Text 5. The Spread of Greek Culture

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Like his father, Alexander had both a military genius and an appreciation for Greek culture. Alexander had learned to appreciate the accomplishments of Greek culture as a child. In fact, his father, Philip, had hired Aristotle, one of Greece’s greatest philosophers, to teach Alexander about literature, philosophy, and science. Years later, Alexander would tell people that from his father, he had received life, but from Aristotle he had learned how to lead a good life.

During Alexander’s life time, he became known as Alexander the Great. His greatness is remembered not only because he created a vast empire, but also because he spread Greek culture throughout his empire. The influence of Greek culture remained long after Alexander’s empire fell apart. The legend of Alexander remained even longer. Alexander’s life and conquests continued to be a popular topic for stories and paintings for more than a thousand years in India, Persia, and Egypt.

As Alexander conquered lands, he established colonies and built cities modeled after Greek cities in conquered lands. Alexander realized that he could not maintain control over these conquered lands with force alone. So when he and his armies moved on Alexander left behind Greeks to rule these lands.

In addition, he adopted some features of the conquered cultures. For instance, Alexander began to wear Persian clothing and urged his men to worship him as a god, as Persian kings had been. It was Alexander’s hope that by doing these things the Persian would not see Greek rule as alien. Thus they would not rebel against the Greeks. Not only did they not rebel, many people in these countries actually learned the Greek language, worshiped the Greek gods, and read the Greek literature.

Eventually, the Greek influence became so widespread that the period from Alexander’s rule to 146 B.C. became known as the Hellenistic Age. Hellenisticmeans “Greek-like.” The art and culture of the Hellenistic period was a mixture of Greek and Eastern art and culture. During the Hellenistic Age, Greece became the teacher of the western world in the areas of science, art, literature, and philosophy.

Most of the lands that Alexander had conquered, such as Egypt and Persia, did not give up their own cultures altogether. Instead, these countries adopted two systems of life. One system was Greek for the people who lived in the cities. The other system was a native system for the people who lived in the country and therefore were not in close contact with the Greeks.

During the Hellenistic Age, the center of Greek culture shifted from Athens to the new city of Alexandria – named after Alexander the Great. Located in Egypt, Alexandria was founded by Alexander in 332 B.C.

A magnificent museum, which was the intellectual center of the world during the Hellenistic Age, was built at Alexandria. At the museum, mathematicians, poets, philosophers, and astronomers gathered to explore the mysteries of number, words, ideas, and the heavens.

To help the scholars do their research, the museum opened a library. This library, which grew into the largest library in the ancient world, had a collection of both Greek and non-Greek scrolls. Scholars at the library translated these non-Greek scrolls into Greek. In fact, some scientists believe that the oldest manuscript of the Old Testament – still in existence today – was first translated into Greek at the great museum in Alexandria.

Besides having a huge impact on the ancient world, the museum at Alexandria influenced future generations. It remained an important intellectual center for about seven centuries, until it was destroyed in the A.D. 200s. Thus, Alexander’s conquests continued to affect the world for years after his death.