Hellenistic Period
Learn about the Hellenistic period — the era from Alexander's death to Rome's conquest that spread Greek culture across the ancient world.
The Hellenistic period (323–31 BCE) spans the centuries between the death of Alexander the Great and Rome's absorption of the last major Hellenistic kingdom, Ptolemaic Egypt. During this era, Greek language and culture spread across a vast territory from the western Mediterranean to Central Asia, creating a cosmopolitan civilization that blended Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian traditions.
Alexander's empire fragmented immediately after his death, as his generals — the Diadochi — fought over the succession. Three major kingdoms eventually stabilized: Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucid Empire, and Antigonid Macedonia. Despite constant warfare between these states, the Hellenistic world was remarkably interconnected through trade, intellectual exchange, and shared cultural norms.
The Hellenistic period produced some of antiquity's greatest achievements. Euclid organized geometry. Archimedes discovered the principles of buoyancy and leverage. Eratosthenes calculated the Earth's circumference. The Library of Alexandria collected the world's knowledge. Hellenistic sculpture achieved a dramatic emotional intensity that influenced art for centuries. The era also saw the development of Stoic and Epicurean philosophy — practical wisdom traditions that offered guidance for living well in a complex, uncertain world.