The Legacy of Alexander:Hellenistic Civilization and Greek

Achievements

Social Studies for 9th E.G.B. |

Teacher: Mauricio Torres

Introduction• Although Alexander’s empire soon crumbled, he had unleashed

changes that would ripple across the Mediterranean world and

the Middle East for centuries.

• His most lasting achievement was the spread of Greek culture.

Blending of Cultures• Greek soldiers and traders soon

began to establish themselves

in these lands (From Egypt to

India), they built Greek

temples, with Greek art and

lived with the same traditions

as they had done in Greece.

• Greeks settled, adopted local

customs, and locals adopted

Greek customs.

Long Lasting Legacy

• The blending of Greek

civilization and those of

Egyptian, Persian and

Indian influence, would

flourish for centuries.

• This is known as

Hellenistic civilization.

Arts• The most important achievements of

the Greeks were those they made in

the arts:

– Sculpture

– Painting

– Architecture

–Writings

Statues

• The ancient Greeks were master

artists.

• They are so admired because their

work achieved near perfection.

– Their goal was to show the beauty

of people.

– To achieve this, they studied the

human body, even its movement.

• They used stone and marble.

Paintings

• It was not as real as their sculptures, but

they had a lot of details.

• It was usually done on pots, vases and

other vessels.

– They showed scenes from myths or athletic

competitions.

– They were depicted in red or/black paint.

Architecture• Greeks to great care of making not

just strong buildings but also, to

make them beautiful.

• They used columns to support the

massive constructions.

– They also learned how to design

columns in a way in which they

avoided an optical illusion by

creating another optical illusion!

• These buildings reflected the

greatness of each city.

– Look at the picture of the

Parthenon on pages 278-279 on

your book.

Writing

• Greeks loved stories. That’s why they created dramas (plays)

which were also used as part of their religious ceremonies.

– It was like going to the movies!

– These plays were tragedies (Sophocles, Aeschylus) and comedies

(Aristophanes).

• They were also among the first to write about History,

because they wanted to learn lessons from their past.

– Thucydides was an Athenian soldier who wrote about the

Peloponnesian war.

– Polybius wrote about the rise of the Roman Empire.

Learning in Alexandria• Alexander as well as his successors

encouraged the work of scholars.

• In Alexandria (Egypt) scholars had

a free hand and a cultural center to

develop their ideas.

• They built the great Museum

(House of the Muses) which

included: laboratories, lecture halls,

a zoo and its world famous library.

Ask Yourself• Analyze

– What was the legacy left by Alexander’s conquest?

– Why was it possible for many cultures to blend together?

• Describe

– What was the city of Alexandria like?

– In your own words, describe the term “Hellenistic Civilization”.

– How did sculptors achieve such level of realism?

• Recall

– What did Greeks write about?

– How were the Greeks able to support their massive buildings?

Bibliography

• Burstein, S. M., & Shek, R. (2012).

World History (Teacher´s Edition) (1st

Edition ed.). (H. McDougal, Ed.)

Orlando, Florida, US.: Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

• Images taken from www.google.com