Western Civilization.p

Greek Culture and Its Hellenistic Diffusion 51

All three dynasties, the Antigonids, the Ptolemies,
and the Seleucids are called Hellenistic, presumably be-
cause their Hellenism was less pure than that of the po-
lis, but the term is unduly patronizing. The Hellenistic
period was one of unprecedented cultural borrowing
and transmission. Ideas, religions, and artistic motifs
from Egypt and the Middle East fused with those of the
Greeks and spread throughout the Mediterranean
world. Science, philosophy, and the arts flourished. But
the term is unfortunate for another reason. It implies a
uniformity that did not exist. Politically and socially,
the successor kingdoms differed widely from one an-
other. If they shared a certain veneer of Greek culture,
their problems were unique and for more than a cen-
tury they maintained a rivalry that sometimes degener-
ated into open war.
The chief foreign policy goal of the Ptolemies was
to protect the Nile delta from foreign invasion. This re-
quired the maintenance of a large navy and, from the
Egyptian point of view, control over Phoenicia and the
Syrian coast, which supplied the fleet with timber and

naval stores. The Seleucids resisted Ptolemaic claims to

Syria because they needed the Mediterranean ports to

maintain their trade with the west. After a series of

wars, the Seleucids ultimately gained control of both

Syria and Palestine, but not before the Antigonids, too,

became entangled in the web of Ptolemaic diplomacy.

Fearing an alliance between the Seleucids and the

Antigonids, the Ptolemies supported the growth of

Pergamum as a buffer state between the two kingdoms

and, whenever possible, stirred up anti-Macedonian

sentiment in Greece. This usually meant support for

one of the two leagues of city-states that formed in

third-century Greece: the Aetolian League in the west-

central part of the peninsula and the Achaean League,

headed by Corinth, in the northern Peloponnese.

Egyptian policy collapsed when, in about 230 B.C., the

Ptolemies also formed an alliance with Sparta. The

frightened Achaeans turned to the Antigonids for help,

and the Ptolemies, under attack by the Seleucid king,

Antiochus III, “the Great,” could do nothing to protect

the Aetolians. In the end Antiochus conquered Syria,

Pergamum

Ephesus

Persepolis

Alexandria

Damascus

Gaza

Ancyra

Seleucia

Pasargadae

Epiphaneia

Alexandria

Patala

Bucephala

Aral

Caspian Sea

Sea

Black Sea

Red

Sea

Arabian

Sea

Aegean

Sea

Ind

us

R.

Nil

e

R.

Tig

ris

R.

Euphr

ate

s

R.

River

Oxu

sR

.

Hyp

has

isR

.

DanubeR.

Cau

casus

Mts.

Arabian

Desert

Sahara

Ba

lka

nM

ts.

THRACE

INDIA

Susa

Rhodes

Cyprus

Tyre

SpartaAthens

Pella

Antioch

Issus 333 B.C. Gaugamela

331 B.C.

Bactra

Cyrene

Crete

Sardis

Za

gro

sM

ts.

Seleucid monarchy

Achaean League

Pergamene monarchy

Ptolemaic monarchy

Aetolian League

Antigonid monarchy

Alexander the Great's empire

Battle sites

Alexander's route

Granicus River

334 B.C.

Paraetonium

Siwah Memphis

0 300 600 Miles

0 300 600 900 Kilometers

Babylon

MAP 3.1

The Conquests of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Kingdoms