Daily Life in the Hellenistic Age: From Alexander to Cleopatra (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)

This volume is an exploration of the Hellenistic world in the aftermath of Alexander the Great. 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 Cover Page......Page 1 Title Page......Page 4 ISBN 0313338124......Page 5 Contents (with page links)......Page 6 Introduction:The Conquests of Alexander......Page 8 THE BACKGROUND......Page 10 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE......Page 11 PHILIP’S DEATH AND ALEXANDER’S ACCESSION......Page 13 ALEXANDER’S CONQUESTS......Page 14 THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN EMPIRE......Page 17 THE HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS......Page 21 THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS......Page 26 NOTE......Page 31 Chronology:The March of History in the Hellenistic Age......Page 32 MEDITERRANEAN GREECE......Page 43 THE NEW LANDS WON BY ALEXANDER......Page 47 Egypt......Page 49 NOTES......Page 52 ECONOMIC REALITIES......Page 53 THE POLIS, AS THE BASIC UNIT OF GREEK CIVILIZATION......Page 56 THE APPEARANCE OF A CITY......Page 59 NOTES......Page 64 3 Dwelling Houses......Page 65 THE HOUSE AT LEUCAS: AN EXAMPLE OF MIDDLE-CLASS LIVING IN A COLD CLIMATE......Page 68 LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE WORKING POOR......Page 70 HELLENISTIC HOMES IN EGYPT......Page 71 NOTE......Page 72 GREEK STYLE......Page 73 Fabric and Adornments......Page 74 NOTE......Page 76 5 Education......Page 77 THE EPHEBIA......Page 79 THE GYMNASIUM, AN EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL CENTER......Page 80 Higher Education......Page 82 NOTES......Page 83 CITIZENSHIP STATUS......Page 85 EVIDENCE OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN HERONDAS’S POEMS AND OTHER WRITINGS......Page 86 CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS......Page 89 NOTES......Page 91 INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE: THE AGORA......Page 93 NEW COMEDY: A REPRESENTATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS......Page 95 JOBS FOR THE LOWER CLASSES......Page 97 CITIZENS, RESIDENT ALIENS, AND SLAVES......Page 98 The Prevalence of Slavery......Page 99 Slave Labor......Page 103 NOTES......Page 105 WOMEN IN ATHENS, SPARTA, AND MACEDONIA......Page 107 Girl Children......Page 109 Dowries and Marriage Contracts......Page 110 Equality and Power......Page 111 THE EMERGENCE OF EDUCATED WOMEN......Page 113 NOTES......Page 116 TRADE AND COMMERCE......Page 129 Greek Imports in Alexandria......Page 130 The Prosperity of Rhodes......Page 132 SOLDIERING AS A CAREER......Page 134 BANKING......Page 136 MAKING A LIVING IN HELLENISTIC EGYPT......Page 139 PRIVATE ENTERPRISE......Page 141 EVIDENCE OF OTHER OCCUPATIONS......Page 142 NOTES......Page 143 SHARED FEASTS......Page 145 COOKING TOOLS AND MEAL CUSTOMS......Page 148 THE SYMPOSIUM, OR DRINKING PARTY......Page 150 Taverns......Page 152 COOKS......Page 153 BANQUETS......Page 155 NOTES......Page 157 ATHLETIC AND MUSIC FESTIVALS......Page 159 Professional Athletes......Page 162 SPECTACLE......Page 163 NOTES......Page 166 12 The Theater......Page 167 STAGE PRODUCTIONS......Page 168 Playwrights of the New Comedy......Page 170 Masks and Presentation......Page 171 Music and Dance......Page 172 Satyr Plays and Tragedies......Page 173 ACTORS’ GUILDS......Page 174 Theater as a Political Tool......Page 176 NOTE......Page 177 KINGS AND ROYAL FAMILIES......Page 179 THE NATURE OF HELLENISTIC KINGSHIP......Page 183 KINGS AS GODS......Page 185 KINGS AS CHAMPIONS OF GREEK CULTURE......Page 189 Resentment among the Non-Greeks:The Case of Judea......Page 193 NOTES......Page 198 THE SURVIVAL OF THE OLYMPIAN GODS......Page 199 THE NEWCOMERS: IMMIGRANT GODS FROM THE LANDS THAT ALEXANDER CONQUERED......Page 203 Isis and Sarapis......Page 204 The Cult of Aphrodite and Adonis......Page 206 TEMPLES AND SHRINES......Page 207 FESTIVALS, PROCESSIONS, AND SACRIFICES......Page 209 The Great Panathenaia......Page 210 Processions......Page 212 Dancing and Pantomimes......Page 213 Oracles and Mantikê......Page 214 Dreams......Page 215 Magic......Page 216 NON-BELIEF......Page 217 AN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE IN PTOLEMAIC EGYPT......Page 218 NOTE......Page 221 THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE......Page 223 TECHNOLOGY......Page 227 MEDICINE......Page 229 NOTE......Page 231 16 The Persistence of Hellenistic Culture......Page 233 NOTES......Page 236 SELEUCID KINGS......Page 237 ANTIGONID KINGS OF MACEDONIA......Page 238 Glossary......Page 239 Bibliography......Page 243 WEB SOURCES......Page 248 Index (with page links)......Page 249 About the Author......Page 253 Photo Essay......Page 117