Classical Greece: War, Empire, and Hellenistic Culture (Peloponnesian War to the Diadochi)

Peloponnesian War and Aftermath

The full flowering of Athens: democracy, wealth, naval power, and a de facto empire through the Delian League; wealth and sea-power underpin Athens’ influence.
The league starts as voluntary cooperation but becomes effectively mandatory as Athens keeps sea lanes and coerces participation.
The spark for the Peloponnesian War: a Spartan ally Megara shifts its allegiance to Athens, triggering major conflict between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies.
Phases of the war: multiple phases unfold over years; eventual outcome is a long, very destructive conflict that weakens both sides.
End-state of the war for Athens: much weakened; democracy temporarily loses power; Spartan rulers briefly dominate Athens before a new political arrangement re-emerges.
Broad consequences: a very long war causes widespread damage and weakens the Greek world, setting the stage for new power players.
Post-war fragmentation: instead of Greek city-states recovering, about fifty years of internal civil strife and small-scale wars occur across the region.
Rise of Macedon: to the north, Philip II of Macedon consolidates power and builds a regional state through diplomacy, military skill, and administrative ability.
Macedon’s advantage: while many Greek city-states are at war with one another, Macedon forms a capable, disciplined force including a cavalry advantage—military strength that underpins its dominance.
Philip II’s unification strategy: he stabilizes and unifies the northern Greek world, presenting himself as a unifier and creating the League of Corinth (also called the Coalition) with the aim of reconciling Greek city-states and focusing on Persia.
The path to Persia: Philip’s war plan centers on a coordinated effort to confront Persia again, reviving a Greco-Persian conflict on a new scale.
Philip’s assassination: palace intrigue leads to Philip II’s death; the crown passes to his son, Alexander the Great.
Age and capability of Alexander: Alexander is a prodigious military talent, reportedly around 18 years old when he begins leading major campaigns, with extraordinary strategic and tactical acumen.
Alexander’s early leadership: strong leadership, loyal soldiers, and a talent for both big-picture planning and battlefield execution allow rapid expansion of Macedonian power.

Rise of Macedon: Philip II and the path to Alexander

Philip II’s foundation: he lays the groundwork for a vast future empire by reorganizing Macedon, reforming the army, and uniting the Greek city-states under a common framework (the League of Corinth).
League of Corinth: a defense alliance under Macedonian leadership; aims to unite Greeks against Persia and to restore Greek prestige.
War plan against Persia: the strategic objective is to “get back at Persia” for past Greco-Persian wars, despite the earlier Greek victory in those wars; Persia attacked Greece multiple times in the past.
Assassination and succession: Philip II is assassinated; Alexander inherits the throne and inherits a powerful base, though without a long-term succession plan.
Athenians’ and Greeks’ views: some skepticism about Macedonian leadership, including debates about Macedon’s status as truly Greek; Athenians initially distrustful but eventually loose their stance as Macedon consolidates.
Age-related summaries: Philip II was likely middle-aged at death, roughly around the 46 age range, though precise dates are debated; Alexander is about 18 when he takes the field.

Alexander the Great: Conquests and Death

Alexander’s rise to commander: at a young age (approximately 18), leads a highly capable army; considered a military prodigy on par with later generals like Caesar, Hannibal, and Napoleon.
Campaign scope: within roughly a dozen years, he creates a vast empire that stretches from Greece through Asia Minor, across the Persian Empire, into the Near East and beyond into Central Asia.
Battle outcomes: Alexander wins every battle he fights; his campaigns cover deserts, deltas, mountains, and various terrains, requiring adaptation of tactics and strategy.
Darius III’s defeat: the Persian king is eventually defeated; Darius III flees the battlefield, is later killed by his own officers, and Persia falls under Alexander’s control.
Alexander’s policy toward conquered lands: he seeks to rule through a combination of Greek-elite governance and local administration; he restores or funds temples and shrines destroyed by Persians and returns control of laws and judiciary to local populations where possible.
Egyptian encounter: Alexander enters Egypt easily, is welcomed as a liberator from Persian rule, and is associated with the god Horus; he founds the city of Alexandria near the Nile Delta and is treated as a divine-leaning ruler.
Alexandria: founded by Alexander and later grown into a major center of learning and culture; it becomes a hub for scholars, trade, and science, ultimately rivaling Athens in scholarly prestige.
Cultural and religious policy: he refuses to impose Persian or Egyptian religion wholesale; he respects local traditions to some extent while still projecting an imperial Hellenistic influence.
Founding of Alexandria: named after Alexander; grows as a major Mediterranean city that persists long after his death; it becomes a symbol of cross-cultural exchange.
Egyptian governance and policy: Alexander restores traditional laws in Egypt and allows Egyptian governance structures to reassert themselves under a new regime rather than direct Persian-style rule.
The plunge into Persia and beyond: after establishing control in Egypt, Alexander and his forces push into the heart of Persia, eventually defeating Darius III’s successors and conquering vast territories in Asia and into the Indian subcontinent.
The journey across the Indus: Alexander’s campaigns extend into the region of today’s Afghanistan and the Indus Valley; accounts note the extraordinary logistical and tactical feats required to sustain a march across difficult terrain.
The turning point and decisions to turn back: after a prolonged campaign, Alexander’s troops demand to return; he agrees to turn back at a point near the Indus frontier, signaling the limits of conquest for his army.
Death and circumstances: Alexander dies in Babylon around the 32 or 33 age; possible causes include fevers/illness, battlefield injuries, and potential contributing factors such as heavy drinking; exact cause remains debated.
Posthumous power vacuum: Alexander leaves no durable plan of succession; his death triggers power struggles among his generals.
Aristotle and the Macedonian connection: Aristotle, tutor to Alexander, has a known link to Macedon; after Alexander’s death, Aristotle leaves Athens to an island where he dies a few years later; later Roman historians stress the influence of Alexander’s reign on later power dynamics.

The Diadochi and the Division of the Empire

Aftermath of Alexander’s death: a power vacuum leads to a series of wars among his generals (the Diadochi) over roughly the next few decades.
The major Hellenistic kingdoms emerge: three dynasties eventually dominate large portions of Alexander’s former empire:
- Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt (and parts of the Near East); founder: Ptolemy (the Ptolemies; note the silent 'P')
- Antigonid Dynasty in Macedon (and parts of the Peloponnese)
- Seleucid Empire in the Near East and Asia Minor; the Seleucid realm becomes the largest, though it fragments over time as dynastic struggles persist
The map and political structure: the empire fragments into patchworks under regional rulers; governance varies by region with a mix of Greek and local elites; no single governance model prevails across the former empire.
The Rome factor: Greece and the Hellenistic kingdoms interact with Rome in later centuries; Rome’s eventual conquest of Greece occurs during the period often described as between the 2nd and Punic Wars (roughly around the 2nd–1st centuries BCE), which will be addressed in later lectures.

Hellenistic Culture, Language, and Institutions

Meaning of Hellenistic: Greek (Hellenic) culture extended beyond classical Greece into the broader eastern Mediterranean and Near East; it is Greek in influence but heavily infused with Persian, Egyptian, and other local elements.
Language and dialects: a common Greek language emerges across the Hellenistic world; Greek serves as a lingua franca for trade and diplomacy; despite dialect differences, speakers can understand one another; Athenians initially questioned Macedonian Greek identity until a common Greek language emerged.
Education and philosophy as ideals: Greek education remains the standard ideal; Athens continues to be a center of philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle); the educational model spreads across the Hellenistic kingdoms.
Public culture and urban development: kings fund public buildings and monuments; philanthropy shapes urban development; cities named after rulers proliferate as a form of political legitimacy.
Alexandria as a center of scholarship: Alexandria rises to prominence as a center of learning in the Hellenistic world, rivaling Athens in scholarly prestige; the Library of Alexandria becomes the greatest library of the ancient world with estimates ranging from about 200{,}000 to 700{,}000 manuscripts; the Museum (a research institute, not a modern museum) hosts scholars and hosts a resident scholarly community.
The Library and textual study: textual analysis begins in earnest in Alexandria; scholars compare surviving copies of texts (e.g., Homer’s Iliad) to determine authentic versions; this is among the earliest known instances of critical textual scholarship.
Euclid and geometry: Euclidean geometry emerges as a foundational mathematical system during the Hellenistic era; geometry codified by Euclid becomes a central discipline in Alexandrian scholarship.
Aristarchus and heliocentrism: Aristarchus of Samos proposes the heliocentric model (Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun); this is a pioneering idea in ancient astronomy, though geocentrism remains dominant for many centuries.
Aristophanes of Alexandria and scientific exploration: the era includes advances in geography and science; Aristarchus’s heliocentric idea predates later scientific revolutions, though it does not replace the prevailing geocentric view at the time.
Eratosthenes and measuring the Earth: Eratosthenes (chief librarian at the Museion in Alexandria) makes significant measurements of Earth's circumference; his methods and calculations demonstrate advanced geometric reasoning using shadows and angles; his results are surprisingly close to actual values, illustrating the sophistication of Hellenistic science.
The museum, the academy, and the academy’s enduring legacy: the academy founded by Plato persists as a center of philosophical learning; the broader Hellenistic era preserves and expands on Classical Greek intellectual traditions while integrating innovations from across the empire.
Philosophy in the Hellenistic era: two dominant schools dominate the era:
- Stoicism (founded by Zeno of Citium): emphasizes virtue, living in accordance with natural law (logos), and maintaining an even keel through reason; emphasizes the social role, knowing one’s role (e.g., soldier, craftsman, merchant), and controlling thoughts and emotions (apatheia).
- Epicureanism (founded by Epicurus): focuses on seeking pleasure through prudent living and renunciation; emphasizes withdrawal from excessive social entanglements; not merely hedonistic but a disciplined approach to enjoyment and fear reduction.
Influence and legacy: Stoicism becomes highly influential in Rome (soldiers and elites) and later in medieval Europe (monastic and early Christian contexts); Epicureanism influences various segments of society but remains less dominant in political life.
Practical implications: the philosophies address ethics, personal conduct, and public virtue; Stoicism, in particular, provides a framework for personal resilience and civic responsibility in the context of vast imperial changes.

Post-Alexander World and Relevance to Rome

The cultural synthesis under the Hellenistic world sets the stage for Roman interaction with Greek culture and institutions.
The long-term influence of Alexander’s conquests: the spread of Greek language, education, philosophy, and science across a wide geographic area shapes later Roman culture and the Mediterranean world.
The shift in political power: Rome’s eventual emergence as a dominant power in the Mediterranean is foreshadowed by the Hellenistic world’s political fragmentation and cultural unity through language and learning.
Interconnected nature of culture and politics: the transcript emphasizes how political events (wars, alliances, conquests) interact with cultural and intellectual developments (language, education, philosophy, science), creating a lasting legacy that transcends political borders.
Forward-looking note: the instructor signals a return to a broader time frame by moving back to Rome’s rise and how Rome conquers Greece in the following lectures, indicating a transition from the classical to the Roman-dominated Mediterranean world.

Quick reference: key figures and terms

Philip II of Macedon: consolidates power, reforms the army, lays the groundwork for Alexander the Great, leader of the League of Corinth.
Alexander the Great: son of Philip II, a military genius who conquers the Persian Empire and extends Greek influence to India; founds Alexandria; dies in Babylon around 32 or 33.
Darius III: last major Persian king defeated by Alexander; killed by his own officers.
Aristotle: tutor to Alexander; his influence and eventual departure from Athens amid anti-Macedonian sentiment.
Zeno of Citium: founder of Stoicism; emphasizes virtue, rational order (logos), social duty, and emotional discipline.
Epicurus: founder of Epicureanism; promotes pleasure through prudent living and withdrawal from excessive desire.
Eratosthenes: chief librarian at Alexandria; measures Earth’s circumference with remarkable accuracy.
Euclid: author of foundational geometry, i.e., Euclidean geometry, developed during the Hellenistic period.
Hellēnistic: Greek-like or Greek-influenced culture that develops after Alexander, integrating Greek with Persian and Egyptian elements.
Alexandria: major city founded by Alexander; becomes a hub of learning, culture, and science; hosts the Library and Museum.
Diadochi: the successors of Alexander who fought among themselves for control of the empire, leading to the formation of the Hellenistic kingdoms (Ptolemaic, Antigonid, Seleucid).
League of Corinth (Defence League): coalition led by Philip II and Macedon; intended to unify Greece against Persia and organize future campaigns.