Hellenistic+World+Rise+-+Essay

 Hellenistic Culture Rise Essay Tiana Visconti In 323 B.C. Alexander died and left his empire without direction. It was up to Alexander’s generals to determine who would rule his domain. His successors fought a forty year war to determine who would become ruler, and eventually, four separate dynasties were established, each with their own king. This period in time, until the Romans conquered the area in 30 B.C., is known as the Hellenistic period. During the rise of the Hellenistic culture, a significant war was fought, many scientific and mathematical contributions were made, and different social classes were established. __For these reasons, there is much we can learn from the rise of the Hellenistic culture.__

First, there is much we can learn from the death of Alexander and the proceeding war over his empire (Errington, 1). Because Alexander died unexpectedly, he left no plan for his domain. This led to 40 years of chaos, arguing, and war to determine who would assume his position as emperor (Walbank, 46). It soon became clear that one man could not rise above the rest as king, so instead, four dynasties were established among the different geographic areas of his kingdom (Errington, 63). If Alexander had left a plan for his kingdom, this war would not have occured, and that would have ameliorated economy of his empire. From the formation of the Hellenistic kingdoms, we can learn that as a ruler, being unprepared for death can have many consequences.

Second, the scientific and mathematical contributions of the Hellenistic World have become very useful and important to our world today. Most importantly, this was the first time that scientists discovered the internal functions of the human body (Erksine, 451). Hellenistic scientists introduced dissection, which is widely used today. Dissection has helped humans understand how the different parts of our body function, and this has permitted scientists to invent crucial medications. During the Hellenistic period, the famous Hellenistic anatomists, Herophilios and Eristratos, discovered that nerves are separate from veins and arteries, and they distinguished between voluntary and involuntary movements (Erksine, 452). They also discovered that male and female bodies are made up of the same organs, and function in the same way. (Erksine, 454). These biological discoveries have helped our world greatly, however, they are not the only scientific and mathematical contributions of the Hellenistic world. The mathematician Euclid developed many basic laws of geometry (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Euclid), Archimedes invented several laws of physics (Walbank, 193), and astronomer Aristatchus of Samos was the first to suggest that all planets revolved around the sun (Walbank, 185). It is evident that humans rely greatly upon the scientific and mathematical contributions of the Hellenistic culture.

Third, there is much we can learn from the social classes of the Hellenistic World. During the rise of Hellenistic culture, when the rulers were being established, it became clear that certain types of people were viewed as superior, and more worthy to rule. These superior groups of people were the Greeks and the Macedonians (Walbank, 65). When Alexander died, his successors refused his idea of racial fusion, which eliminated Medes and Persians from positions of authority. Natives made up only 2.5% of positions of power, and the rest of the 97.5% were Greeks and Macedonians (Walbank, 65). This high social class intermarried to maintain their culture, and all other races were looked down upon. If people of different ethnicities were put into positions of power, Hellenistic government would have benefited from different perspectives and ideas, which may even have prevented the Romans from seizing control of the area. Plus, these social classes are not unlike the social classes in our world today. Racism and ethnocentrism are serious issues that affect people worldwide. The stereotypes have improved over time, but are still present in North America. From the poor social classes of the Hellenistic culture, we can learn to reduce racism and ethnocentrism as much as possible in our world today.

In conclusion, there is much to learn from the rise of the Hellenistic culture. They have taught us that it is crucial for a ruler to be prepared for death, made many useful scientific and mathematical contributions, and demonstrated that we should eliminate racism and ethnocentrism in our world today. These lessons are among the main reasons why our Western culture is so successful today. Marika: Some computer's formattings are different, so some words may have typos on your computer screen, when in reality there are none. Feel free to ask me for a hard copy of the essay. The Rise of the Hellenistic World