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  • Essay / The Hellenistic Era: Thought, Culture, and Religion

    Although the Hellenistic Era began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, it is important to explore its beginnings. Greek and Eastern philosophies greatly influenced the formation of the Hellenistic era. The spread of Hellenistic culture and its important scientific contributions had an impact on civilization that is still evident today. One of the most important aspects of thought, culture, and religion during the Hellenistic era was its impact on Jewish culture and religion. Hellenistic culture was founded from Hellenic culture. Hellenic culture was born with Philip of Macedonia. Philip of Macedon was king of Macedonia in the early 4th century. Philip was known for his great organizational skills and his combat prowess as a warrior. Philip dreamed of creating an empire and, surpassing all expectations, he succeeded. It took Philip seven years to unite the ancient Greek city-states into one unit, but once he took control, he had a battle-tested army at his disposal. Philip of Macedon led his army into Asia Minor and defeated the Persian army. The defeat of the Persian army led to the collapse of the Persian Empire, which was unimaginable because at the time, Persia ruled the world. Unfortunately, as Philip turned his attention to conquering the rest of the world, he died. Fortunately, he left behind a son. Alexander the Great, son of Philip of Macedon, came to the throne at the age of nineteen in 336 BCE and with this single event, Hellenic culture abounded. Philip didn't want Alexander to be a crude, crude Macedonian, so he gave Alexander a tutor, Aristotle. Between Philip and Aristotle, Alexander grew up in Hellenic culture. The purpose of Hellenic culture was to...... middle of paper ......yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.Wein, Berel. “Alexander the Great.” JewishHistory.org. Np, and Web. March 9, 2011. .Maxwell, . “The Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenistic Period.” A Jewish synagogue. Np, and Web. March 9, 2011. .Goldfarb, Clare. “Judaism and Hellenism: the encounter”. Judaism. Np, and Web. March 9, 2011. “The Hellenistic kingdoms”. Greek thesaurus. Np, and Web. February 23, 2011. “Religion in the Hellenistic Period.” Greek thesaurus. Np, and Web. February 23 2011. .