Hellenistic History Exam 2 ID Section

Herophilus of Chalcedon

• Date: c. 330–260 BCE
  
  

• Pioneering physician and anatomist in early Hellenistic Alexandria.
  
  

• Among the first to perform systematic human dissections, especially of the brain and nervous system.
  
  

• Distinguished between arteries and veins; advanced knowledge of internal organs.
  
  

• His empirical work reflected Alexandria’s scientific priorities under the Ptolemies and influenced later Greco-Roman medicine.

The Argonautica

• Date: 3rd century BCE
  
  

• Epic poem by Apollonius of Rhodes about Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece.
  
  

• Reimagines Homeric heroism with psychological depth, romantic tension, and inner conflict.
  
  

• Written in Alexandria for a scholarly audience and supported by the Ptolemaic court.
  
  

• Embodies Alexandrian literary traits: learned allusion, etiological narratives, and stylistic refinement.

Philoi

• Date: 3rd century BCE
  
  

• Greek term meaning “friends,” referring to close royal advisors and companions.
  
  

• Held major administrative and military authority in the king’s inner circle.
  
  

• Symbolized a fusion of personal loyalty with institutional governance.
  
  

• Essential to stabilizing and personalizing monarchical rule.
  

Royal Pages and Their Tutors

• Date: 3rd century BCE
  
  

• Young nobles, often from Macedonian families, raised at court as elite administrators or officers.
  
  

• Served as both trainees in leadership and informal hostages to secure family loyalty.
  
  

• Educated by respected scholars, reinforcing dynastic ideology and values.
  
  

• Strengthened Ptolemaic control by grooming a loyal, Hellenized elite.
  

The Library of Alexandria

• Date: Founded early 3rd century BCE
  
  

• State-funded institution under the Ptolemies to collect and preserve all known Greek texts.
  
  

• Part of the Mouseion, staffed by scholars such as Callimachus and Zenodotus.
  
  

• Edited, catalogued, and disseminated knowledge, serving as a hub of Hellenistic intellectual life.
  
  

• Represented Alexandria’s ambition to be the cultural capital of the Greek world.
  

Callimachus

• Date: c. 310–240 BCE
  
  

• Poet and scholar from Cyrene, active in Alexandria during Ptolemy II’s reign.
  
  

• Compiled the Pinakes, the Library’s catalogue, and pioneered short, refined poetic forms.
  
  

• Rejected Homeric-style epics in favor of hymns and epigrams marked by learned allusion.
  
  

  • His literary ideals became foundational for later Hellenistic and Roman poets.

Cyrene

• Date: Incorporated into Ptolemaic rule mid–3rd century BCE (via Berenice II’s marriage to Ptolemy III)
  
  

• Greek colony in North Africa and birthplace of Callimachus.
  
  

• Ruled independently for a time by Magas, Ptolemy II’s half-brother, during a period of hostility.
  
  

• Integrated into Ptolemaic Egypt through dynastic marriage.
  
  

• Served as a strategic outpost and contributor to Alexandrian intellectual life.