The Hellenistic World

The Hellenistic World
F. W. Walbank

The vast land empire that Alexander the Great left to his successors was without parallel in Greek history. Alexander’s family and generals created a new order of monarchies and city-states which was to control most of the territory between the Adriatic Sea and western India for three hundred years.The term ‘hellenistic’ is commonly used to describe this world in which Greek was the lingua franca.Greeks flocked southwards and eastwards to found new settlements or to enlist in mercenary armies in search of their fortunes, confident in their status as members of a new ruling class. Inevitably there were upsets and clashes as indigenous peoples and cultures were absorbed, often unwillingly, into the encroaching wave of hellenism.With extensive use of quotations from original source material, this far-ranging study examines the political events in the hellenistic world from Alexander’s death until its incorporation in the Roman Empire. It also describes the different social systems and mores of the peoples under Greek rule, important developments in literature, science and technology and the founding of new religious movements. The author has assimilated all pertinent recent scholarship in the filed, and fashioned an absorbing and highly readable account of a vast and complex society whose ideas and achievements form the bedrock of present-day western civilization.

Copyright (#ulink_ecce77f0-1cc6-58b0-b3a9-81dc61233c35)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/)

First published in Great Britain by Fontana 1981

Copyright © F. W. Walbank 1981, 1986, 1992

F. W. Walbank asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780006861041

Ebook Edition © September 2013 ISBN: 9780007550982

Version: 2017-01-19

Dedication (#ulink_d24c1397-73a5-52fc-a40e-9a646644aa6c)

For

Dorothy

Mitzi

Christopher

John

Contents

Cover (#ua2f5cb93-b4b7-5420-929f-0c84354b8f94)

Title Page (#ude8973e7-023d-5d9c-9d06-c33c799ac25b)

Copyright (#ulink_aea5cfa6-a4d9-5175-96fb-6bb90969f35e)

Dedication (#ulink_247004e8-5737-5717-9088-e50dab454f72)

Introduction to the Fontana History of the Ancient World (#ulink_cc4fdd24-8094-5290-be26-bf249894108f)

Preface (#ulink_745052fd-9acf-5e51-b710-4624352c2d40)

1. Introduction: The Sources (#ulink_6475ef00-0ae4-5ff5-9df9-5ed3cbac3fbe)

2. Alexander the Great (336–323) (#ulink_d017cd0a-a4d5-5162-888f-450717dcfdd9)

3. The Formation of the Kingdoms (323–276) (#ulink_f1dde72b-1502-5f26-8dfe-3bc94ede94b3)

4. The Hellenistic World: A Homogeneous Culture? (#ulink_9f27c211-bced-54c0-a9f1-484a15aa33a2)

5. Macedonia and Greece (#litres_trial_promo)

6. Ptolemaic Egypt (#litres_trial_promo)

7. The Seleucids and the East (#litres_trial_promo)

8. Inter-City Contacts and Federal States (#litres_trial_promo)

9. Social and Economic Trends (#litres_trial_promo)

10. Cultural Developments: Philosophy, Science and Technology (#litres_trial_promo)

11. The Frontiers of the Hellenistic World: Geographical Studies (#litres_trial_promo)

12. Religious Developments (#litres_trial_promo)

13. The Coming of Rome (#litres_trial_promo)

List of Maps and Illustrations (#litres_trial_promo)

Maps (#litres_trial_promo)

Plates (#litres_trial_promo)

Date Chart (#litres_trial_promo)

Abbreviations (#litres_trial_promo)

Further Reading and Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)

Index of Sources (#litres_trial_promo)

General Index (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Fontana History of the Ancient World (#litres_trial_promo)