Section 4: The Spread of Hellenistic Culture
· Learning and Commerce
- There was a small group of wealthy people on top of a large group of poor people.
- The middle class was very small
- Alexander built new cities during his conquests.
- A new culture developed and old values faded.
- Women became more public
· Religion and Philosophy
- The new religions focused on satisfying people’s need for a sense of belonging.
- Ruler worship gave people a sense of civic duty.
- Mystery religions/cults revealed secrets about the unknown to believers.
· 4 new schools of philosophy: cynicism, skepticism, stoicism, and Epicureanism.
- Zeno believed that divine reason directs the world, and people should accept their fate without complaint.
- Everyone had a divine spark
- Epicurus taught that the aim of life is to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Followers should limit desires to avoid suffering.
· Science in the Hellenistic Age
- Mathematics and Physics
- Euclid made great advances in the study of geometry. He is used as the basis for geometry even today.
- Archimedes calculated the value of pi. He invented many machines like the Archimedes screw.
- Medicine
- Egypt was center of medical study.
- They used embalming to study the body.
- Astronomy and geography
- Aristarchus believed the earth and planets revolved around the sun. He couldn’t prove it.
- Eratosthenes calculated the distance around the earth. He did this by calculating the angle of the sun’s rays from different points of the earth.