Collecting papers on historiography, papyrology, history, and material culture, this volume charts the changing faces of Hellenistic civilization from the fourth century B.C. to Late Antiquity. The papers address issues such as bilingualism and the role of invented traditions in Roman Egypt.

Due to his influence on subsequent cultural development, Alexander the Great may be said to have revenged his untimely death in a fashion without parallel in world history. In this volume, Alexander's Revenge: Hellenistic Culture through the Centuries, edited by Jon Ma. Asgeirsson, University of Iceland, and Nancy van Deusen, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California, twelve prominent scholars in the field of biblical studies, medieval studies, and history write on various aspects of Western civilization following the death of Alexander the Great to the Early Modern Age. Ranging in field from education, art, music, literature, biblical studies, philosophy ... to demography, this collection of essays offers an interdisciplinary focus in the field of cross-cultural studies demonstrating how the world of Alexander is still shaping the present world situation.

Plutarch described Antigonus the One Eyed (382-301 BC) 'as 'the oldest and greatest of Alexander's successors,' Antigonus loyally served both Philip II and Alexander the Great as they converted his native Macedonia into an empire stretching from India to Greece. After Alexander's death, Antigonus, then governor of the obscure province of Phrygia, seemed one of the least likely of his commanders to seize the dead king's inheritance. Yet within eight years of the king's passing, through a combination of military skill and political shrewdness, he had conquered the Asian portion of the empire.?His success caused those who controlled the European and Egyptian parts of the empire to unite against him. For another fourteen years he would wage war against a coalition of the other Successors, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Cassander. In 301 he would meet defeat and death in the Battle of Ipsus. The ancient writers saw Antigonus' life as a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris and vaulting ambition. Despite his apparent defeat, his descendants would continue to rule as kings and create a dynasty that would rule Macedonia for over a century. Jeff Champion narrates the career of this titanic figure with the focus squarely on the military aspects.

Hellenism and the Local Communities of the Eastern Mediterranean offers a timely re-examination of the relationship between Greek and non-Greek cultures in this region between 400 BCE and 250 CE. The conquests of Alexander the Great and his Successors not only radically reshaped the political landscape, but also significantly accelerated cultural change: in recent decades there has been an important historiographical emphasis on the study of the non-Greek cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, but less focus on how Greek cultural elements became increasingly visible. Although the process of cross-cultural interaction differed greatly across Asia Minor, Egypt, the Levant, and Mesopotamia, the same overarching questions apply: why did the non-Greek communities of the Eastern Mediterranean engage so closely with Greek cultural forms as well as political practices, and how did this engagement translate into their daily lives? In exploring the versatility and adaptability of Greek political structures, such as the polis, and the ways in which Greek and non-Greek cultures interacted in fields such as medicine, literature, and art, the essays in this volume aim to provide new insight into these questions. At the same time, they prompt a re-interrogation of the process of Hellenization, exploring whether it is still a useful concept for explaining and understanding the dynamics of cultural exchange in the Eastern Mediterranean of this period.

Martin Hengel gathers an encyclopedic amount of material, ancient and modern, to present an exhaustive survey of the early course of Hellenistic civilization as it related to developing Judaism. The result is a highly readable account of a largely unfamiliar world which is indispensable for those interested in Judaism and the birth of Christianity alike. An extensive section of notes and bibliography is included.