Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Hellenistic Age
In the century following the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 BC) between Athens and
Sparta, the battle-weary city-states came under the rule of the Macedonian warrior king,
Philip II. But it would be his extraordinary young son and successor, Alexander the
Great, who would extend the Hellenistic idea across a vast empire. Alexander was ob-
sessed with carrying the ideal of Hellenism to as far a horizon as his genius and his
horse, Bucephalus, would take him. However, in Alexander's unstoppable blaze of glory,
Athens and its counterparts began to feel they were again ruled by a king. The city-states
felt disempowered by the loss of autonomy under the monarch. The Greeks now per-
ceived themselves as part of a larger empire, and it is this concept that characterises the
Hellenistic society. Contemporary arts, drama, sculpture and philosophy reflected grow-
ing awareness of a new definition of Greek identity.
Hellenism would continue to prosper even under Roman rule. As the Roman province
of Achaea, Greece experienced an unprecedented period of peace for almost 300 years,
known as the Pax Romana. The Romans had always venerated Greek art, literature and
philosophy, and aristocratic Romans sent their offspring to the many schools in Athens.
Indeed, the Romans adopted most aspects of Hellenistic culture, from its dress to its
gods, spreading its unifying traditions throughout their empire.
The Romans were also the first to refer to the Hellenes as Greeks, derived from the
word
graikos
- the name of a prehistoric tribe.
Alexander the Great is considered to be one of the best military leaders of all time: he
was never beaten in battle, and by the age of 30 he reigned over one of the largest an-
cient empires stretching from Greece to the Himalayas.
The Rise of Macedon & Alexander the Great
By the late 4th century BC, the Greeks were engineering their own decline. Sparta began
a doomed campaign to reclaim the cities of Asia Minor from Persian rule, bringing the
Persians back into Greek affairs where they found willing allies in Athens and an in-
creasingly powerful Thebes (Thiva). The rivalry between Sparta and Thebes culminated
in the decisive Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, where Thebes, led by Epaminondas, inflicted
Sparta's first defeat in a pitched land battle. Spartan influence collapsed and Thebes
filled the vacuum. In a surprise about-turn, Athens now allied itself with Sparta, and their
combined forces met the Theban army at Mantinea in the Peloponnese in 362 BC.
Thebes won the battle, but Epaminondas was killed; and without him, Theban power
soon crumbled.
