Hellenistic Civilization

Spanning the period from Alexander the Great′s accession to the throne in 336 bc to the defeat by Octavius of Antony and Cleopatra in 31 bc, this vivid narrative explores the innovative civilization of the Hellenistic world. It provides an authoritative overview of the often violent political history of the period, analyzes the institutions, political and cultural, of Hellenistic kingdoms, leagues, and cities, and examines the interaction between Greek settlers and native peoples.

The author presents Hellenistic civilization as pluralistic, diverse, and vibrant. In particular, he looks at the ways in which Greek ideas and cultural forms were received in different contexts and how the Greek language, along with Greek political thought, lifestyles, religion, art, and architecture, spread and were adapted throughout the Mediterranean basin. He shows how, when the Hellenistic world became subject to Rome, its culture left a lasting imprint on the way of life and thought of its conquerors. A unique feature of the book is its emphasis on epigraphic texts.

List of Plates.

List of Figures.

List of Maps.

Forword to the 1981 Edition.

Forword to the 2002 English translation.

Introduction.

1. Alexander: A Universal Monarchy.

2. The Diadochi: The Dream of Unity.

3. The Hellenistic Monarchies: Their Years of Glory.

4. The East Torn Apart, Then Conquered.

5. The Agony of the Hellenistic World.

6. The Survival of the City.

7. The Monarchical System.

8. The Hellenistic Lifestyle.

9. The Needs of the Soul.

10. The Life of the Spirit and the Flowering of Art.

Conclusion.

Lexicon of Terms.

Chronological Tables.

Bibliography and Suggestions for Further Reading.

Index.

Fran V ois Chamoux is a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, an honorary member of the Hellenic Society, and an Emeritus Professor of Greek Literature and Civilization at the University of Paris–Sorbonne. He was editor of the Revue des Etudes Grecques from 1977 to 1988, and has now directed for many years the edition and translation of Diodorus Siculus in the Collection des Universités de France. His other publications include Cyrene and the Dynasty of the Battiads (1953), The Delphic Charioteer (1955), The Civilization of Greece (1965), Mark Antony (1988), and Pausanias, Commentary to Book I (1992).

Michel Roussel was Professor of Classics in the University of Ottawa until his retirement in 1991. He is now an adjunct professor in that institution, the only bilingual university in Canada.