Power Point presentation on the rise of the Macedonian Kingdom and the Hellenistic Age

1. THE RISE OF MACEDON: THE END OF THE HELLENIC AGE
I. Philip of Macedon (r. 359-336B.C.E.)
1. The youngest son of Amyntas III, the king of Macedon
a. As a young man, Philip was a hostage in Thebes at the time when Thebes
b. was the leading city-state in Greece under the leadership of
Epaminondas
Miniature ivory portrait identified as Philip II
of Macedon. Royal tomb at Verghina.

3. While in Thebes, Philip understood the importance of the hoplite phalanx and the
hoplite weapons and used this knowledge to reorganize the Macedonian army
1) Macedonian phalanx: 16-32 men deep; 8-16 men in each file
 Macedonian phalanx: 16-32 men deep; 8-16 men in each file
 Macedonian hoplites had to use both hands to carry and wield the sarissa.
 The small (24-inches in diameter) shield (pelte) was strapped to the left forearm
and could only protect the left shoulder
 The tight phalanx formation and the exceptional training and discipline of the
hoplites were a must.

4. 2. The Macedonian pike: the sarissa
 13-21 feet long, weighing over 12 pounds
 Consisted of two wooden shafts joined by a bronze collar (tube)
that were kept separated before battle
 This facilitated the march of the phalanx and, if broken, allowed the
sarissa to be ―divided‖ into two weapons during the battle
 In the front, the short iron head of the sarissa was shaped like a leaf
 In the back, a bronze shoe balanced the sarissa and allowed it to be
anchored firmly into the ground, creating a ―wall of pikes‖ in front
of the army
The bronze shoe
The iron head

5. 2. Conflict with Greek city-states
a. Philip II organized the kingdom of Macedon into a strong state and moved on
to expand its borders
b. Athens: Isocrates (436-388B.C.E.) lobbies for Philip vs. Demosthenes (384-
322B.C.E.) lobbies against Philip
Bust of the Athenian orator Demosthenes Bust of Isocrates. Plaster cast of the bust
(384-322B.C.E.) Roman marble copy of the formerly at Villa Albani, Rome. in
Greek bronze statue by Polyeuktos The Pushkin Museum, Moscow.
(ca. 280 B.C.E.). The British Museum,
London.

6. The Lion of Chaeronea was
erected by the Thebans to
commemorate Theban
hoplites who were killed at
Chaeronea.
In the Battle of Chaeronea in Boeotia in 338B.C.E., Philip II of Macedon defeated
Greek city-states lead by Athens and Thebes. This marked the loss of
independence of Hellenic (Greek)city-states (poleis) and the supremacy of
Macedon

7. 1. After the battle of Chaeronea, Greek city-states formed the Corinthian
(Hellenic) league (yellow color on the map)
2. Philip II became the hegemon (leader) and the commander in chief of the
Corinthian League

8. Philip II of Macedon was assassinated by a body
guard in October of 336. The reasons for his
assassination remain unclear.
Entrance to the tomb of Philip II of Macedon in Verghina, Greece. The door
is made of marble in the Doric style.

9. The Vergina Sun
The Golden Larnax that contains the remains (bones) from the burial of King Philip II
of Macedon and the royal golden wreath. Formerly located at the Thessalonica
Archaeological Museum, Greece, displayed since 1997 at the underground museum
stage of Verghina, inside the Great Tumulus. The larnax was placed in the marble
sarcophagus. It was made of 24 carat gold and weighing 24.25 pounds. Inside the
golden larnax were Philip’s bones and a golden wreath of 313 oak leaves and 68
acorns, weighing 1.6 pounds.

10. The golden crown consisting of 313 oak leaves and 68 acorns, weighing 1.6 pounds
was found in the tomb of Philip II of Macedon.

11. In the antechamber of Philip’s tomb, there was another sarcophagus with
another smaller golden larnax containing the bones of a woman wrapped in a
golden-purple cloth with a golden diadem decorated with flowers and enamel.
Most likely these belonged to Cleopatra, Philip II youngest wife.

12. Alexander III, ―The Great‖ (r. 336-323B.C.E.)
 After the assassination of his father Philip II in October of 336B.C.E.,
Alexander ascended to the throne of Macedon
 He put down the rebellion of the Greek city-states and destroyed Thebes
(335B.C.E.)
 He defeated king Darius III of Persia (Granicus 334B.C.E.; Issus 333B.C.E.)
 Egypt surrendered in 332B.C.E.
 After the visit to the sanctuary of Ammon at Siwah, Alexander announced
that he was the "Son of God"
 Alexander defeated of the Persians at Gaugamela (331B.C.E.)
 He entered India (327B.C.E.) through the Khyber Pass and reached the
Indus plain: defeat of Porus at Hydaspes
 Alexander died at the age of 32 (323B.C.E.)

13. II. ALEXANDER III ―THE GREAT‖ (r. 336-323B.C.E.)
A. Alexander put down the rebellion of the Greeks and destroyed
Thebes 335B.C.E.
B. Alexander defeated king Darius III of Persia
1. Battle of Granicus 334B.C.E.
2. Battle of Issus 333B.C.E.
C. Egypt surrendered 332B.C.E.
1. Alexander visited to the sanctuary of Ammon at Siwah
2. Alexander announced that he was the "Son of God"
D. Final defeat of the Persians at Gaugamela 331B.C.E.
1. Entered India through the Khyber Pass 327B.C.E.
a. Defeated King Porus at Hydaspes
Died at the age of 32 323B.C.E.

15. III. ALEXANDER’S GOALS
A. Basic questions
1. Was Alexander a ―Philosopher‖ king and the ―unifier of mankind‖
(collective wedding at Opis in 324B.C.E. and Alexander’s marriage
to Roxanne) as described by the Greek historian Plutarch (46-
120C.E.)?
2. Was Alexander a ruthless conqueror?
B. Alexander wanted to create a world state (Cosmopolis) held together
by Hellenic culture and ruled as an absolute theocratic monarchy
1. Used Attic dialect Koine as the official language
2. Wanted to rule as an absolute divinely appointed king
a. Wore Persian clothing and, demanded proskynesis, and
demanded to be addressed as the ―Great King‖
b. Married Persian princess Roxanne
c. Executed Macedonians and Greeks (Philotas, Cleitus, and
Callisthenes) who objected to the imposition of the customs
and ceremonies of the Persian absolute theocratic court

16. Roman copy (1st –2nd century C.E.) of Lysippus’ Hermes-type bust of Alexander the Great. The
original bore the inscription ―Alexander, Son of Philip, [king of] Macedonia‖. Pentalic marble.
Found in Tivoli, east of Rome. Most realistic of all portraits of Alexander.

17. ―Divine Alexander?‖
Egyptian alabaster statuette of Alexander the
Great in the Brooklyn Museum.
Statue of Alexander the Great at the Istanbul
Archaeology Museum.

18. IV. ALEXANDER’S LEGACY
A. Transformation from the POLIS to the COSMOPOLIS
1. Polis (Greek) = city-state + Cosmos (Greek) = ordered universe
2. Cosmopolis (Greek) = world state
B. Creation of the oikoumene
1. Oikos (Greek) = household
2. Oikein (Greek) = to inhabit
3. Oikoumenikos (Greek) = belonging to the whole inhabited world
4. Ecumenical = universal
C. Fusion of the Hellenic Civilization and the Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations
D. Preservation of classical knowledge and education (paideia

19. Hellenistic Kingdoms
1. Corinthian League (338-322B.C.E.): Confederation of Greek city-states
created by Philip II of Macedon. Dissolved after its defeat against the
Macedonian kingdom (the Lamian War)
2. Achaean League (280-146B.C.E.): Confederation of Greek city-states on the
Peloponnesus

20. II. Political system
A. Theocratic, autocratic, military monarchies
1. Lost value of citizenship: Citizens vs. subjects
B. Administration: Achaemenid model but dominated by Greco-
Macedonians
1. All Hellenistic kings (Syria/Egypt, Macedonia) are Greco-
Macedonians
2. Ruling class, military leadership, middle and upper classes are
Greco Macedonian
3. Official language: KOINE (Attic dialect of Greek)
C. Cities ARE NOT independent city-states
1. Cities ARE cultural, social, political, and administrative centers
2. Cities are good examples of great social disparities and social
tensions that exist in the Hellenistic world
D. Hellenistic Cosmopolis
1. Urban-centered and metropolitan civilization
2. Attempts of forced assimilation (the Maccabean Revolt)

21. Ptolemy VI Philometer (r.180-145B.C.E.)
As Egyptian Pharaoh As Hellenistic king

23. Hellenistic culture
 Syncretism (fusion) of Greek (Hellenic) culture and Ancient Near Eastern
culture
 Urban-centered and metropolitan civilization
 Art, philosophy, architecture: syncretism of Greek and Near Eastern
influences
Royal patronage of arts/culture/science
 Library and the Museum of Alexandria (500,000 papyri manuscripts)
 Library of Pergamum (200,000 parchment manuscripts)
Hellenistic Art
 Realistic and emotional
 Exquisite detail

24. Laocoön and his sons, also known as the Laocoön Group. Copied from the original (ca.
200 BC) by the three Rhodian sculptors Agesander, Athenedoros and Polydorus. Museo
Pio-Clementino, Vatican.

25. The Aphrodite of Milos. Marble statue (ca.130-100B.C.E.) by Alexandros of
Antioch. The Louvre Museum, Paris.

26. Winged Nike (Victory) of Samothrace.
Parian marble (ca. 190 B.C.E.) The Louvre
Museum, Paris.

27. The Dying Gaul. Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic statue from the late third
century B.C.E. The Capitoline Museum. Rome.

28. The Thermae Boxer. Boxer at rest. Roman
copy (3rd century C.E.) of a Hellenistic
statue (3rd century B.C.E.). Museo delle
Terme, Rome.

29. Hellenistic philosophy: cosmopolitan universalism of the Hellenistic Age
 Hellenistic philosophers reflect the plight of the ALIENATED INDIVIDUAL in the
Cosmopolis
 Search for the solution of human problems—quest for individual survival
 Reason (Epicureanism/Stoicism) vs. rejection of reason (Cynicism/Skepticism)
 Build on Hellenic and Eastern traditions
 WHAT is the PLACE of the INDIVIDUAL in the Oikoumene (the inhabited world)?
 Cosmopolitan universalism: prepared ground for political universalism (Rome)
and religious universalism (Christianity)
Hellenistic philosophies are not accessible to the uneducated, lower classes
 Epicureanism: gods are indifferent, insensitive, and irrelevant to human plight
 Stoicism: a deterministic and providential world-view
 Cynicism: extreme individualism and rejection of social norms
 Skepticism: complete inability to grasp the meaning of truth

30. Epicurus (ca. 341-270B.C.E.)
 Adopted Democritus’ atomism
 Established the Garden: the Epicurean
School
 Individual happiness = AVOIDANCE OF
PAIN
 Obstacles: fear of death and fear of the
gods
 Epicureanism denies a provident God;
affirms values of life and the world;
denies immortality; and describes a
randomly organized Cosmos
 Epicureanism is a complete opposite of
Epicurus leaning against his Christianity
disciple Metriodorus of Lampascus  Epicureans are NOT Hedonists
(the younger). Roman marble copy  hedone (Greek) = pleasure
of the Greek original (middle of the
2nd century C.E.)The Louvre
Museum, Paris.

31. Epicurean teachings
 Cosmos consists of matter and void
 Matter consists of indestructible and indivisible particles in a variety of
shapes (atoms)
 All combinations of atoms are random and finite in duration
 There are more worlds than this, and this world will eventually disperse
 Human beings are a combination of particularly fine atoms which form
both body and mind in a single entity
 Death simply means ceasing to exist--the extinction of consciousness --
there is NOTHING to fear
 The Epicurean Garden: withdraw from the world and engage in
intellectual discussion with friends
 Ataraxia: peaceful contentment--freedom from anxiety, particularly
freedom from the fear of death and an afterlife (divine retribution)

32. Zeno of Citium (ca. 335-263B.C.E.)
 Builds on the teachings of Heraclitus and Socrates
 Divine Reason (Logos) is the most important factor in
human behavior and in the divinely ordered Cosmos
 Individual happiness manifests itself in VIRTUOUS
LIFE
 Christians will use Stoic vocabulary to express
Christian theology
 The Word (Logos) = Christ
“When all things began, the Word already was. The Word
dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was. The
Word, then, was with God at the beginning, and through Him
all things came to be; no single thing was created without
Him. All that came to be was alive with His life, and that life
was the light of men. The light shines on in the dark, and the
Portrait of Zeno of darkness has never mastered it.”
Citium. Copy of a (John 1:1-9)
Greek original. The
Pushkin Museum,  Founded the tradition of the Natural Law (Rome);
Moscow. great influence on Cicero
 Last major Stoic of the Ancient World: Roman
emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180C.E.)

33. Stoic teachings
 Stoa poikile (Greek) = painted porch
 Divine Logos orders everything and is omnipresent and conceived as fiery air
 At certain intervals the whole world is destroyed and reborn in a great fire
before it repeats its predetermined history
 The only way to be happy is to live in harmony with the Logos
 To be free means to submit to the order of the Logos
 Manifestations of the Logos: fate/necessity and divine providence
 All contradiction in the Cosmos are ultimately resolved by the Logos
 The most important element of happiness is the virtuous state of the spirit,
NOT material circumstances
 External events are irrelevant: duty, self-control, and discipline are the most
important virtues
 Acceptance and endurance: human destiny is a link in an unbroken chain
 A Stoic is absolutely brave (pain and death are not evils); absolutely self-
restrained (pleasure is not a good); absolutely just (not influenced by injustice
or prejudice)
All human beings share in the Divine Logos and are members of the universal
human community (Oikoumene) that is a brotherhood of mankind and constitutes the
World City (Cosmopolis). Each individual must participate actively in the affairs of
the Cosmopolis and in doing so fulfill his duty. A slave (e.g. Epictetus) can be as
virtuous as a free man.

34. Antisthenes (fl. early 2nd century B.C.E.)
 Student of Socrates
 Major attack on ―civilized values‖ of the Ancient World
 Devotion to ―natural life‖
Cynics were considered to be misanthropes like the early
Christians
 anthropos (Greek) = man; human being
 misanathropos (Greek) = one hating humanity
Cynics were dedicated moralists not nihilists
 nihil (Latin) = nothing; nihilism = total rejection of
Marble portrait bust existing laws and institutions
of Antisthenes.  mores (Latin) = customs; morality =adhering to the
Roman copy of a principles of right conduct rather than legality or customs
lost Greek original
from around 300 Diogenes of Synope (ca. 400-323B.C.E.)
B.C.E. The British  Diogenes to Alexander the Great: “Get out of my light!”
Museum, London.  Diogenes to a slave buyer: “Sell me to him: he needs a
master!”
 Searched in the daylight with a lantern for a truly ―just‖
man

35. Cynic teachings
 Happiness is based on VIRTUE
 VIRTUE is the ONLY good: the essence of virtue is self-control
 Giving in to any external influences is beneath the dignity of human
beings
 Virtue is TAUGHT through the investigation of the MEANING OF WORDS;
a person who UNDERSTANDS the meaning of words UNDERSTANDS the
MEANING OF VIRTUE
 Whoever knows virtue must act virtuously; whoever attains the
knowledge of virtue never loses it
 Attachment to things in this world is the source of unhappiness
 kyion (Greek) = dog; kynikos (Greek) = dog-like
 One must renounce all material possessions, society, and pleasure
 One must reject conventions
 One must cultivate self-sufficiency: the ―natural life‖
 Taught against class inequalities, greed, and hatred and defied
conventions

36. “I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen
of the world…”
“I threw my cup away when I saw a child
drinking from his hands at the trough…”
“The mob is the mother of tyrants…”
“The great thieves lead away the little thief…”
“Time is the most valuable thing a man can
spend…”
Statue of Diogenes. Sinop, Turkey

37. Pyrrhon of Elis (ca. 360-272B.C.E.)
 skopein (Greek) = to look at; to examine
 skepticos (Greek) = a person who examines; a doubtful person
 Skeptics employ LOGIC to show the futility of the pursuit of metaphysical truth
 When trying to determine the truth, one must ask the following questions:
1. What is THIS, and what does IT consist of?
2. How am I RELATED TO IT?
3. What kind of ATTITUDE should I have TOWARD IT?
Skeptic teachings
 No truths can be known for certain
 One can only know how things appear, not what they actually are
 A happy person remains in the state of constant suspended judgment
 A happy person neither affirms nor denies the possibility of knowledge
 A happy person lives in the state of open-minded indifference and waits to see
what might emerge
 The process of ―truth finding‖ is indefinite: any conflict between the two
apparent ―truths‖ is settled by appeal to some other ―truth‖ which, in turn, must
be validated by another ―truth‖
 Akatalepsia: every statement of absolute truth contains its own contradiction
NOTHING is certain; not even THAT!

38. Popular beliefs and religious cults of the Hellenistic Age
Mystery religions: salvation and eternal blessings
 mysterion (Greek) = a secret thing
 religio (Latin) = consciousness; piety
 religare (Latin) = to bind together
 Mostly (but not exclusively) relevant to the lower classes
 Emotional and religious needs of the majority of the population are met by
mystery religions
 Syncretism: combination of Greek, Egyptian, Near-eastern religious beliefs
 Otherworldly: offer possibility of immortality and ―salvation‖ from the
imprisonment of THIS world
 Mostly relevant for the lower classes
 Sense of helplessness reflect the socio-political changes—the old commitment to
the polis no longer exists
 Individuals are looking for their place in the Cosmopolis
 Prepared the ground for Christianity

39. Cybele and Attis
 Cybele was originally an Anatolian mother goddess
 She became associated with the Greek Goddess
Demeter and with the Roman Magna Mater (―Great
Mother‖)
 According to myth, Cybele fell in love with a beautiful
shepherd, Attis (her son?)
 When she heard that he was about to marry a
princess (or fell in love with a nymph?), enraged
Cybele made him insane
 In a fit of madness, Attis castrated himself at the foot
of a pine tree
 The drops of his blood were transformed into violets
that sprang out of the earth
 Cybele who could not get over Attis’ death, used her
powers to restore him to life, and they were reunited
Marble statue of Cybele  Cybele then founded a cult with Attis as a main priest
(ca.60B.C.E.) found in in which the pine tree became a sacred tree
Formia, Campania.  Some ancient sources state that the priests of Cybele
and the most devoted followers of her cult castrated
themselves

40. Eleusinian mysteries: the legend of Demeter and
Persephone
 Demeter was the Earth goddess of the seasons and
the harvest
 Her daughter, Persephone, was abducted by
Hades, god of the Underworld
 Hades made Persephone his queen and the goddess
of the Underworld
 As Demeter searched for her lost daughter, life on
earth stopped
 In order to save the dying earth, Zeus sent Hermes to
bring Persephone back
 Hades agreed to let her go provided that she had not
eaten any food while in the underworld
 However, Persephone had eaten some pomegranate
Demeter, seated on her seeds after her abduction, and she had to return to
Throne, greets her daughter Hades for a period of the year which corresponds to
Persephone. autumn and winter months
 She returns every spring, the period of new life and
renewal on earth

41. Dionysus and his thiasus (ecstatic retinue). Upper tier of an Attic black-
figure krater-psykter/wine cooling vessel (ca. 525–500B.C.E.). The Louvre
Museum, Paris.

42. Dionysian mysteries: the ―irrational‖ side of life and the possibility of
―rebirth‖
 Zeus fell in love with Semele, the daughter of king Cadmus of
Thebes, and she conceived Dionysus
 Zeus promised Semele that he would give her anything she wanted
 Jealous Hera tricked Semele into asking Zeus to appear to her as a god
 Love-stricken Zeus could not refuse, and he came to Semele in a chariot
of thunder and lightening
 He directed a thunderbolt at Semele who died out of fright
 Zeus then took the six-month old Dionysus, placed him in his
thigh, and, in due time, ―gave birth‖ to him
 Dionysus was a god of wine, intoxication, ecstasy, and theatre, perceived
as man and animal, young and old, male and effeminate
 Festivals of Dionysus were often characterized by reversal of social
roles, cross-dressing by boys and men, drinking, and phallus-bearing
processions
 The practitioners of ―ritual madness,‖ the maenads, were women who
went to the mountains (e.g., Mt. Parnassus at Delphi) every other year to
participate in Dionysian rites
 Some of the rites involved sacrificing of a bull or a goat as manifestations
of Dionysus, mixing the animal blood with wine, and drinking it
 An alternative custom was tearing the body of the animal apart and
ingesting morsels of its flesh
 Dionysus is associated with life, death, and ―rebirth"

43. Tyche (Fortune) of Antioch. Marble statue,
Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue by
the Hellenistic sculptor Eutychides (3rd
century B.C.E.). Vatican Museum, Rome.

44. Imperial Cult: Imperator
Caesar Divi Filius
Augustus: ―Victorious
general, Divinely Favored
Caesar, the Son of God‖
The Gemma Augustea (1st century C.E.) is a low-relief cameo gem cut from a double-
layered Arabian onyx stone, commemorating Octavian’s rule. Octavian is represented
as Jupiter.

45. The cult of Good Fortune: Tyche
 Tyche is perceived as a goddess
Ruler cults
 Antigonus and Demetrius (ca. 307) in Athens
 Ruler cult of the Seleucids (Seleucid kingdom)
 Ruler cult of the Ptolemies (Ptolemaic Egypt)
 Ruler cult of the Attalids (Pergamum)
Sense of helplessness reflects socio-political changes
 Worship of deified rulers: political expression of loyalty to theocratic
states
 The commitment to the Hellenic polis no longer exists: citizens vs.
subjects
 Rome will control all Hellenistic kingdoms except Egypt by 146B.C.E.
 Octavian’s victory over Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII at Actium
(31B.C.E.) marks the end of the Hellenistic Age: Ptolemaic Egypt will
become a Roman Imperial province