Greek Culture and Its Hellenistic Diffusion 53portunity knocked. The Syrians, Persians, and Babylo-
nians who made up the bulk of the population adopted
a few Greek ideas and customs while retaining their
own cultural identities.
The result was a cosmopolitan society held to-
gether largely by military force. The cities were unsta-
ble amalgams of contending ethnic and religious
groups. They had their own administrations and popu-
lar assemblies but were legally the possessions of the
king and had to deal with him through emissaries to
protect their interests. Riots were common. Koine,a uni-
versal Greek dialect, evolved as the language of trade
and administration but never fully displaced Aramaic or
the other tongues of the ancient Middle East. In the
countryside Greek influence remained negligible. Vil-
lage societies retained their traditional structure even
when they were regarded as part of the royal domain
and paid taxes directly to the crown. Some were allot-
ted to the cities by royal grant, while others were
legally subject to a variety of private landholders. The
forms of land tenure, taxation, and provincial adminis-
tration were diverse.
The Seleucid Empire survived for nearly three hun-
dred years largely because its cities and provinces had
no common basis for resistance to the crown and be-
cause—until the coming of the Romans—it faced no
serious outside threats. The conflicts with the Ptolemies
over Palestine and Syria and with the Antigonids over
portions of Asia Minor were largely settled by the early
second century B.C.Border provinces, especially in the
east and in Asia Minor, sometimes broke away, but the
royal administration was generally competent. If the
empire failed to attract the loyalty of its subjects, its
cosmopolitanism offered at least some of them in-
creased opportunities for profit.
Until the disorders of the first century B.C., the
eastern empire enjoyed a relative prosperity. No inter-
nal trade barriers were established, and the Seleucids
guaranteed the safety of caravans as a matter of policy.
Even when its leaders were fighting over Alexander’s in-
heritance, the entire Hellenistic world had been open
to commerce. A merchant in Damascus or Babylon
could trade unimpeded with Greece or Egypt. The
more adventurous sent their goods into India or traded
with Carthaginians and Romans in the west. Perhaps
the most enduring of Alexander’s legacies was the cre-
ation of a great world market in goods and ideas. It was
this, more than anything else, that led to what tradi-
tionalists called a dilution of Greek values. Under the
influence of Syria and Egypt, Greek legal traditions and
even the status of women began to change (see docu-
ment 3.4).
Egypt under the Ptolemies contrasted vividly with
the decentralized empire of the Seleucids. Egypt was a
far more homogeneous society than that of the old Per-
sian Empire, and Ptolemy I (d. c. 282 B.C.) had little
difficulty in substituting his own rule for that of the
pharaohs. After reaching an accommodation with the
country’s religious leaders, he established a royal despo-
tism that reached into every corner of Egyptian life.
With the exception of three Greek cities, only one of
which was established by the Ptolemies, all of the
country’s land was regarded as the property of the king.DOCUMENT 3.4
A Hellenistic Marriage Contract
This marriage contract, dated 311 b.c., between Heracleides
and Demetria, a Greek couple from the island of Cos on the
shores of Asia Minor, demonstrates how the status of women
had improved since the days of classical Attic Law. It not
only mentions Demetria’s mother, but also takes the infidelities
of the husband as seriously as those of his wife.Heracleides takes Demetria of Cos as his lawful
wife. He receives her from her father, Leptines of
Cos, and from her mother, Philotis. He is a free
man and she a free woman. She brings with her
clothes and jewels worth 1000 drachmas. Hera-
cleides will provide Demetria with all the require-
ments of a free woman. They shall live in whatever
place seems best to Leptines and Heracleides.
If Demetria is found to have done something
which disgraces her husband, she shall lose every-
thing she brought with her. And Heracleides shall
accuse her before three men chosen by the pair of
them. Heracleides shall not be permitted to wrong
Demetria by keeping another woman or having
children by another woman, nor to harm Demetria
in any way under any pretext. If Heracleides is
found to have done such a thing, Demetria shall
accuse him before three men whom they shall
have selected together. Heracleides shall then pay
Demetria back the 1000 drachmas she brought as
dowry and a further 1000 drachmas in Alexandrian
silver as recompense.
Préaux, Claire. “Le Statut de la femme à l’époque hellénis-
tique, principalment en Egypte.” In Julia O’Faolain and Lauro
Martines, Not in God’s Image: Women in History from the
Greeks to the Victorians.London: Temple Smith.