ÿþ<html> <head> <title> WHKMLA : Historical Dictionaries : Hellenism </title> <!-- copyright Alexander Ganse, 2004-2006 --> </head> <body bgcolor="lightblue" text="black" link="blue" vlink="red" alink="brown"> <style> <!-- A{ font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; font-face: arial; } --> </style> <DIV align ="center"> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../index.html"> <img src = "../../whkmla2.jpg" border = "0"></a></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Timeline </b></font></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/wh/tlhellenism.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowleft.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/whchapters.html"> <img src = "../banhistdic.jpg" border = "0"> </TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../biographies/wh/biohellenism.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowright.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD width = "100" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Biographies </b></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <font size = "3" face = "arial"><B><i>First posted on June 5th 2004, last revised on September 17th 2004 </i></b></font><BR><BR><BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center" width = "900"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "5"><B> Historical Dictionaries : Hellenism </B></font> <BR> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"><i> http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histdic/wh/hdhellenism.html </i></font> </B></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "150"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> <B>HELLENISM</B> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "achaemeniddyn">Achaemenid Dynasty</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "achaeanleague">Achaean League</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "aetolianleague">Aetolian League</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "alexandria">Alexandria</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "antigoniddyn">Antigonid Dynasty</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "antioch">Antioch</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "attaliddyn">Attalid Dynasty</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bactria">Bactria</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bithynia">Bithynia</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bosporiankgd">Bosporian Kingdom</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "cappadocia">Cappadocia</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "colossus">Colossus of Rhodes</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "cynicism">Cynicism</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "deification">Deification</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "diadochs">Diadoch</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "warsofthediadochi">Wars of the Diadochi</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "epicureans">Epicureans</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "epirus">Epirus</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "eunuchs">Eunuchs</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "galatians">Galatians</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bofgaugamela">Battle of Gaugamela</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "bofgranicus">Battle of Granicus</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "greatlibrary">Great Library <BR> of Alexandria</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "hellenisticwars">Hellenistic Wars</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "hierosolymam">Hierosolymam</A> <BR> <A NAME = "bofipsus">Battle of Ipsus</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "isis">Isis</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "bofissus">Battle of Issus</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "macedonia">Macedonia</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "manichaeism">Manichaeism</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "mithraism">Mithraism</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "paganism">Paganism</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "persianempire">Persian Empire</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "parthianempire">Parthian Empire</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "pergamon">Pergamon</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "pontus">Pontus</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "proskynesis">Proskynesis</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "ptolemaicegypt">Ptolemaic Egypt</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "rhodes">Rhodes</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "satrapy">Satrapy</A> <BR> <A NAME = "scepticism">Scepticism</A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "seleuciddyn">Seleucid Dynasty</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "7wonders">Seven Wonders <BR> of the Ancient World</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "sparta">Sparta</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "stoicism">Stoicism</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "syracuse">Syracuse</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "warelephants">War Elephants</A> <BR><BR><BR> </font></TD> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "500"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> Historical era beginning with the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great. <BR> We distinguish two definitions of Hellenism : <B>(a) Political Hellenism.</B> The period during <BR> which Hellenistic states existed, roughly 334-30 B.C. (although some Hellenistic states, <BR> not in the focus of histoiography, continued beyond 30 B.C., the year of Rom's annexation <BR> of Egypt.) <B>(b) Cultural Hellenism.</B> From 334 B.C. to the year 395 A.D., when christianity <BR> was declared sole state religion in the Roman Empire. Throughout the Roman Empire, Greek <BR> remaind the lingua franca in the eastern half of the Empire; the culture in these areas was <BR> dominated by Greek influence, and the Mediterranean world was exposed and open to the <BR> influence of Asian culture, especially when it came to religion. In this aspect, the Roman <BR> Empire is regarded just another Hellnistic state. <BR><BR> Dynasty ruling the Persian Empire. The first ruler of importance was Cyrus the Great (559-<BR> 530), who threw of the Median yoke, comnquered the Medes, Lydians and Babylonians. <BR> Under Cambyses II. (530-521), Egypt was conquered, under Darius I. (521-486) the Indus <BR> valley (513). Under him and his son Xerxes I (486-465), Persia fought and lost the Persian <BR> Wars - two failed invasions of Greece. The dynasty ended with Darius III. (336-330). <BR> or Achaean Federation, founded in 280 B.C. by 12 cities on the N. Peloponnese; in 251, <BR> Sikyon, ruled by Aratus of S., joined. Aratus soon became the leading member. The <BR> Defeated by the Romans in 146, the Achaean League was dissolved. <BR> Aetolian League, military federation in western Greece; emerged in 290 B.C. It had a <BR> council with proportional representation and a semiannual assembly. Often an enemy of <BR> Macedonia and of the Achaean League. In 192-189 they allied with Seleucid Antiochus <BR> III. against Rome and Macedonia. Aetolia was annexed by Rome 189. <BR> city in Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great. Capital of Ptolemaic Egypt, 301-30 B.C. <BR> one of the cultural centers of the Hellenistic world; among the largest cities of antiquity. <BR> named after Antigonus Monophthalmus, the 'one-eyed', founded by his son Demetrius I. <BR> Poliorcetes (294-287), who established his power center in Macedonia. Ended with <BR> Perseus (179-168), after whom Macedonia was annexed by Rome. <BR> founded by Seleucus I. Nicator, who made the city the capital of the Seleucid Dynasty. <BR> one of the cultural centers of the Hellenistic world. Suffered major destruction in an <BR> earthquake in 526 A.D. Now Antakya; in Republic of Turkey. <BR> founded by Philetairos, an officer of Lysimachos, who, in control of fortress of Pergamon <BR> and of L. treasury, made himself independent in 282 B.C. His descendent Attalus I. took <BR> the title of king and expanded the territory, at the expense of the Seleucids. Attalus III. in <BR> 133 B.C., being without sons, donated his kingdom to Rome, who named it Province Asia. <BR> roughly identical with modern Afghanistan. A Persian satrapy, which fell into the Seleucid <BR> sphere of influence. Hellenized through Greek settlement. C. 230 satrap Diodotus <BR> claimed independence; in 206 King Euthydemus recognized Seleucid supremacy. In 145 <BR> King Menander invaded & conquered the Punjab, establishing his rule there (-130). During <BR> this period, Hellenism took root in India. Kushan invasion c. 130 reduced Greek Bactria <BR> to city states, which held on to their independence until into the 1st century A.D. <BR> 298 independent under King Zipoetas. The Bithynians, in order to secure independence <BR> against the Seleucids, invited the Celtic Galatians to cross into Asia 278. In 75 B.C., King <BR> Nicomedes IV. bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. <BR> Greek kingdom since the 5th century B.C., located on the Crimea and the northern shore of <BR> the Black Sea; since 47 B.C. ruled by the Kings of Pontus; frequent struggles for <BR> succession. In A.D. 64, annexed by Nero (Roman Empire). <BR> Landlocked region in southern central Anatolia. Cappadocia independent since 255 B.C., <BR> recognized by Seleucids. Annexed by Rome in A.D. 17. <BR> one of the Seven Wonders of Antiquity; constructed in 294-282 B.C., the Colossus was <BR> destroyed by an earthquake in 226 B.C. Described by Pliny the Elder. Inspired the sculptor <BR> of the Statue of Liberty. A. Bartholdi. see article from <A HREF = "http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/colossus.html">Seven Wonders Home Page</A> <BR> Greek philosophical school, founded by Antisthenes; most famous philosopher Diogenes of <BR> Sinope. <BR> transformation of a human being into a god; conquerors of Egypt went through a rite after <BR> which they could be presented to the Egyptian people as a god; in Rome it took merely a <BR> decision by the Senate. <BR> the diadochs were Alexander's generals who started dynasties of their own - Ptolemy, <BR> Antigonus, Lysimachus, Cassander, Seleucus, Antipater, Perdiccas. <BR> Until 301, the unity of Alexander's Empire was maintained. However, the diadochs soon <BR> disagreed over who should be regent. The years 322-315 saw constant fighting, with the <BR> regents being changed in frequent order (assassination, natural death). In 315 Antigonus <BR> Monophthalmus held the bulk of the territory; a coalition of Ptolemy, Seleucus, Cassander <BR> and Lysimachus against Antigonus was formed; in the Battle of Ipsus (301) the coalition <BR> defeated Antigonus, and proceeded to partition Alexander's Empire. see account from <BR> <A HREF = "http://www.bartleby.com/67/209.html">Encyclopedia of World History</A> <BR> Greek, hedonistic philosophical school, founded by Epicurus in 307 B.C., emphasized <BR> simple pleasures; much misunderstood. <BR> a landscape in NW Greece. Within Epirus, a Molossian kingdom emerged (370-232), the <BR> most famous king was Pyrrhus (319-272) who attempted to establish an empire for himself <BR> in the west, by conquest. Later a Macedonian ally. <BR> castrated men; an institution despised by the Greeks of Classic Greece, associated with <BR> the courts of eastern (Persian) despots. Hellenistic kings (Egypt, Syria) held eunuchs at <BR> their courts. Narses, general of Byzantinian Emperor Justinian (6th century A.D., was a <BR> eunuch. <BR> branch of the Celtic people. Invited by the Bithynians to cross into Asia Minor in 278 B.C. <BR> There they carved out a territory of their own. Annexed by Rome 25 B.C.; the christian <BR> community among the G. received an epistle from St. Paul in around 50 A.D. <BR> fought in 331 B.C. in northern Mesopotamia; decisive victory of the Macedonians over the <BR> Persians; Emperor Darius III. fled the battlefield, leaving wife and daughter behind. <BR> Macedonian forces 47,000 men, Persian forces estimated 246,000 men. <BR> fought in 334 B.C., Macedonian victory over regional Persian forces, fought on the G. <BR> River in the vicinity of Troy <BR> founded by Ptolemy I. Soter, it became the leading institution of Hellenistic studies. <BR> Eratosthenes served as librarian. Burnt during Caesar's stay in Alexandria (48 B.C.); the <BR> library continued to function. With christianity, the copying/transcription of pagan texts <BR> seized (without printing technique, it was essential to make handwritten copies of old <BR> texts in order to preserve them). Destroyed by a christian mob in 391 A.D. - the library <BR> was perceived as a pagan institution. see Website on the Great Library of Alexandria, <BR> posted by <A HREF = "http://www.geocities.com/apollonius_theocritos/home.html">Michael Collins</A> <BR> wars between the Hellenistic Dynasties resp. Greek states. 268-262 Chremonidean War, <BR> Athens and Sparta against Macedonia; Second Syrian War 260-253, Seleucids, Mac., <BR> Rhodes against Pt. Egypt; Third Syrian War 246-241, Pt. Egypt vs. Seleucids, War of <BR> Demetrius 238-229, Macedonia vs. Aetolian, Achaean League, Social War 219-217, <BR> Macedonia, Achaean League vs. Aetolian League, Fourth Syrian War, 221-217, <BR> Seleucids vs. Pt. Egypt. The Fifth Syrian War 202-200, Seleucids vs. Pt. Egypt. Wars <BR> involving Rome, Parthians etc. not listed here. see <A HREF = "http://www.bartleby.com/67/210.html">Encyclopedia of World History</A> <BR> Hellenistic name of Jerusalem (previous, Hebrew name Zion). <BR> fought in 301 B.C. between Antigonus Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes <BR> on one side, the combined forces of Seleucus and Lysimachus. Antigonus fell; after the <BR> battle, Alexander's Empire was partitioned. <BR> Egyptian goddess, of royalty, resurrection and reincarnation. During later Hellenism, her <BR> cult spread throughout the Roman Empire; Cleopatra claimed to be a reincarnation of Isis. <BR> fought in Cilicia in 333, first Macedonian victory over a full-scale Persian army. Maced. <BR> force given at 31,000, Persian force at 120,000 - among them 30,000 Greek mercenaries. <BR> following the Battle of Ipsus ruled by Cassander and his sons, then conquered by <BR> Demetrius Poliorcetes who founded the Antigonid Dynasty (see there). Annexed by Rome <BR> in 146 B.C. <BR> synchretistic religion based on Zoroastrianism, with elements of Buddhism, Christianity. <BR> founded by Mani (210-275 A.D.) in western Persia. Spread throughout the Roman Empire; <BR> St. Augustine had been a Manichaean before converting to christianity. <BR> Hellenistic religion centered around saviour god Mithras (after Persian god Mithra); <BR> developed in Eastern Mediterranean, later spread through the Roman Empire. <BR> In the 2nd and 3rd century B.C., the growing christian church, monotheistic, challenged the <BR> traditional Graeco-Roman polytheistic religious beliefs. The adherents to these traditional <BR> cults summarily are referred to as the pagans. The church applied the adjective 'pagan' not <BR> only to temples of Graeco-Roman gods, but to Hellenistic institutions in general, including <BR> the Great Library of Alexandria and the Academy of Athens, who suffered destruction <BR> respectively closure. <BR> Established in 559 B.C. by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Dynasty; expanded by <BR> conquest; essentially ended in the Battle of Gaugamela 331 B.C., then conquered by <BR> Alexander the Great. The Persian religion was Zoroastrianism; when governing conquered <BR> peoples they practiced religious tolerance. <BR> The Parthians were an Iranian people which, from basis in modern Turkmenistan, gradually <BR> conquered Iran from the Seleucids in the 3rd century B.C., Mesopotamia in 190 B.C. The <BR> Parthian Empire, capital Ctesiphon, lasted until 224 A.D. They took over Hellenistic <BR> culture. They fended off Roman attempts to conquer them; in 224 a coup transformed it <BR> into the Neopersian Empire (Sassanid Dynasty) which reintroduced Zoroastrianism as <BR> official religion. <BR> in English often spelled Pergamum (Latinized). mountain fortress-city located in western <BR> Asia minor, believed to be impregnable in antiquity. Lysimachus sent his treasury there; <BR> nucleus of the state of the Attalid Dynasty (see there). The state ended in 133 B.C., when <BR> Attalos III. bequeathed his kgd. to Rome. <BR> Persian satrapy, located in Asia Minor on the shore of the Black Sea, capital Amaseia. A <BR> dynasty descending from Persian satraps claimed independence in the early 3rd century <BR> B.C. The Bosporian Kingdom was annexed by the Kings of Pontus. In 73/68, Mithradates <BR> VI. lost Pontus to he Romans and retreated to the Bosporian kgd.; Pontus became a Roman <BR> province. <BR> Greek word for the eastern practise of subjects prostrating in front of their king. Practised at <BR> the Persian court, introduced by Alexander at his court in 327. The Greeks rejected the <BR> custom, as they identified it with slavery. see article from <A HREF = "http://www.livius.org/pp-pr/proskynesis/proskynesis.htm">livius.org</A> <BR> wealthy Hellenistic kingdom 301 B.C. - 30 B.C., founded by Ptolemy I. Soter. Capital <BR> Alexandria. The Ptolemaic dynasty adopted the Egyptian title of pharaoh and the Egyptian <BR> tradition of pharaohs marrying their sisters. Cyrene was Ptolemaic province, as were, over <BR> extensive periods of time, Cyprus, Cilicia, Syria. Alexandria the leading city of Hellenism; <BR> Great Library of Alexandria, Lighthouse of Pharos. After Cleopatra's suicide, annexed by <BR> Rome, in 30 B.C. <BR> or Rhodos, Greek island, flourished during Hellenism due to trade. Merchants sailing to or <BR> from east had to stop at Rhodos and offer their products on the Rhodian market. Resisted <BR> a siege by Demetrius I. Poliorcetes in 305; built the colossus in memory of their victory.<BR> Gained territory in Caria, became Roman ally. In 167, Naxos was declared a free port; <BR> Rhodian trade declined. Since 164 a Roman vassall. <BR> Province within the Persian Empire; goverened by a satrap. <BR> (US spelling Skepticism), Hellenistic philpsophical school founded by Pyrrho of Elis who <BR> accompanied Alexander on his campaign to India. <BR> established by Seleucus I. Nicator in (305) 301 B.C., capital Antioch. S. Empire extended <BR> from Syria to the Indus River; with the capital located in the extreme west. The eastern and <BR> central provinces were neglected; Seleucids were involved in frequent wars w. Ptolemaic <BR> Egypt. Persia was lost in the 3rd c. to the Parthians; Bactria was cut off and became an <BR> independent state. Mesopotamia was lost to the Parthians in 190 B.C. The S. Empite <BR> temporarily held much of Anatolia; S. Antiochus the Great was decisively defeated in the <BR> war against Rome 192-188; The S. Empire lost Anatolia to Pergamon. In 74 B.C., the <BR> remnants - Syria - were annexed by Rome. <BR> list of most accomplished architectural feats of antiquity, compiled by Hellenistic scholars. <BR> Several such lists exist; the most frequently quoted one ascribed to Antipater of Sidon, who <BR> lived in the 2nd century B.C. (1) Pyramids (Egypt), (2) Hanging Gardens of Babylon <BR> (believed to have existed in Ninive in Babylonia), (3) Statue of Zeus in Olympia, (4) <BR> Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, (5) Colossus of Rhodes, (6) Lighthouse of Pharos <BR> (Alexandria), (7) Maussoleum at Halicarnassus <BR> following the defeat in the Battle of Leuctra, Sparta, while continuing to rule Laconia, was <BR> a second-rate Greek state. In 227 Cleomenes III. took power in a coup, restored ancient <BR> Spartan constitution, turned Sparta into a first-rate political power. Defeated in the Battle of <BR> of Sellasia 222 which marked the end of a brief Spartan resurgence. Joined the Achaean <BR> League (see there). <BR> Hellenistic school of philosophy, founded in Athens by Zeno of Kition (Citium) in 310 <BR> B.C. Stressed life in harmony with the world, logic; taught that that good lies in the state <BR> of the soul itself, in wisdom and restraint. <BR> during antiquity, most important city on Sicily, Greek colony, founded by settlers from <BR> Corinth in 734 B.C.; in the 4th to 3rd centuries B.C. ruled by a succession of tyrants. <BR> Attracted Greek philosophers and scholars, among them Archimedes. Conquered by <BR> Rome after Siege of Syracuse 215-212 B.C. (part of the Second Punic War 218-201 B.C.). <BR> The Greeks first experienced War Elephants used by Persian Armies. They got their <BR> elephants trained for war from India. Hellenistic armies regularly included war elephants, <BR> from India (possibly Nubia also supplying trained war elephants). <BR> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "700"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> PRINTED REFERENCE : <BR> <A HREF = "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198606419/"><B>Oxford Classical Dictionary</B></A>, Oxford : UP, 3rd edition, 2003, 1704 pp., KMLA Lib.Sign. <B>R 938.003 S739o</B> <BR> </font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> </DIV> </DIV> <DIV align="center"> <A href="mailto:aganse@hotmail.com"> <IMG src="../../email.gif" border="0"></a><BR> </DIV><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <!-- Start of CH Counter --> <script type="text/javascript"> //<!-- // chCounter v2.0.0 // settings: cstatus = "active"; visible = "0"; path_to_counterfile = "http://www.zum.de/whkmla/counter/counter.php"; urlhp = "http://www.zum.de"; //////////////// url = unescape(location.href); file = url.substring(url.lastIndexOf(urlhp) + urlhp.length, url.length); file = (file.charAt(0) != "/") ? 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