Hellenistic Culture

Vocab

• Hellenistic- relating to the civilization, language, art, science, and literature of the Greek world from the reign of Alexander the Great to the late second century
• Alexandria- the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization
•  Euclid- a highly regarded mathematician who taught in Alexandria
• Archimedes- An important Hellenistic scientist who estimated the value of pi and explained the law of the lever
• Colossus of Rhodes- a 100 ft tall statue that is one of the seven wonders of the world. It was destroyed in a earthquake in 225

Notes

• After Alexander's conquest, Egyptians, Persian, and Indian influences became known as Hellenistic culture
• Koiner was the common language in Hellenistic cities, meaning common
• Ships from all over the world docked at Alexandria's harbor
• By third century B.C, Alexandria became the center of commerce
• Pharos
• 350 ft tall lighthouse
• a polished bronze mirror reflected light from a bright fire
• Alexandria's Museums and library attracted many people

Science and Technology

• Alexandrian Scientists provided most scientific knowledge until the 16th and 27th centuries
• Alexandria's museum contained an observatory
• Aristarchus of Samos
• Concluded the sun is at least 300 times larger than the earth
• Believed planets moved around the sun
• Ptolemy said planets and the sun revolved around the earth]
• Eratosthenes
• directed the Alexandrian library
• tried to calculate Earth's true size (28000-29000)
• Poet
• Historian
• Euclid
• Mathematician who taught in Alexandria
• His book,"Elements" contains 465 geometry prepositions and proofs
• Archimedes
• Estimated the value of pi
• Explained the law of a lever
• Archimedes screw drew water from the ground
• compound pulley
• Hellenistic scientists later built a pump, pneumatic machines, and a steam engine
• Zeno(335-263)
• Founded a school called Stoicism
• Stoics
• Proposed people should live a virtuous life life in harmony and God will run the universe with set laws.
• Human Desire, Wealth, Power, were dangerous distractions
• social unity
• focus followers on what they can control
• Epicurus
• formed a school of thought called the Epicureanism
• gods had no interest in humans
• The only real objects are the ones the 5 scenes see
• Greatest goods and highest pleasure from virtuous conduct and absence of pain