claiming they wanted the alter back the same the Greeks want the Elgin Marbles back. [Information for this section was taken from an article on Pergamum by Stanley Meisler, Smithsonian magazine, October 1991].
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, The Louvre, The British Museum
Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Greece sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Hellenistic World sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; BBC Ancient Greeks bbc.co.uk/history/; Canadian Museum of History, Perseus Project - Tufts University; perseus.tufts.edu ; MIT Classics Online classics.mit.edu ; Gutenberg.org, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Live Science, Discover magazine, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, Encyclopædia Britannica, "The Discoverers" and "The Creators" by Daniel Boorstin. "Greek and Roman Life" by Ian Jenkins from the British Museum, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP and various books and other publications.
Last updated July 2024