1 Ch. 6 Sec. 4 The Spread of Hellenistic Culture

2 Learning & Commerce The conquests of Alexander the Great spread Greek culture to Egypt, S.W. Asia, & India Trade routes linked the Hellenistic world & connected to China, India, & Arabia

3 Alexandria, Egypt – the largest city – became a leading commercial center Many cities built by Alexander became centers of learning

4 The library at Alexandria contained thousands of papyrus scrolls full of knowledge & literature of the Hellenistic world As people became prosperous, education spread & new values brought freer lifestyles

5 For example, women of the Hellenistic world appeared more often in public & won new property rights

6 Religion & Philosophy The Greek concept of the polis declined in the new urban civilization For comfort, people turned to new religions & philosophies

7 Hellenistic Kings in Egypt & Asia encouraged ruler- worship, which gave people a new sense of civic duty to replace their role in the polis Some also turned to mystery religions, which introduced worshippers to secrets about the afterlife & these cults gave members a sense of control & belonging

8 Others turned to one of four schools of philosophy: 1. the Cynics taught that people should live simply, w/out seeking pleasure, wealth, or status

9 2. the Skeptics believed that all knowledge is uncertain bcuz the world is changing & by accepting this fact, people can achieve peace of mind

10 3. The Stoic philosophy, established by Zeno in the late 300s B.C. said that divine reason directs the world, so people should accept their fate w/out complaint. Stoics believed that each person has some “spark” of the divine

11 4. Epicurean philosophy, founded by Epicurus, taught that the aim of life is to seek pleasure & avoid pain, & that people could avoid suffering by limiting their desires

12 Science in the Hellenistic Age Greeks became outstanding scientists & mathematicians Many fields draw their basic understandings from Hellenistic discoveries Euclid helped develop geometry by showing how geometric statements flow logically

13 Archimedes, the greatest Hellenistic scientist, calculated the value of pi He also explained how levers work & invented many machines, including the Archimedes screw, which draws water upward

14 Medicine Alexandria was the center of medicine, uniting Greek & Egyptian traditions From the Egyptian art of embalming, doctors learned to examine & catalog the human body

15 Astronomy & geography Scientists advanced in astronomy, building on knowledge from Egypt & Babylon They tracked the movements of stars & planets using geometry Aristarchus believed that the earth & planets moved around the sun, but he failed to convince others

16 Hellenistic geographers knew the earth was round Eratosthenes calculated the distance around the earth w/ amazing accuracy, using the angle of the sun’s rays from different points on the globe

17 To learn anatomy, Alexandrian doctors studied the bodies of executed criminals They concluded that the brain is the center of the nervous system, plus, doctors learned to perform delicate surgery

18 One of the most brilliant mathematicians & astronomers of his time, he was asked to head the great Library of Alexandria