The Hellenistic era witnessed the overlap of antiquity’s two great Western civilizations, the Greek and the Roman. This was the epoch of Alexander’s vast expansion of the Greco-Macedonian world, the rise and fall of his successors’ major dynasties in Egypt and Asia, and, ultimately, the establishment of Rome as the first Mediterranean superpower. The Hellenistic Age chronicles the years 336 to 30 BCE, from the days of Philip and Alexander of Macedon to the death of Cleopatra and the final triumph of Caesar’s heir, the young Augustus. Peter Green’s remarkably far-ranging study covers the prevalent themes and events of those centuries: the Hellenization of an immense swath of the known world–from Egypt to India–by Alexander’s conquests; the lengthy and chaotic partition of this empire by rival Macedonian marshals after Alexander’s death; the decline of the polis (city state) as the predominant political institution; and, finally, Rome’s moment of transition from republican to imperial rule. Predictably, this is a story of war and power-politics, and of the developing fortunes of art, science, and statecraft in the areas where Alexander’s coming disseminated Hellenic culture. It is a rich narrative tapestry of warlords, libertines, philosophers, courtesans and courtiers, dramatists, historians, scientists, merchants, mercenaries, and provocateurs of every stripe, spun by an accomplished classicist with an uncanny knack for infusing life into the distant past, and applying fresh insights that make ancient history seem alarmingly relevant to our own times. To consider the three centuries prior to the dawn of the common era in a single short volume demands a scholar with a great command of both subject and narrative line. The Hellenistic Age is that rare book that manages to coalesce a broad spectrum of events, persons, and themes into one brief, indispensable, and amazingly accessible survey.

We all want to understand the world around us, and the ancient Greeks were the first to try and do so in a way we can properly call scientific. Their thought and writings laid the essential foundations for the revivals of science in medieval Baghdad and renaissance Europe. Now their work is accessible to all, with this invaluable introduction to c.100 scientific authors active from 320 BCE to 230 CE. The book begins with an outline of a new socio-political model for the development and decline of Greek science, followed by eleven chapters that cover the main disciplines: * the science which the Greeks saw as fundamental - mathematics * astronomy * astrology and geography * mechanics * optics and pneumatics * the non-mathematical sciences of alchemy, biology, medicine and 'psychology'. Each chapter contains an accessible introduction on the origins and development of the topic in question, and all the authors are set in context with brief biographies.

The vast empire that Alexander the Great left at his death in 323 BC has few parallels. For the next three hundred years the Greeks controlled a complex of monarchies and city-states that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to India. F. W. Walbank's lucid and authoritative history of that Hellenistic world examines political events, describes the different social systems and mores of the people under Greek rule, traces important developments in literature and science, and discusses the new religious movements.

The Hellenistic world, ushered into existance by Alexander the Great, took in a vast region, stretching from Iraq in the east to Sicily in the west. Within this area, society was multicultural but the dominant culture was Greek, developed from the culture of classical Greece, and carrying on the legacy of classical Greece in the visual arts, literature, science, technology, and daily life. Narrative chapters guide the reader though the vast conquered lands of Hellenistic Greece, exploring marriage customs; festivals, sports, and spectacles; symposia (drinking parties); the agricultural and urban components of the polis (city-state); food; drink; education; science; technology; and the legacy of the Hellenistic age in the modern world.

The three centuries following the conquests of Alexander were perhaps the most thrilling of all periods of ancient history. Culture, ideas, and individuals travelled freely over vast areas from the Rhone to the Indus, whilst dynasts battled for dominion over Alexander's great empire. Thonemann presents a brief history of this globalized world.

A meticulous analysis of Hellenistic culture spanning three centuries, from the death of Alexander the Great in 325 B.C. Green surveys every significant aspect of Hellenistic cultural development in this colorful, complex period that will fascinate all readers. 217 illustrations, 30 maps.

In this beautifully illustrated volume, Burn (Keeper of Antiquities, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) introduces the Hellenistic world to students and readers interested in ancient Greek society. After a brief political and cultural overview, Burn identifies several distinctly Hellenistic artistic developments emerging in fourth-century Macedon. She then examines representations of royal and private individuals; the design, furnishing and appearances of cities, sanctuaries, houses and tombs; and the characteristic themes of Hellenistic iconography.