After studying this chapter, students should understand and be able to discuss the following:
That Hellenistic society was one of the first world-states to be organized on multiracial lines
The role of Alexander in giving a vision to Hellenistic civilization
A brief summary of Hellenistic economics, politics, and society
A comparison of Hellenistic women with those of Hellenic Greece
The major Hellenistic successor states to Alexander the Great's unified empire, their leading cultural characteristics, and how each state eventually fell to Rome
The Etruscans, their fate, and their influence on Roman civilization
The influence of the Greeks on Roman civilization, and the role of Rome as heir to Hellenistic civilization
The significance of the Punic Wars for Roman society and civilization
The major governmental differences between Hellenistic Greece and Republican Rome
The basic, enduring political and social values undergirding Roman Republican society, and how those values shaped governmental structure and procedure
The role of the paterfamilias and the Roman matron in Roman
The significance of class in both Hellenistic and Roman societies and politics and society
The largest Hellenistic city, Alexandria, and its chief contributions to the civilization of this age
How Hellenistic artists and writers adopted the Hellenic style and modified it into Hellenistic classicism
How Menander developed New Comedy and the ways it differed from the Old Comedy of the Hellenic period
The contributions and enduring influence of Theocritus, the chief writer of the Hellenistic period
The contributions of early Roman writers, such as Cicero, upon Rome and the Mediterranean world as a whole
The principles of the main Hellenistic philosophies (Cynicism, Skepticism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism), their leading spokespersons, and how they differed from one another
The teachings of the Hellenistic mystery cults and the belief in Fate
How Hellenistic religions and philosophies reflected the then-prevailing climate of opinion, especially in the cities
The syncretic nature of Roman religion
How Hellenistic scientists and mathematicians and Roman inventors contributed to the technology of the age
The characteristics of the Corinthian temple, as seen in the Olympieum, Athens
How today the Corinthian style is a symbol of Hellenistic influence
The altar of Zeus at Pergamum—both to recognize and describe
How Hellenistic rulers wanted to identify with Greek culture and to create cities that were "new" versions of Athens
The identifying characteristics of Hellenistic sculpture
Key examples of Hellenistic sculpture, recognizing them visually
How Hellenistic sculpture differs from Hellenic sculpture
Historic "firsts" of Hellenistic civilization that became part of the Western tradition: the union of Greek culture and politics for propaganda purposes; the concept of a capital city as a "new Athens"; the Corinthian temple; the literary forms of the pastoral and the idyll; the Alexandrian literary style; the earliest museum; a multiracial and multiethnic empire; the Hellenistic art style, including new images of women; and the philosophies of Cynicism, Skepticism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism
The role of Hellenistic civilization in transmitting the heritage of earlier civilizations: redefining Classicism to meet new needs, adopting the humanities as the curriculum in the schools, preserving the chief texts of Greek literature in Alexandria, expanding Greek science, making libraries into primary institutions in the large cities, and adopting the Near Eastern idea of a ruler-god
