MINGLING OF EAST AND WEST AFTER 359 B.C. [1]
39. PHILIP AND THE RISE OF MACEDONIA
MACEDONIA AND THE MACEDONIANS
The land of Macedonia, lying to the north of Greece, for a long time had
been an inconspicuous part of the ancient world. Its people, though only
partially civilized, were Greeks in blood and language. No doubt they
formed an offshoot of those northern invaders who had entered the Balkan
peninsula before the dawn of history. The Macedonian kings, from the era
of the Persian wars, seized every opportunity of spreading Greek culture
throughout their realm. By the middle of the fourth century B.C., when
Philip II ascended the throne, the Macedonians were ready to take a
leading place in the Greek world.
[Illustration: PHILIP II
From a gold medallion struck by Alexander]
PHILIP'S AIMS
Philip of Macedonia, one of the most remarkable men of antiquity, was
endowed with a vigorous body, a keen mind, and a resolute will. He was no
stranger to Greece and its ways. Part of his boyhood had been passed as a
hostage at Thebes in the days of Theban glory. His residence there gave
him an insight into Greek politics and taught him the art of war as it had
been perfected by Epaminondas. In the distracted condition of Greece, worn
out by the rivalries of contending cities, Philip saw the opportunity of
his own country. He aimed to secure for Macedonia the position of
supremacy which neither Athens, Sparta, nor Thebes had been able to
maintain.
THE MACEDONIAN ARMY
Philip's most important achievement was the creation of the Macedonian
army, which he led to the conquest of Greece and which his son was to lead
to the conquest of the World. Taking a hint from the tactics of
Epaminondas, Philip trained his infantry to fight by columns, but with
sufficient intervals between the files to permit quick and easy movements.
Each man bore an enormous lance, eighteen feet in length. When this heavy
phalanx was set in array, the weapons carried by the soldiers in the first
five ranks presented a bristling thicket of lance-points, which no onset,
however determined, could penetrate. The business of the phalanx was to
keep the front of the foe engaged, while horsemen rode into the enemy's
flanks. This reliance on masses of cavalry to win a victory was something
new in warfare. Another novel feature consisted in the use of engines
called catapults, able to throw darts and huge stones three hundred yards,
and of battering rams with force enough to hurl down the walls of cities.
All these different arms working together made a war machine of tremendous
power--the most formidable in the ancient world until the days of the
Roman legion.
CONQUESTS OF PHILIP
Philip commanded a fine army; he ruled with absolute sway a territory
larger than any other Hellenic state; and he himself possessed a genius
for both war and diplomacy, With such advantages the Macedonian king
entered on the subjugation of disunited Greece. His first great success
was won in western Thrace. Here he founded the city of Philippi [2] and
seized some rich gold mines, the income from which enabled him to keep his
soldiers always under arms, to fit out a fleet, and, by means of liberal
bribes, to hire a crowd of agents in nearly every Greek city. Philip next
made Macedonia a maritime state by subduing the Greek cities on the
peninsula of Chalcidice. [3] He also appeared in Thessaly, occupied its
principal fortresses, and brought the frontier of Macedonia as far south
as the pass of Thermopylae.
40. DEMOSTHENES AND THE END OF GREEK FREEDOM
DEMOSTHENES, 384-322 B.C.
Philip for many years had been steadily extending his sway over Greece. In
the face of his encroachments would Athens, Sparta, and Thebes, so long
the leading cities, submit tamely to this Macedonian conqueror? There was
one man, at least, who realized the menace to Greek freedom from Philip's
onward march. In Demosthenes Greece found a champion of her threatened
liberties.
[Illustration: DEMOSTHENES (Vatican Museum, Rome)
A marble statue, probably a copy of the bronze original by the sculptor
Polyeuctus. The work, when found, was considerably mutilated and has been
restored in numerous parts. Both forearms and the hands holding the scroll
are modern additions. It seems likely that the original Athenian statue
showed Demosthenes with tightly clasped hands, which, with his furrowed
visage and contracted brows, were expressive of the orator's earnestness
and concentration of thought.]
DEMOSTHENES AS AN ORATOR AND A PATRIOT
Demosthenes was the last, as well as the most famous, of the great
Athenian orators. When he first began to speak, the citizens laughed at
his long, involved sentences, over-rapid delivery, and awkward bearing.
Friends encouraged him to persist, assuring him that, if the manner of his
speeches was bad, their matter was worthy of Pericles. Numerous stories
are told of the efforts made by Demosthenes to overcome his natural
defects. He practiced gesturing before a mirror and, to correct a
stammering pronunciation, recited verses with pebbles in his mouth. He
would go down to the seashore during storms and strive to make his voice
heard above the roar of wind and waves, in order the better to face the
boisterous Assembly. Before long he came to be regarded as the prince of
speakers even in the city of orators. Demosthenes was a man cast in the
old heroic mold. His patriotic imagination had been fired by the great
deeds once accomplished by free Greeks. Athens he loved with passionate
devotion. Let her remember her ancient glories, he urged, and, by
withstanding Philip, become the leader of Hellas in a second war for
liberty.
LAST STRUGGLE OF THE GREEKS
The stirring appeals of the great orator at first had little effect. There
were many friends of Philip in the Greek states, even in Athens itself.
When, however, Philip entered central Greece and threatened the
independence of its cities, the eloquence of Demosthenes met a readier
response. In the presence of the common danger Thebes and Athens gave up
their ancient rivalry and formed a defensive alliance against Philip. Had
it been joined by Sparta and the other Peloponnesian states, it is
possible that their united power might have hurled back the invader. But
they held aloof.
BATTLE OF CHAERONEA, 338 B.C.
The decisive battle was fought at Chaeronea in Boeotia. On that fatal
field the well-drilled and seasoned troops of Macedonia, headed by a
master of the art of war, overcame the citizen levies of Greece. The
Greeks fought bravely, as of old, and their defeat was not inglorious.
Near the modern town of Chaeronea the traveler can still see the tomb
where the fallen heroes were laid, and the marble lion set up as a
memorial to their dauntless struggle.
PHILIP'S POLICY AS A CONQUEROR
Chaeronea gave Philip the undisputed control of Greece. But now that
victory was assured, he had no intention of playing the tyrant. He
compelled Thebes to admit a Macedonian garrison to her citadel, but
treated Athens so mildly that the citizens were glad to conclude with him
a peace which left their possessions untouched. Philip entered the
Peloponnesus as a liberator. Its towns and cities welcomed an alliance
with so powerful a protector against Sparta.
CONGRESS AT CORINTH, 337 B.C.
Having completely realized his design of establishing Macedonian rule over
Greece, Philip's restless energy drove him forward to the next step in his
ambitious program. He determined to carry out the plans, so long cherished
by the Greeks, for an invasion of Asia Minor and, perhaps, of Persia
itself. In the year 337 B.C. a congress of all the Hellenic states met at
Corinth under Philip's presidency. The delegates voted to supply ships and
men for the great undertaking and placed Philip in command of the allied
forces. A Macedonian king was to be the captain-general of Hellas.
DEATH OF PHILIP, 336 B.C.
But Philip was destined never to lead an army across the Hellespont. Less
than two years after Chaeronea he was killed by an assassin, and the
scepter passed to his young son, Alexander.
[Illustration: ALEXANDER (Glyptothek, Munich)
Probably an authentic portrait of the youthful Alexander about 338 B.C.]
41. ALEXANDER THE GREAT
THE YOUTHFUL ALEXANDER
Alexander was only twenty years of age when he became ruler of Macedonia.
From his father he inherited the powerful Frame, the kingly figure, the
masterful will, which made so deep an impression on all his
contemporaries. His mother, a proud and ambitious woman, told him that the
blood of Achilles ran in his veins, and bade him emulate the deeds of that
national hero. We know that he learned the _Iliad_ by heart and always
carried a copy of it on his campaigns. As he came to manhood, Alexander
developed into a splendid athlete, skillful in all the sports of his
rough-riding companions, and trained in every warlike exercise.
EDUCATION OF ALEXANDER BY ARISTOTLE
Philip believed that in Alexander he had a worthy son, for he persuaded
Aristotle, [4] the most learned man in Greece, to become the tutor of the
young prince. The influence of that philosopher remained with Alexander
throughout life. Aristotle taught him to love Greek art and science, and
instilled into his receptive mind an admiration for all things Grecian.
Alexander used to say that, while he owed his life to his father, he owed
to Aristotle the knowledge of how to live worthily.
ALEXANDER CRUSHES REBELLION
The situation which Alexander faced on his accession might well have
dismayed a less dauntless spirit. Philip had not lived long enough to
unite firmly his wide dominions. His unexpected death proved the signal
for uprisings and disorder. The barbarous Thracians broke out in
widespread rebellion, and the Greeks made ready to answer the call of
Demosthenes to arms. But Alexander soon set his kingdom in order. After
crushing the tribes of Thrace, he descended on Greece and besieged Thebes,
which had risen against its Macedonian garrison. The city was soon
captured; its inhabitants were slaughtered or sold into slavery; and the
place itself was destroyed. The terrible fate of Thebes induced the other
states to submit without further resistance.
SEEMING STRENGTH OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
With Greece pacified, Alexander could proceed to the invasion of Persia.
Since the days of Darius the Great the empire had remained almost intact--
a huge, loosely-knit collection of many different peoples, whose sole bond
of union was their common allegiance to the Great King. [5] Its resources
were enormous. There were millions of men for the armies and untold wealth
in the royal treasuries. Yet the empire was a hollow shell.
EXPEDITION OF THE "TEN THOUSAND," 401-400 B.C.
Some seventy years before Alexander set forth on his expedition the Greeks
had witnessed a remarkable disclosure of the military weakness of Persia.
One of those rare revolts which troubled the security of the Persian
Empire broke out in Asia Minor. It was headed by Cyrus the Younger, a
brother of the Persian monarch. Cyrus gathered a large body of native
troops and also hired about ten thousand Greek soldiers. He led this mixed
force into the heart of the Persian dominions, only to fall in battle at
Cunaxa, near Babylon. The Greeks easily routed the enemy arrayed against
them, but the death of Cyrus made their victory fruitless. In spite of
their desperate situation the Greeks refused to surrender and started to
return homewards. The Persians dogged their footsteps, yet never ventured
on a pitched battle. After months of wandering in Assyria and Armenia the
little band of intrepid soldiers finally reached Trapezus, (Modern
Trebizond) a Greek city on the Black Sea.
[Illustration: Map, ROUTE OF THE TEN THOUSAND]
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EXPEDITION
The story of this invasion of Persia and the subsequent retreat was
written by the Athenian Xenophon [6] in his _Anabasis_. It is one of the
most interesting books that have come down to us from antiquity. We can
judge from it how vivid was the impression which the adventures of the
"Ten Thousand" made on the Greeks of Xenophon's time. A small army had
marched to the center of the Persian dominions, had overcome a host many
times its size, and had returned to Greece in safety. It was clear proof
that the Persian power, however imposing on the outside, could offer no
effective resistance to an attack by a strong force of disciplined Greek
soldiers. Henceforth the Greeks never abandoned the idea of an invasion of
Persia.
ALEXANDER'S INVASION
The gigantic task fell, however, to Alexander, as the champion of Hellas
against the "barbarians." With an army of less than forty thousand men
Alexander destroyed an empire before which, for two centuries, all Asia
had been wont to tremble. History, ancient or modern, contains no other
record of conquests so widespread, so thorough, so amazingly rapid.
42. CONQUEST OF PERSIA AND THE FAR EAST, 334-323 B.C.
BATTLE OF THE GRANICUS, 334 B.C.
Alexander crossed the Hellespont in the spring of the year 334 B.C. He
landed not far from the historic plain of Troy and at once began his march
along the coast. Near the little river Granicus the satraps of Asia Minor
had gathered an army to dispute his passage. Alexander at once led his
cavalry across the river in an impetuous charge, which soon sent the
Persian troops in headlong flight. The victory cost the Macedonians
scarcely a hundred men; but it was complete. As Alexander passed
southward, town after town opened its gates--first Sardis, next Ephesus,
then all the other cities of Ionia. They were glad enough to be free of
Persian control. Within a year Asia Minor was a Macedonian possession.
BATTLE OF ISSUS, 333 B.C.
In the meantime Darius III, the Persian king, had been making extensive
preparations to meet the invader. He commanded half a million men, but he
followed Alexander too hastily and had to fight in a narrow defile on the
Syrian coast between the mountains and the sea. In such cramped quarters
numbers did not count. The battle became a massacre, and only the approach
of night stayed the swords of the victorious Macedonians. A great quantity
of booty, including the mother, wife, and children of Darius, fell into
Alexander's hands. He treated his royal captives kindly, but refused to
make peace with the Persian king.
[Illustration: THE ALEXANDER MOSAIC (Naples Museum)
This splendid mosaic composed of pieces of colored glass formed the
pavement of a Roman house at Pompeii in Italy. It represents the charge of
Alexander (on horseback at the left) against the Persian king in his
chariot, at the battle of Issus.]
CAPTURE OF TYRE, 332 B.C.
The next step was to subdue the Phoenician city of Tyre, the headquarters
of Persia's naval power. The city lay on a rocky island, half a mile from
the shore. Its fortifications rose one hundred feet above the waves.
Although the place seemed impregnable, Alexander was able to capture it
after he had built a mole, or causeway, between the shore and the island.
Powerful siege engines then breached the walls, the Macedonians poured in,
and Tyre fell by storm. Thousands of its inhabitants perished and
thousands more were sold into slavery. The great emporium of the East
became a heap of ruins.
ALEXANDER IN EGYPT
From Tyre Alexander led his ever-victorious army through Syria into Egypt.
The Persian forces here offered little resistance, and the Egyptians
themselves welcomed Alexander as a deliverer. The conqueror entered
Memphis in triumph and then sailed down the Nile to its western mouth,
where he laid the foundations of Alexandria, a city which later became the
metropolis of the Orient.
ALEXANDER IN LIBYA
Another march brought Alexander to the borders of Libya, Here he received
the submission of Cyrene, the most important Greek colony in Africa. [7]
Alexander's dominions were thus extended to the border of the Carthaginian
possessions. It was at this time that Alexander visited a celebrated
temple of the god Amon, located in an oasis of the Libyan desert. The
priests were ready enough to hail him as a son of Amon, as one before whom
his Egyptian subjects might bow down and adore. But after Alexander's
death his worship spread widely over the world, and even the Roman Senate
gave him a place among the gods of Olympus.
BATTLE OF ARBELA, 331 B.C.
The time had now come to strike directly at the Persian king. Following
the ancient trade routes through northern Mesopotamia, Alexander crossed
the Euphrates and the Tigris and, on a broad plain not far from the ruins
of ancient Nineveh, [8] found himself confronted by the Persian host.
Darius held an excellent position and hoped to crush his foe by sheer
weight of numbers. But nothing could stop the Macedonian onset; once more
Darius fled away, and once more the Persians, deserted by their king,
broke up in hopeless rout.
END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
The battle of Arbela decided the fate of the Persian Empire. It remained
only to gather the fruits of victory. The city of Babylon surrendered
without a struggle. Susa, with its enormous treasure, fell into the
conqueror's hands. Persepolis, the old Persian capital, was given up to
fire and sword. [9] Darius himself, as he retreated eastward, was murdered
by his own men. With the death of Darius the national war of Greece
against Persia came to an end.
CONQUEST OF IRAN
The Macedonians had now overrun all the Persian provinces except distant
Iran and India. These countries were peopled of by warlike tribes of a
very different stamp from the effeminate Persians. Alexander might well
have been content to leave them undisturbed, but the man could never rest
while there were still conquests to be made. Long marches and much hard
fighting were necessary to subdue the tribes about the Caspian and the
inhabitants of the countries now known as Afghanistan and Turkestan.
[Illustration: Map, EMPIRE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT About 323 B.C.]
CONQUEST OF INDIA
Crossing the lofty barrier of the Hindu-Kush, Alexander led his weary
soldiers into northwestern India, where a single battle added the Persian
province of the Punjab [10] to the Macedonian possessions. Alexander then
pressed forward to the conquest of the Ganges valley, but in the full tide
of victory his troops refused to go any farther. They had had their fill
of war and martial glory; they would conquer no more lands for their
ambitious king. Alexander gave with reluctance the order for the homeward
march.
ALEXANDER'S RETURN TO BABYLON
Alexander was of too adventurous a disposition to return by the way he had
come. He resolved to reach Babylon by a new route. He built a navy on the
Indus and had it accompany the army down the river. At the mouth of the
Indus Alexander dispatched the fleet under his admiral, Nearchus, to
explore the Indian Ocean and to discover, if possible, a sea route between
India and the West. He himself led the army, by a long and toilsome march
through the deserts of southern Iran, to Babylon. That city now became the
capital of the Macedonian Empire.
DEATH OF ALEXANDER, 323 B.C.
Scarcely two years after his return, while he was planning yet more
extensive conquests in Arabia, Africa, and western Europe, he was smitten
by the deadly Babylonian fever. In 323 B.C., after several days of
illness, the conqueror of the world passed away, being not quite thirty-
three years of age.
43. THE WORK OF ALEXANDER
ALEXANDER AS WARRIOR AND STATESMAN
Alexander the Great was one of the foremost, perhaps the first, of the
great captains of antiquity. But he was more than a world-conqueror; he
was a statesman of the highest order. Had he been spared for an ordinary
lifetime, there is no telling how much he might have accomplished. In
eleven years he had been able to subdue the East and to leave an impress
upon it which was to endure for centuries. And yet his work had only
begun. There were still lands to conquer, cities to build, untrodden
regions to explore. Above all, it was still his task to shape his
possessions into a well-knit, unified empire, which would not fall to
pieces in the hands of his successors. His early death was a calamity, for
it prevented the complete realization of his splendid ambitions.
HELLENIZING OF THE ORIENT
The immediate result of Alexander's conquests was the disappearance of the
barriers which had so long shut in the Orient. The East, until his day,
was an almost unknown land. Now it lay open to the spread of Greek
civilization. In the wake of the Macedonian armies followed Greek
philosophers and scientists, Greek architects and artists, Greek
colonists, merchants, and artisans. Everywhere into that huge, inert,
unprogressive Oriental world came the active and enterprising men of
Hellas. They brought their arts and culture and became the teachers of
those whom they had called "barbarians."
FUSION OF EAST AND WEST
The ultimate result of Alexander's conquests was the fusion of East and
West. He realized that his new empire must contain a place for Oriental,
as well as for Greek and East and Macedonian, subjects. It was Alexander's
aim, therefore, to build up a new state in which the distinction between
the European and the Asiatic should gradually pass away. He welcomed
Persian nobles to his court and placed them in positions of trust. He
organized the government of his provinces on a system resembling that of
Darius the Great. [11] He trained thousands of Persian soldiers to replace
the worn-out veterans in his armies. He encouraged by liberal dowries
mixed marriages between Macedonians and Orientals, and himself wedded the
daughter of the last Persian king. To hold his dominions together and
provide a meeting place for both classes of his subjects, he founded no
less than seventy cities in different parts of the empire. Such measures
as these show that Alexander had a mind of wide, even cosmopolitan,
sympathies. They indicate the loss which ancient civilization suffered by
his untimely end.
[Illustration: SARCOPHAGUS FROM SIDON (Imperial Ottoman Museum,
Constantinople.)
One of eighteen splendid sarcophagi discovered in 1887 A.D. in an ancient
cemetery at Sidon. The sculptures on the longer sides represent two scenes
from the life of Alexander--the one a battle, the other a lion hunt. The
figures, in almost full relief, are delicately painted. ]
44. HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS AND CITIES
THE THREE GREAT KINGDOMS
The half century following Alexander's death is a confused and troubled
period in ancient history. The king had left no legitimate son--no one
with an undisputed title to the succession. On his deathbed Alexander had
himself declared that the realm should go "to the strongest." [12] It was
certain, under these circumstances, that his possessions would become the
prey of the leading Macedonian generals. The unwieldy empire at length
broke in pieces. Out of the fragments arose three great states, namely,
Macedonia, Egypt, and Syria. The kingdom of Egypt was ruled by Ptolemy,
one of Alexander's generals. Seleucus, another of his generals,
established the kingdom of Syria. It comprised nearly all western Asia.
These kingdoms remained independent until the era of Roman conquest in the
East.
[Illustration: A GREEK CAMEO (Museum, Vienna)
Cut in sardonyx. Represents Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, and his
wife Arsinoë.]
MINOR INDEPENDENT STATES
Several small states also arose from the break-up of Alexander's empire.
[13] Each had its royal dynasty, its capital city, and its own national
life. Thus the conquests of Alexander, instead of establishing a world-
power under one ruler, led to the destruction of the unity of government
which Persia had given to the East.
CITY LIFE IN THE ORIENT
More significant for the history of civilization than these kingdoms were
the Hellenistic [14] cities, which from the time of Alexander arose in
every part of the eastern world. Some were only garrison towns in the
heart of remote provinces or outposts along the frontiers. Many more,
however, formed busy centers of trade and industry, and became seats of
Greek influence in the Orient. Such cities were quite unlike the old Greek
city-states. [15] They were not free and independent, but made a part of
the kingdom in which they were situated. The inhabitants consisted of
Greeks and Macedonians, comprising the governing class, together with
native artisans and merchants who had abandoned their village homes for
life in a metropolis. In appearance, also, these cities contrasted with
those of old Greece. They had broad streets, well paved and sometimes
lighted at night, enjoyed a good water supply, and possessed baths,
theaters, and parks.
ALEXANDRIA
In the third century B.C. the foremost Hellenistic city was Alexandria. It
lay on a strip of flat, sandy land separating Lake Mareotis from the
Mediterranean. On the one side was the lake-harbor, connected with the
Nile; on the other side were two sea-harbors, sheltered from the open sea
by the long and narrow island of Pharos. [16] The city possessed a
magnificent site for commerce. It occupied the most central position that
could be found in the ancient world with respect to the three continents,
Africa, Asia, and Europe. The prosperity which this port has enjoyed for
more than two thousand years is ample evidence of the wisdom which led to
its foundation.
ANTIOCH
The chief city in the kingdom of Syria was splendid and luxurious Antioch.
It lay in the narrow valley of the Orontes River, so close to both the
Euphrates and the Mediterranean that it soon became an important
commercial center. The city must have been a most delightful residence,
with its fine climate, its location on a clear and rapid stream, and the
near presence of the Syrian hills. In the sixth century A.D. repeated
earthquakes laid Antioch in ruins. The city never recovered its
prosperity, though a modern town, Antakia, still marks the site of the
once famous capital.
[Illustration: Map, THE KINGDOMS OF ALEXANDER'S SUCCESSORS (About 200
B.C.), Before the Roman Macedonian Wars]
[Illustration: THE DYING GAUL (Capitoline Museum, Rome)
The statue represents a Gaul who in battle has fallen on his sword to
avoid a shameful captivity. Overcome by the faintness of death he sinks
upon his shield, his head dropping heavily forward. Though realistic the
statue shows nothing violent or revolting. It is a tragedy in stone.]
PERGAMUM
Asia Minor, during this period, contained many Hellenistic cities. One of
the most important was Pergamum, the capital of a small but independent
kingdom of the same name. Its rulers earned the gratitude of all the
Greeks by their resistance to the terrible Gauls. About fifty years after
Alexander's death this barbarous people, pouring down from central Europe,
had ravaged Greece and invaded Asia Minor. The kings of Pergamum
celebrated their victories over the Gauls with so many works of
architecture and sculpture that their city became the artistic rival of
Athens.
RHODES
One other great Hellenistic center existed in the island city of Rhodes.
Founded during the closing years of the Peloponnesian War, Rhodes soon
distanced Athens in the race for commercial supremacy. The merchants of
Rhodes framed admirable laws, especially for business affairs, and many of
these were incorporated in the Roman code. Rhodes was celebrated for art.
No less than three thousand statues adorned the streets and public
buildings. It was also a favorite place of education for promising orators
and writers. During Roman days many eminent men, Cicero and Julius Caesar
among them, studied oratory at Rhodes.
45. THE HELLENISTIC AGE
HELLENISTIC LITERATURE
These splendid cities in the Orient were the centers of much literary
activity. Their inhabitants, whether Hellenic or "barbarian," used Greek
as a common language. During this period Greek literature took on a
cosmopolitan character. It no longer centered in Athens. Writers found
their audiences in all lands where Greeks had settled. At the same time
literature became more and more an affair of the study. The authors were
usually professional bookmen writing for a bookish public. They produced
many works of literary criticism, prepared excellent grammars and
dictionaries, but wrote very little poetry or prose of enduring value.
THE MUSEUM AT ALEXANDRIA
The Hellenistic Age was distinguished as an age of learning. Particularly
was this true at Alexandria, where the Museum, founded by the first
Macedonian king of Egypt, became a real university. It contained galleries
of art, an astronomical observatory, and even zoological and botanical
gardens. The Museum formed a resort for men of learning, who had the
leisure necessary for scholarly research. The beautiful gardens, with
their shady walks, statues, and fountains, were the haunt of thousands of
students whom the fame of Alexandria attracted from all parts of the
civilized world.
THE ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY
In addition to the Museum there was a splendid library, which at one time
contained over five hundred thousand manuscripts--almost everything that
had been written in antiquity. The chief librarian ransacked private
collections and purchased all the books he could find. Every book that
entered Egypt was brought to the Library, where slaves transcribed the
manuscript and gave a copy to the owner in place of the original. Before
this time the manuscripts of celebrated works were often scarce and always
in danger of being lost. Henceforth it was known where to look for them.
[Illustration: LAOCOON AND HIS CHILDREN (Vatican Museum Rome)
A product of the art school of Rhodes (about 150 B.C.). The statue
represents the punishment inflicted on Laocoon a Trojan priest together
with his two sons. A pair of large serpents sent by the offended gods have
seized the unhappy victims.]
[Illustration: VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE (Louvre, Paris)
Commemorates a naval battle fought in 306 B.C. The statue, which is
considerably above life-size, stood on a pedestal having the form of a
ship's prow. The goddess of Victory was probably represented holding a
trumpet to her lips with her right hand. The fresh ocean breeze has blown
her garments back into tumultuous folds.]
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
The Hellenistic Age was remarkable for the rapid advance of scientific
knowledge. Most of the mathematical works of the Greeks date from this
epoch. Euclid wrote a treatise on geometry which still holds its place in
the schools. Archimedes of Syracuse, who had once studied at Alexandria,
made many discoveries in engineering. A water screw of his device is still
in use. He has the credit for finding out the laws of the lever. "Give me
a fulcrum on which to rest," he said, "and I will move the earth." The
Hellenistic scholars also made remarkable progress in medicine. The
medical school of Alexandria was well equipped with charts, models, and
dissecting rooms for the study of the human body. During the second
century of our era all the medical knowledge of antiquity was gathered up
in the writings of Galen (born about 130 A.D.). For more than a thousand
years Galen of Pergamum remained the supreme authority in medicine.
ANCIENT AND MODERN SCIENCE COMPARED
In scientific work it seems as if the Greeks had done almost all that
could be accomplished by sheer brain power aided only by rude instruments.
They had no real telescopes or microscopes, no mariner's compass or
chronometer, and no very delicate balances. Without such inventions the
Greeks could hardly proceed much farther with their researches. Modern
scientists are perhaps no better thinkers than were those of antiquity,
but they have infinitely better apparatus and can make careful experiments
where the Greeks had to rely on shrewd guesses.
EXTENSION OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE
During the Hellenistic Age men began to gain more accurate ideas regarding
the shape and size of the habitable globe. Such events as the expedition
of the "Ten Thousand" [17] and Alexander's conquests in central Asia and
India brought new information about the countries and peoples of the
Orient. During Alexander's lifetime a Greek named Pytheas, starting from
Massilia, [18] made an adventurous voyage along the shores of Spain and
Gaul and spent some time in Britain. He was probably the first Greek to
visit that island.
ERATOSTHENES, ABOUT 276-194 B.C.
All this new knowledge of East and West was soon gathered together by
Eratosthenes, the learned librarian of Alexandria. He was the founder of
scientific geography. Before his time some students had already concluded
that the earth is spherical and not flat, as had been taught in the
Homeric poems. [19] Guesses had even been made of the size of the earth.
Eratosthenes by careful measurements came within a few thousand miles of
its actual circumference. Having estimated the size of the earth,
Eratosthenes went on to determine how large was its habitable area. He
reached the conclusion that the distance from the strait of Gibraltar to
the east of India was about one-third of the earth's circumference. The
remaining two-thirds, he thought, was covered by the sea. And with what
seems a prophecy he remarked that, if it was not for the vast extent of
the Atlantic Ocean, one might almost sail from Spain to India along the
same parallel of latitude.
[Illustration: PROGRESS OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE IN ANTIQUITY
Map, The World according to Eratosthenes, 200 B.C.
Map, The World according to Ptolemy, 150 A.D.]
PTOLEMY
The next two centuries after Eratosthenes saw the spread of Roman rule
over Greeks and Carthaginians in the Mediterranean and over the barbarous
inhabitants of Gaul, Britain, and Germany. The new knowledge thus gained
was summed up in the Greek _Geography_ by Ptolemy [20] of Alexandria. His
famous map shows how near he came to the real outlines both of Europe and
Asia.
THE PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM
Ptolemy was likewise an eminent astronomer. He believed that the earth was
the center of the universe and that the sun, planets, and fixed stars all
revolved around it. This Ptolemaic system was not overthrown until the
grand discovery of Copernicus in the sixteenth century of our era.
46. THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD
THE NEW LUXURY
The Hellenistic Age was characterized by a general increase in wealth. The
old Greeks and Macedonians, as a rule, had been content to live plainly.
Now kings, nobles, and rich men began to build splendid palaces and to
fill them with the products of ancient art--marbles from Asia Minor, vases
from Athens, Italian bronzes, and Babylonian tapestries. They kept up
great households with endless lords in waiting, ladies of honor, pages,
guards, and servants. Soft couches and clothes of delicate fabric replaced
the simple coverlets and coarse cloaks of an earlier time. They possessed
rich carpets and hangings, splendid armor and jewelry, and gold and silver
vessels for the table. The Greeks thus began to imitate the luxurious
lives of Persian nobles.
THE SEA ROUTE TO INDIA
These new luxuries flowed in from all parts of the ancient world. Many
came from the Far East in consequence of the rediscovery of the sea route
to India, by Alexander's admiral, Nearchus. [21] The voyage of Nearchus
was one of the most important results of Alexander's eastern conquests. It
established the fact, which had long been forgotten, that one could reach
India by a water route much shorter and safer than the caravan roads
through central Asia. [22] Somewhat later a Greek sailor, named Harpalus,
found that by using the monsoons, the periodic winds which blow over the
Indian Ocean, he could sail direct from Arabia to India without
laboriously following the coast. The Greeks, in consequence, gave his name
to the monsoons.
ORIENTAL INFLUENCE ON THE GREEKS
All this sudden increase of wealth, all the thousand new enjoyments with
which life was now adorned and enriched, did not work wholly for good.
With luxury there went, as always, laxity in morals. Contact with the vice
and effeminacy of the East tended to lessen the manly vigor of the Greeks,
both in Asia and in Europe. Hellas became corrupt, and she in turn
corrupted Rome.
GREEK INFLUENCE ON THE ORIENT
Yet the most interesting, as well as the most important, feature of the
age is the diffusion of Hellenic culture--the "Hellenizing" of the Orient.
It was, indeed, a changed world in which men were now living. Greek
cities, founded by Alexander and his successors, stretched from the Nile
to the Indus, dotted the shores of the Black Sea and Caspian, and arose
amid the wilds of central Asia. The Greek language, once the tongue of a
petty people, grew to be a universal language of culture, spoken even by
"barbarian" lips. And the art, the science, the literature, the principles
of politics and philosophy, developed in isolation by the Greek mind,
henceforth became the heritage of many nations.
THE NEW COSMOPOLITANISM
Thus, in the period after Alexander the long struggle between East and
West reached a peaceful conclusion. The distinction between Greek and
Barbarian gradually faded away, and the ancient world became ever more
unified in sympathies and aspirations. It was this mingled civilization of
Orient and Occident with which the Romans were now to come in contact, as
they pushed their conquering arms beyond Italy into the eastern
Mediterranean.
[Illustration: ORIENTAL, GREEK, AND ROMAN COINS
1. Lydian coin of about 700 B.C.; the material is electrum, a
compound of gold and silver.
2. Gold _daric_; a Persian coin worth about $5.
3. Hebrew silver _shekel_.
4. Athenian silver _tetradrachm_ showing Athena, her olive
branch and sacred owl.
5. Roman bronze _as_ (2 cents) of about 217 B.C.; the
symbols are the head of Janus and the prow of a ship.
6. Bronze _sestertius_ (5 cents) struck in Nero's reign; the
emperor, who carries a spear, is followed by a second horseman
bearing a banner.
7. Silver _denarius_ (20 cents) of about 99 B.C.; it shows a
bust of Roma and three citizens voting.
8. Gold _solidus_ ($5) of Honorius about 400 A.D.; the emperor
wears a diadem and carries a scepter.]
STUDIES
1. On an outline map indicate the routes of Alexander, marking the
principal battle fields and the most important cities founded by him.
Note, also, the voyage of Nearchus.
2. On an outline map indicate the principal Hellenistic kingdoms about 200
B.C.
3. Give the proper dates for (a) accession of Alexander; (b) battle of
Issus; (c) battle of Arbela; and (d) death of Alexander.
4. In what sense was Chaeronea a decisive battle?
5. How is it true that the expedition of the Ten Thousand forms "an
epilogue to the invasion of Xerxes and a prologue to the conquests of
Alexander"?
6. How much can you see and describe in the Alexander Mosaic
(illustration, page 123)?
7. Compare Alexander's invasion of Persia with the invasion of Greece by
Xerxes.
8. Distinguish between the immediate and the ultimate results of
Alexander's conquests.
9. Comment on the following statement: "No single personality, excepting
the carpenter's son of Nazareth, has done so much to make the world we
live in what it is as Alexander of Macedon."
10. How did the Macedonian Empire compare in size with that of Persia?
With that of Assyria?
11. What modern countries are included within the Macedonian Empire under
Alexander?
12. How did the founding of the Hellenistic cities continue the earlier
colonial expansion of Greece?
13. Why were the Hellenistic cities the real "backbone" of Hellenism?
14. Why do great cities rarely develop without the aid of commerce? Were
all the great cities in Alexander's empire of commercial importance?
15. Show how Alexandria has always been one of the meeting points between
Orient and Occident.
16. How did the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 A.D. affect the
commercial importance of Alexandria?
17. Name some of the great scientists of the Alexandrian age.
18. What were their contributions to knowledge?
19. Using the maps on pages 76 and 132, trace the growth of geographical
knowledge from Homer's time to that of Ptolemy.
20. What parts of the world are most correctly outlined on Ptolemy's map?
21. "The seed-ground of European civilization is neither Greece nor the
Orient, but a world joined of the two." Comment on this statement.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Webster, _Readings in Ancient History_, chapter xii, "Demosthenes and
the Struggle against Philip"; chapter xiii, "Exploits of Alexander the
Great."
[2] Philippi became noted afterwards as the first city in Europe where
Christianity was preached. See _Acts_, xvi, 9.
[3] See the map between pages 68-69.
[4] See page 275.
[5] See page 39.
[6] See page 272.
[7] See page 90.
[8] See page 36.
[9] See John Dryden's splendid ode, _Alexander's Feast_.
[10] See pages 20 and 39.
[11] See pages 39-40.
[12] Arrian, _Anabasis of Alexander_, vii, 26.
[13] See the map facing page 128.
[14] The term "Hellenic" refers to purely Greek culture; the term
"Hellenistic," to Greek culture as modified by contact with Oriental life
and customs.
[15] See page 81.
[16] The lighthouse on the island of Pharos was considered one of the
"seven wonders" of the ancient world. The others were the hanging gardens
and walls of Babylon, the pyramids, the Colossus of Rhodes, the temple of
Artemis at Ephesus, the mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the statue of Zeus
at Olympia.
[17] See page 120.
[18] See page 89.
[19] See page 74.
[20] Not to be confused with King Ptolemy (page 127).
[21] See page 125.
[22] See page 48.