The First Blitz

Brave New World: Hellenism in the Eastern Mediterranean

Dr David Price Williams

‘Hellenism’ means making everything Greek, so how did Greek culture spread as it did in classical times? In the 4th century BC Philip of Macedonia began to create an Empire by warfare and by 336BC dominated the whole of mainland Greece. He married the Princess Olympias of Epirus, who bore a son who was to become known as Alexander the Great. After Philip was assassinated Alexander, now a young man, took control. Alexander had a close friendship with Aristotle, who thought that Greek culture should be spread throughout the known world – Greek was the only culture, all others were barbaric; so from an early age Alexander believed he should bring this about. At this time the Persian Empire was the greatest yet seen. With the intention of bringing the area under Greek influence, Alexander crossed into Asia Minor, first visiting the site of Troy - his hero was Agamemnon, and he carried with him a copy of Homer - and there creating a temple to Athena. He fought his first major battle nearby at Granicus in 334BC.

Progressing down the coast of Asia Minor he took Halicarnassus, where the great Mausoleum stood, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, built in 352BC. At Gordium, in the land of King Midas, he famously cut the knot, and after a victory at Issus captured the Persian King’s family. In the Nile delta he laid plans for the city of Alexandria, with two harbours and an offshore island joined by a causeway to the mainland. With a group of friends he journeyed into the Western Desert to visit the famous oracle to Zeus Amun at Siwah where he was told his fortune, perhaps that he was a God. After the Battle of Gangemela on the Tigris, the Persian king Darius fled. Alexander entered Darius’ capital, Persepolis, where he spent six months in the Palace, adopting Persian dress, behaviour which caused unrest amongst his army. Darius was found and killed near the Caspian Sea. Alexander went on to the Oxus Valley, where he married Roxanne, daughter of a Sogdiana chief, and founded Alexandria Eschate, ‘the end of the earth’.

He wanted to go on into China but his army rebelled, so he turned back and after fighting the Battle of Hydaspes in the Indus Valley, 326BC, he and his army trekked back and reached Babylon, where Alexander died, possibly assassinated, twelve years after he had started out from Greece. His Empire was divided amongst his generals. Greek influence was now everywhere and continued for centuries. Three great Greek cities, Pergamon, Antioch and Alexandria, all lay outside Greece. Greek became the Lingua Franca in the Near East and in Jerusalem the unthinkable happened: the Tora, the word of God and unalterable, was translated into Greek. In the 19th century at St Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai was found the oldest version of the Old Testament, and it is in Greek. But was Greek dominance really due to Alexander or part of a pre-established trend? In the opening to St John’s Gospel, ‘in the beginning was the Word’ the word used is ‘Hologos’, taken from the writings of a 5th century BC Greek philosopher Heraclaitis, and it means ‘reason’.

Yvonne Masson