Reading Peter Green's "The Hellenistic Age", I kept thinking that life in the Hellenistic world seemed familiar (c. 323-31 B.C.). This board often compares Western society to the late Roman Empire, but is this time period a better parallel. Thoughts?
>After a great war, the western world becomes the dominant military and economic power, people no longer have external rivals which they see as an existential threat (Alexander's conquests vs. the world wars/Communism) >Large scale urbanization and migration >Spread of western culture across the globe >Growing access to information and scholarship (Library of Alexandria and research centers vs. the internet) >Rise of individualism, entrepreneurship, and self-help philosophies accompanied by loss of direct participation in democracy >Loss of religion >Focus on large architecture projects and experimentation in the arts, accompanied by a feeling that art was more meaningful in the past (both the 21st century and 4th century B.C. thought 5th century Athens was a 'classic' age) >Greater openness about sexuality leading to accusations society is becoming degenerate >Government policies promoting multiculturalism to reduce ethnic tensions and boost economic migration >Most people no longer have military experience as citizen-soldiers replaced by paid professional soldiers
Nicholas Stewart
not going to read this shit
There has never been a time in history that compares to the prosperity of the modern age.
Even people in the shittiest conditions are living 100x better than the best people during Hellenistic Greece, or Rome, or any other time that is not within the last 200 years
Christian Jenkins
the postmodern age is shit. Modern age was cool
James Anderson
Greek mercenaries were super common following the Hellenistic age
John Lopez
tell me again how it´s shit that you can talk to anyone you want, in a matter of seconds tell me again how it´s shit that you don´t have to continuously worry about being raided by the barbarians living outside your town
Josiah Bennett
So You Calling for: Donald "nikator" Trump Angela "Soter" Merkel Wladimir "Euergetes" Putin. To lead armys in the field and crown them self Kings/Queens?
Isaac Rogers
I like trump but he is just a congress puppet
Samuel Foster
>tell me again how it´s shit that you don´t have to continuously worry about being raided by the barbarians living outside your town >implying
Hudson Walker
>East Timor flag Mate, that's in Asia, not Europe/Africa
Liam Ross
>Large scale urbanization and migration Mostly from Greece to the new areas of Greek settlement, and even then that's pretty minor >Growing access to information and scholarship (Library of Alexandria and research centers vs. the internet) This is true of a lot of the progression of history until Rome starts to decline >Rise of individualism, entrepreneurship, and self-help philosophies accompanied by loss of direct participation in democracy Don't know about the rise of individualism and entrepreneurship in Hellenistic Greece, and the decline in direct participation in democracy had more to do with the ending of the democratic states, not oligopolies >Loss of religion This is a pretty common claim in antiquity, and it's obviously difficult to verify >Focus on large architecture projects and experimentation in the arts, accompanied by a feeling that art was more meaningful in the past Did this really happen during the Hellenistic age? I can't recall anything from the time that states that they felt art was now worth less >Greater openness about sexuality leading to accusations society is becoming degenerate far from new in Greece >Government policies promoting multiculturalism to reduce ethnic tensions and boost economic migration the only "economic migration" was either mercenaries leaving Greece for armies in Hellenistic kingdoms or to work as administrators >Most people no longer have military experience as citizen-soldiers replaced by paid professional soldiers the hoplites were never the majority and the mercenaries then were Greeks leaving Greece, not other people working as mercenaries in Greece (and most modern armies don't use mercenaries)
Jace Evans
>implying intensifies
Ethan Adams
That wasn’t really his point but ok
Bentley Scott
>you can talk to anyone you want, in a matter of seconds gay >n´t have to continuously worry about being raided by the barbarians living outside your town muslims
Joshua Rogers
>AMERICANIZATION
Matthew Rodriguez
>not going to read this shit
Jose Wilson
OP, you are definitely approaching the truth. We are emerging from a long dark age, and now we are on the verge of a new Classical age. The Ancient Greek and Chinese worlds are being made beautiful and new, we assemble here online and the hundred schools contend!
Eli Ross
OP here,
>Burger etc.
Now that you mention it.... could be fun to watch
I think the authors' point on individualism was 1) Greeks moving from city states like Athens to cosmopolitan centers like Alexandria creates both opportunities for social mobility but also rootlessness (e.g., your tribe and deme are less important to your social life), and 2) decline of community-based consumption of culture (e.g., Dionysia festivals) and more focus on individual-based consumption (e.g., sitting at home, reading)
As for art worth less, I was thinking about Hellenistic idolization of the three tragic poets, But maybe you're right it's more complex than that A new Classical Age came to the Greeks only after Roman invasion and domination. Let's hope our transition is less painful.
Daniel Stewart
Well to be fair, Hellenisn was the most intelectually produttive period ever during the ancient era, and This is the most intelectually productive period, period.
Camden Peterson
Why would someone even take a photo of this? I was gonna say for the photographer to jerk off, but you can barely even see the woman.
Justin Morgan
>Loss of religion
Oriental mystery cults became common as fuck and religion became more and more centered around one God (Mitra, Jahve, Sol Invictus).
Caleb Johnson
Nice analysis, but let me nitpick a bit. >people no longer have external rivals which they see as an existential threat Yes, but that doesn't mean that large scale wars suddenly stopped being fought. The average Greek mightn't have feared Persian domination, but their Kings were still fighting over Alexander's Empire and the Greek city states felt (in the early Hellenistic Period at least) that they were being deprived of their god-given and self evident political rights. >Rise of individualism, entrepreneurship, and self-help philosophies accompanied by loss of direct participation in democracy I would argue this is a carry over from the Classical Age's sophists and oligarchies. >Loss of religion There's no evidence for this claim whatsoever.