Hellenistic Civilization (323-146 BCE)

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Hellenistic Civilization(323-146 BCE)

• (323 BCE Death of Alexander)
• (146 BCE Conquest by the Romans)

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Alexander the Great
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Hellenistic Civilization

• Hellenistic because of, on the one hand, the
  predominant role of Greece and, on the other
  hand, not completely Greek, being more
  multiethnic, multiracial, and multicultural.

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Hellenistic CivilizationGeneral Principles

• The fragmentation of Alexanders empire into
  three kingdoms Kingdom of Macedonia, Kingdom of
  the Ptolemies (Egypt), and Kingdom of the
  Seleucids (Syria).
• In some ways, a continuation of basic Hellenic
  philosophies and aesthetics, but with significant
  new features.

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Hellenistic CivilizationGeneral Principles

• The flourishing of large metropolitan centers
  Alexandria and Pergamum
• Diverse ethnic groups (Greeks, Macedonians,
  Egyptians, Hebrews, Persians, Africans) linked by
  trade.
• A form of colloquial Greek called Koine was
  spoken throughout the Hellenistic world.
• Hellenistic rulers had no interest in democracy.

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• Pergamum

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Alexandria

• The best example of a large Hellenistic
  metropolis.
• Population of about 1,000,000
• Cultural diversity
• A center of learning and culture, featuring a
  theatre, library, museum, lighthouse, etc.
• The worlds first university (a museum dedicated
  to the Muses) was built in Alexandria.
• The library contained 700,000 volumes of books.

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• Library of
• Alexandria

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Exercise 1

• Find some information online about the cities of
  Alexandria and Pergamum during the Hellenistic
  Age.

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Hellenistic literature

• The seriousness of Hellenism began to give way to
  a Hellenistic love of playfulness as well as an
  interest in the ordinary, everyday subjects.
• New Comedy In contrast to the pointed,
  satiricial comedies of Hellenic Greece, the
  return to monarchy seems to have made playwrights
  more conservative in their willingness to
  criticize.
• Menander, the leading figure of the New Comedy

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Hellenistic literature

• Pastoral poetry City life and its hassles seems
  to bring with it a kind of nostalgia for country
  life.
• At the same time, the poetry was a fantasy of
  country life, written by and for the upper class.
• Theocritus created the new poetic forms of
  pastoral poetry as well as idyll.

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Hellenistic Philosophy

• Cynicism
• Skepticism
• Epicureanism
• Stoicism

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Hellenistic Philosophy Cynicism

• True freedom arises from realizing that if one
  wants nothing, then one will never lack anything.
• Isolation from the society
• Denial of physical comfort
• Autarky, or self-sufficiency, as the goal of life
• Diogenes, the most prominent Cynic
• Alexander if I were not Alexander, I would
  prefer to be Diogenes.

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Diogenes of Sinope
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Diogenes and Alexander
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• Diogenes of Sinope

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Diogenes of Sinope

• Banished from his country, Diogenes spent most of
  his life in Athens, though he died in Corinth. He
  called himself the Dog, and held up the life of
  animals as a model for mankind. His task was the
  recoining of values, and to the civilization of
  Hellenic and Hellenistic world he opposed the
  life of animals and of the barbaric people.

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Hellenistic Philosophy Skepticism

• Nothing could be known for certain
• All ideas and values must be questioned.
• Truth is unknowable
• Autarky as the goal of life.
• Pyrrho of Elis was the founder of Skepticism.

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Hellenistic Philosophy Epicureanism

• How to achieve happiness
• The best way to keep ones wants simple, and thus
  to achieve happiness, was to abstain from sex and
  focus instead on friendship.
• Also not to indulge in excessive desires
• Resist fame, power and wealth
• Freedom from fear fear of the gods, of death,
  and of the hereafter.
• Pleasure is the absence of pain
• Ataraxia, the desireless state, the goal of life
• Epicurus was the founder of Epicureanism

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Epicurus
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Hellenistic Philosophy Stoicism

• The world is governed by the divine logos, or
  reason, or nature.
• Freedom and happiness consist of living in
  harmony with logos
• A resigned and deterministic outlook, but never
  apathetic.
• Emphasis on dedication to work and duty
• Worldwide brotherhood
• Autarky (self-sufficiency) as the goal of life

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Hellenistic Religion Mystery Cults

• The mystery cult of Orpheus
• The mystery cult of Dionysus
• The mystery cult of Isis (and her brother/husband
  Osiris). Isis was the most honored goddess of the
  ancient world.
• The mystery cult of Mithraism

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Mithra Touroctonous
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Mithra
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Anahita, Mithras mother
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• Isis

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• Isis

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Orpheus

• ORPHEUS was the son of Apollo and the Muse
  Calliope. He was presented by his father with a
  lyre and taught to play upon it, which he did to
  such perfection that nothing could withstand the
  charm of his music. Not only his fellow-mortals,
  but wild beasts were softened by his music

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Exercise 2

• Find information about the mystery cults of the
  Hellenistic age.

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Hellenistic Architecture

• The Corinthian column
• Taller, more slender and more ornamented than
  either the Doric or Ionic columns.

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Hellenistic visual arts

• Dramatic advances in sculpture
• Continuation of some Hellenic ideals and subjects
  (e.g., portraits of gods and goddesses).
• New interests related to extremes of emotion
  violence, eroticism.
• Some occasional interest in realism, in the
  portrayal of an individual.

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Hellenistic sculpture

• A new interest in capturing action and the
  excitement of a figure in motion, resulting in
  works that are less restrained than the Hellenic
  models. Figures are sometimes twisted or
  contorted in an effort to communicate the sense
  of action.
• Boy Struggling with a Goose (101)

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Hellenistic sculpture

• Dying Gaul
• Shows a mortally wounded barbarian warrior. By
  treating a foreign enemy with such nobility, the
  anonymous sculptor expresses a deep moral sense
  that was central to Hellenistic art.
• Made in Pergamene Style

• Aphrodite of Melos
• (c. 160-150 BCE)
• Shows more of the Classical (Hellenic) influence
  (idealized face and contrapposto).
• Relatively new interest in the nude female form.
• Sensuality

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The Dying Gaul
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The Dying Gaul
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Hellenistic sculpture

• The Laocoon Group
• (date unknown)
• Interest in emotional extremes terror and
  despair.
• A moment of action.
• The rhythm and action of the work draws the
  viewers eye to many different parts.

• Old Market Woman
• (c. 200 BCE?)
• An ultra-realistic portrait of a commonly seen
  character.
• Still shows the virtuosity of the sculptor.
• Social commentary or bad joke?

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• The Laocoon
• Group