Greece And Rome- The History of the Hellenistic Period
(By Simon Price)
Map 5. The Hellenistic WorldThe Hellenistic period, the 300 years between the reigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon (336-323 B.C.) and Augustus, the first Roman Emperor (31 B.C.-A.D. 14), is often seen as an uninteresting and incoherent part of
Greek history. Falling between the two 'central' periods of classical Athens and Ciceronian or Augustan Rome, the period seems to be merely the melancholy story of the decline of the Greek city, subjected first to Alexander and
his successors and then to the Romans.
In fact the period has both internal coherence and topical interest. Its central feature is the establishment of Greek monarchies by Alexander and his successors which together controlled the area from Greece to Afghanistan. The
impact of these monarchies on the Greek world is the theme of this chapter. I shall start by outlining briefly the reign of Alexander and the history of the four main Hellenistic kingdoms. In the wake of Alexander's conquests the
new kingdoms consolidated the expansion of the Greek world: the kings founded new cities which ensured the dominance of Greek over native cultures. The connection visible here between political power and cultural