A Companion to the Hellenistic World

Covering the period from the death of Alexander the Great to thecelebrated defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at the hands of Augustus,this authoritative Companion explores the world thatAlexander created but did not live to see. Drawing on the verylatest research, a team of international scholars creates a pictureof the Hellenistic realm in all its complexity and diversity.

The Companion examines the impact of Alexander sconquest of the Persian empire, the emergence of the successorkingdoms in Macedon, Egypt and Syria, and the later development ofRoman rule in the east. In such eventful times questions of changeand continuity loom large. Narrative chapters give readers a senseof the sweep of Hellenistic history, while thematic chapters rangewidely, exploring the relationship between Greeks and non–Greeks,religious developments, social and economic change, medicine,literature and art.

This volume will be welcomed by students and professionalhistorians alike as a personal reference source and will form theideal basis for university courses on Hellenistic history.

List of Figures.

List of Contributors.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Ancient Authors: Abbreviations and Glossary.

Reference Works: Abbreviations.

Approaching the Hellenistic World: Andrew Erskine (University ofEdinburgh).

Part I: Narratives:.

2. After Alexander: The emergence of the Hellenistic World,323 281: David Braund (University of Exeter).

3. An Uneasy Balance: From the Death of Seleukos to the Battleof Raphia: Sheila L. Ager (University of Waterloo).

4. The Arrival of Rome: The Illyrian Wars to the Fall ofMacedon: Peter Derow (University of Oxford).

5. Subjection and Resistance: To the Death of Mithridates: BrianMcGing (Trinity College, Dublin).

6. A Roman East: Pompey s Settlement to the Death ofAugustus: Claude Eilers (McMaster University).

Part II: Protagonists:.

7. The Ptolemies and Egypt: Dorothy J. Thompson (University ofCambridge).

8. The Seleukids and Asia: Michel Austin (University of StAndrews).

9. Macedon and the Mainland, 280 221: Joseph B. Scholten(University of Maryland).

10. The Attalids of Pergamon: Elizabeth Kosmetatou (Center forHellenic Studies, Washington).

Part III: Change and Continuity:.

11. Kings: John Ma (University of Oxford).

12. Cities: Richard Billows (Columbia University).

13. The Past in a Hellenistic Present: Myth and Local Tradition:Tanja S. Scheer (University of Munich).

14. Space and Geography: Klaus Geus (University of Bamberg).

Part IV: Greeks and Others:.

15. Town and Country in Ptolemaic Egypt: Jane Rowlandson (KingsCollege, London).

16. Jews and Greeks: Erich S. Gruen (University of California,Berkeley).

17. The Galatians: Representation and Reality: Stephen Mitchell(University of Exeter).

18. Beyond Greeks and Barbarians: Italy and Sicily Emma Dench(Birkbeck College, London).

Part V: Society and Economy:.

19. Family Structures: Riet van Bremen (University CollegeLondon).

20. The Economy: Gary Reger (Trinity College, Hartford).

21. Reading the Landscape: Susan E. Alcock, Jennifer E. Gatesand Jane E. Rempel (University of Michigan).

22. Warfare: Patrick Baker (Universitè Laval).

23. Piracy and the Slave Trade: Vincent Gabrielsen (Universityof Copenhagen).

Part VI: Gods and Men:.

24. Religion: David Potter (University of Michigan).

25. The Divinity of Hellenistic Rulers: Angelos Chaniotis,(Heidelberg).

Part VII: Arts and Sciences:.

26. Empires of Knowledge: Health and Medicine in the HellenisticWorld: Rebecca Flemming (Kings College London).

27. The Institutions of Hellenistic Philosophy: Phillip Mitsis(New York University).

28. Literature and its Context: Richard Hunter (University ofCambridge).

29. Hellenistic Art, AD 1500 2000: Andrew Stewart(University of California, Berkeley).

Bibliography.

Chronology.

Index

Andrew Erskine is Head of Classics at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Hellenistic Stoa: Political Thought and Action (1990) and Troy between Greece and Rome: Local Tradition and Imperial Power (2001). He has held an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship at the University of Munich.

"This extremely appealing collection pulls off that hardestof tricks: it is simultaneously authoritative and exciting, itsfindings new as well as true. The Hellenistic age was an age ofmarvels and this impeccably edited work is itself a Hellenisticmarvel. Scholars, students and interested non–professionals willdevour it with pleasure and go away nourished, as I did." Professor Simon Hornblower, University College London

"Blackwell and Erskine have done a splendid job with theHellenistic Companion and I m extremely pleased to have acopy, both as a guide for my own contributions and for futurereference. It is, I think, the best comprehensive book on theHellenistic world available and a must have foreveryone working in this field." Professor WaldemarHeckel, University of Calgary

"I′ve found Erskine′s Hellenistic World to be an excellentvolume." Professor Michael Whitby, University ofWarwick

"The Companion to the Hellenistic World is very impressiveindeed both in its breadth and its depth, and sets anexhilaratingly high standard for the new series." Professor Justina Gregory, Smith College

"This Companion, which I recommend without reservation,is extremely well edited and referenced, with comprehensive listsof abbreviations of both ancient authors and reference works, and agood bibliography and index. The choice of cover illustration (abasalt Egyptian–style statue of Ptolemy I) is inspired,illustrating pictorially what the book conveys in eruditescholarship: a fusion of themes and cultures in a politically– andsocially–diverse but unified world, which provided continuity forits distinct heritages whilst evolving an individuality of itsown." Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"A Companion to the Hellenistic World provides acomprehensive and enlightening survey of the current state ofHellenistic scholarship and will be required reading for studentsand teachers for years to come." Stanley Burstein,Classical Review

"A Companion to the Hellenistic World is admirable andvery enjoyable, and shows clearly how progress has been made inthis subject in recent years. Andrew Erskine has brought togethersome of the very best historians now working on the period and theyhave produced as exciting a collection of essays as he couldpossibly have hoped for." Times LiterarySupplement

"Massive and multifaceted like the Seleukid kingdom itself, theCompanion is nevertheless a compelling read for the scholar,and an accessible reference for the student ... Clear, learned anda joy to read; it is warmly recommended to students, scholarslooking for an authoritative general survey and an up–to–date andhandy bibliography, and indeed to anyone wishing to broaden his orher horizons." Journal of Hellenic Studies

"Lucid and stimulating writing...a first–rate research–tool forthe specialist and a rich mine for the thesis writer. It is also a"good read", and anyone who is interested in imperialism,propaganda, the mechanics of power and resistance, and thepolitical manipulation of culture will be intrigued by thecontemporary resonance of many of the issues discussed." Mouseion