Greek diaspora
155-535: Constantinople and Asia Minor : Africa : Other regions : Other groups : Other languages The Egyptian Greeks , also known as Egyptiotes ( Greek : Αιγυπτιώτες , romanized : Eyiptiótes ) or simply Greeks in Egypt (Greek: Έλληνες της Αιγύπτου , romanized: Éllines tis Eyíptou ), are the ethnic Greek community from Egypt that has existed from the Hellenistic period until
310-545: A Carthaginian army there. This was the first time a European force had invaded the region. After this war he controlled most of south-east Sicily and had himself proclaimed king, in imitation of the Hellenistic monarchs of the east. Agathocles then invaded Italy ( c. 300 BC ) in defense of Tarentum against the Bruttians and Romans , but was unsuccessful. Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul were mostly limited to
465-621: A big exodus of the Greeks from Egypt, but most of the minority left the country either before or after the period 1952–1970. The Arab-Israeli wars of 1956 and 1967 contributed to the uprooting of the sizeable Greek community in the Suez Canal cities, especially Port Said . Today the Greek community numbers officially about 5,000 people, Many of Greek origin are now counted as Egyptian, having changed their nationality. In Alexandria, apart from
620-662: A carefully neutral posture and acting to preserve the balance of power between the major Hellenistic kingdoms. Initially, Rhodes had very close ties with the Ptolemaic kingdom. Rhodes later became a Roman ally against the Seleucids, receiving some territory in Caria for their role in the Roman–Seleucid War (192–188 BC). Rome eventually turned on Rhodes and annexed the island as a Roman province. The west Balkan coast
775-578: A combined Theban and Athenian army at the Battle of Chaeronea after a decade of desultory conflict. In the aftermath, Philip formed the League of Corinth , effectively bringing the majority of Greece under his direct sway. He was elected Hegemon of the league, and a campaign against the Achaemenid Empire of Persia was planned. However in 336 BC, while this campaign was in its early stages, he
930-604: A fleet. Ptolemy invaded Syria and defeated Antigonus' son, Demetrius Poliorcetes , in the Battle of Gaza of 312 BC which allowed Seleucus to secure control of Babylonia , and the eastern satrapies. In 310 BC, Cassander had young King Alexander IV and his mother Roxana murdered, ending the Argead dynasty which had ruled Macedon for several centuries. Antigonus then sent his son Demetrius to regain control of Greece. In 307 BC he took Athens, expelling Demetrius of Phaleron , Cassander's governor, and proclaiming
1085-553: A fusion of the ancient Greek world with that of the Western Asian, Northeastern African, and Southwestern Asian worlds. The consequence of this mixture gave rise to a common Attic -based Greek dialect, known as Koine Greek , which became the lingua franca throughout the ancient world. During the Hellenistic period, Greek cultural influence reached its peak in the Mediterranean and beyond. Prosperity and progress in
1240-547: A land of "burned faces" ( Ethiopians ) and the source of the Nile. Though he is assumed to have been personally familiar with the river only as far as Aswan , he did identify a "city of Ethiopians" at Meroë , apparently from reports by Psamtik II and Cambyses II . A new era of Greek-Nubian relations began in 332 BC, when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and soon dispatched reconnaissance expeditions into Nubia, possibly to find
1395-504: A league against Cassander's Macedon. The decisive engagement of the war came when Lysimachus invaded and overran much of western Anatolia, but was soon isolated by Antigonus and Demetrius near Ipsus in Phrygia . Seleucus arrived in time to save Lysimachus and utterly crushed Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. Seleucus' war elephants proved decisive; Antigonus was killed, and Demetrius fled back to Greece to attempt to preserve
1550-625: A letter written in the first half of the 3rd century and mentioning the gymnasiarch and the boulē (thereby indicating the author and recipient were of the upper class) uses the Christian nomina sacra and the Biblical Greek : ἐν κυρίῳ , romanized: en kyrίōi , lit. 'in the Lord', drawn from the Pauline epistles . The Church in Egypt (Patriarchate of Alexandria) split into
1705-506: A liberator than a conqueror. In addition, much of the area conquered would continue to be ruled by the Diadochi , Alexander's generals and successors. Initially, the whole empire was divided among them; however, some territories were lost relatively quickly or only remained nominally under Macedonian rule. After 200 years, only much reduced and rather degenerate states remained, until the conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt by Rome. When Alexander
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#17327655275361860-626: A new agreement with Antipater at the Treaty of Triparadisus . Antipater was made regent of the Empire, and the two kings were moved to Macedon. Antigonus remained in charge of Asia Minor, Ptolemy retained Egypt, Lysimachus retained Thrace and Seleucus I controlled Babylon . The second Diadochi war began following the death of Antipater in 319 BC. Passing over his own son, Cassander , Antipater had declared Polyperchon his successor as Regent . Cassander rose in revolt against Polyperchon (who
2015-981: A part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom . The presence of an asterisk (*) next to a person's name denotes that the person was born outside of Egypt, however the most part of this person's life or most important work occurred while in Egypt. 7th - 1st century B.C.E 1st - 7th century C.E. Ottoman era 7th - 19th century 20th - 21st century Ruler, 7th century B.C.E., Cyrene Engineer, 1st century B.C.E. or C.E., Alexandria Fashion designer, 1904 - 1970, Alexandria Mathematician, 5th century B.C.E., Cyrene Philosopher, 20 B.C.E - 50 C.E., Alexandria Philosopher, 435 - 356 B.C.E., Cyrene African Greeks Greek diaspora Constantinople and Asia Minor : Africa : Other regions : Other groups : Other languages African Greeks , or Greeks in Africa ( Greek : Έλληνες της Αφρικής ), are
2170-465: A significant amount of intermarriage took place between the Greek and Egyptian communities". The name Ethiopia itself is Greek and means "of burned face". It is first attested in the Homeric epics but it is unlikely to have referred to any particular nation, but rather, to people of African descent in general. Beginning in the Hellenistic age around the third century BC, Greek culture permeated
2325-435: A standing army of mercenaries and a small core of Greco-Macedonian settlers. Promotion of immigration from Greece was important in the establishment of this system. Hellenistic monarchs ran their kingdoms as royal estates and most of the heavy tax revenues went into the military and paramilitary forces which preserved their rule from any kind of revolution. Macedonian and Hellenistic monarchs were expected to lead their armies on
2480-535: A summary of Arrian 's Events after Alexander , by Photios I of Constantinople . Lesser supplementary sources include Curtius Rufus , Pausanias , Pliny , and the Byzantine encyclopedia the Suda . In the field of philosophy, Diogenes Laërtius ' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is the main source; works such as Cicero 's De Natura Deorum also provide some further detail of philosophical schools in
2635-590: A year after the battle of Actium . Under Greco-Roman rule, Egypt hosted several Greek settlements, mostly concentrated in Alexandria , but also in a few other cities, where Greek settlers lived alongside some seven to ten million native Egyptians . Faiyum 's earliest Greek inhabitants were soldier-veterans and cleruchs (elite military officials) who were settled by the Ptolemaic kings on reclaimed lands. Native Egyptians also came to settle in Faiyum from all over
2790-579: Is Athens , which had been decisively defeated by Antipater in the Lamian war (323–322 BC) and had its port in the Piraeus garrisoned by Macedonian troops who supported a conservative oligarchy . After Demetrius Poliorcetes captured Athens in 307 BC and restored the democracy , the Athenians honored him and his father Antigonus by placing gold statues of them on the agora and granting them
2945-763: Is an example of Egyptian Greek language, used in the Coptic Church : ⲇⲟⲝⲁ ⲡⲁⲧⲣⲓ ⲕⲉ ⲩⲓⲱ: ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲅⲓⲱ ⲡⲛⲉⲩⲙⲁⲧⲓ: ⲕⲉ ⲛⲩⲛ ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲓ̀ ⲕⲉ ⲓⲥ ⲧⲟⲩⲥ ⲉⲱⲛⲁⲥ ⲧⲱⲛ ⲉ̀ⲱ̀ⲛⲱⲛ ⲁ̀ⲙⲏⲛ Δόξα Πατρὶ κὲ Υἱῷ κὲ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, κὲ νῦν κὲ ἀῒ κὲ ἰς τοὺς ἐῶνας τῶν ἐώνων. Ἀμήν. Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. According to Walker, early Ptolemaic Greek colonists married local women and adopted Egyptian religious beliefs, and by Roman times, their descendants were viewed as Egyptians by
3100-452: Is an example of Nubian Greek language: ⲟⲩⲧⲟⲥ ⲉⲥⲧⲓⲛ ⲁⲇⲁⲩⲉⲗ ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲉⲩ ⲙⲱⲥⲉⲥ ⲅⲉⲱⲣⲅⲓⲟⲩ, ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲉⲩ ⲛⲟⲩⲃⲇⲏⲥ, ⲁⲣⲟⲩⲁ, ⲙⲁⲕⲣⲟ Hellenistic civilization In classical antiquity , the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece , between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of
3255-563: Is now Sudan. Vice versa, ancient Nubia also had an influence on Greek culture from those early times onwards, as it was well known by scholars throughout the Hellenic world, where several of the classical writers mentioned it. It evidently inspired curiosity about the exotic lands South of Egypt and particularly about the sources of the Nile river. Hence, the pioneering historian Herodotus (circa 484 – circa 425 BC) made references to Nubia as
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#17327655275363410-605: Is one of the last references to Nubia from that time. The Axumite Empire engaged in a series of invasions that culminated in the capture of the Nubian capital of Meroë in the middle of the 4th century AD, signaling the end of independent Nubian Pagan kingdoms. The Axumites then converted the Nubians to Christianity, establishing the authority of the Coptic Church in the area, and founded new Nubian Christian kingdoms, such as Nobatia , Alodia , and Makuria . Tribal nomads like
3565-485: Is surrounded by a huge wall and topped by a stone tower. Within its walls there was a Greek hospital, a school and housing for the elderly and poor. In addition to the Greek communities of Alexandria and Cairo, there were the organised Greek communities of Mansoura , founded in 1860, Port Said , founded in 1870, Tanta in 1880, and the community of Zagazig in 1850. There were fifteen smaller communities across Egypt and mainly around Cairo and Alexandria. In Upper Egypt ,
3720-570: Is the variety of Greek spoken in Egypt from antiquity until the Islamic conquest of Egypt in the 7th century. Egyptian Greek adopted many loanwords from Egyptian language ; there was a great deal of intracommunity bilingualism in Egypt. The following is an example of Egyptian Greek language, used in the Coptic Church : ⲇⲟⲝⲁ ⲡⲁⲧⲣⲓ ⲕⲉ ⲩⲓⲱ: ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲅⲓⲱ ⲡⲛⲉⲩⲙⲁⲧⲓ: ⲕⲉ ⲛⲩⲛ ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲓ̀ ⲕⲉ ⲓⲥ ⲧⲟⲩⲥ ⲉⲱⲛⲁⲥ ⲧⲱⲛ ⲉ̀ⲱ̀ⲛⲱⲛ ⲁ̀ⲙⲏⲛ Δόξα Πατρὶ κὲ Υἱῷ κὲ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, κὲ νῦν κὲ ἀῒ κὲ ἰς τοὺς ἐῶνας τῶν ἐώνων. Ἀμήν. Glory to
3875-542: Is to be distinguished from "Hellenic" in that the latter refers to Greece itself, while the former encompasses all the ancient territories of the period that had come under significant Greek influence , particularly the Hellenized Middle East , after the conquests of Alexander the Great . After the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BC and its disintegration shortly thereafter in
4030-586: The 5th century ; the Nubian Greek language resembles Egyptian and Byzantine Greek ; it served as a lingua franca throughout the Nubian Kingdoms, and had a creolized form for trade among the different peoples in Nubia. Nubian Greek was unique in that it adopted many words from both Coptic Egyptian and Nubian ; Nubian Greek's syntax also evolved to establish a fixed word order. The following
4185-746: The Achaean War , the final defeat of the Ptolemaic Kingdom at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian in AD 138, and the move by the emperor Constantine the Great of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople in AD 330. Though this scope of suggested dates demonstrates a range of academic opinion, a generally accepted date by most of scholarship has been that of 31/30 BC. The word originated from ancient Greek Ἑλληνιστής ( Hellēnistḗs , "one who uses
4340-679: The Beja , Afar , and Saho managed to remain autonomous due to their uncentralized nomadic nature. These tribal peoples would sporadically inflict attacks and raids on Axumite communities. The Beja nomads eventually Hellenized and integrated into the Nubian Greek society that had already been present in Lower Nubia for three centuries. Nubian Greek culture followed the pattern of Egyptian Greek and Byzantine Greek civilization, expressed in Nubian Greek art and Nubian Greek literature. The earliest attestations of Nubian Greek literature come from
4495-653: The Byzantine emperor ). It is estimated that as much as 30 percent of the population of Faiyum was Greek during the Ptolemaic period, with the rest being native Egyptians; the Faiyum mummy portraits reflect the complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the elite Egyptian Greek minority in Faiyum. By the Roman period, much of the "Greek" population of Faiyum was made up of either Hellenized Egyptians or people of mixed Egyptian-Greek origins, and by
4650-648: The Greco-Bactrian kingdom ). It can be argued that some of the changes across the Macedonian Empire after Alexander's conquests and during the rule of the Diadochi would have occurred without the influence of Greek rule. As mentioned by Peter Green , numerous factors of conquest have been merged under the term Hellenistic period . Specific areas conquered by Alexander's invading army, including Egypt and areas of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia "fell" willingly to conquest and viewed Alexander as more of
4805-465: The Greek people in the continent of Africa . Greek communities have existed in Africa since antiquity. Greeks have been present in Egypt since at least the 7th century BC. Herodotus visited ancient Egypt in the 5th century BC and claimed that the Greeks were one of the first groups of foreigners that ever lived there. Diodorus Siculus claimed that Rhodian Actis , one of the Heliadae , built
Egyptian Greeks - Misplaced Pages Continue
4960-586: The Greek Dark Ages from 1100 to 750 BC, the city of Naucratis was founded in Ancient Egypt. It was located on the Canopic branch of the Nile river, 45 mi (72 km) from the open sea. It was the first and, for much of its early history, the only permanent Greek colony in Egypt; acting as a symbiotic nexus for the interchange of Greek and Egyptian art and culture. At about the same time,
5115-734: The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria following the fourth ecumenical council , the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Some 30,000 Greeks of Chalcedonian persuasion were ranged against some five million Coptic non-Chalcedonians. The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria remained in communion with the other patriarchs by accepting the council's decision, and were referred to as melkites ("the King's men", meaning those loyal to
5270-534: The Greek colonies in Illyria. Illyrians imported weapons and armor from the ancient Greeks (such as the Illyrian type helmet , originally a Greek type) and also adopted the ornamentation of ancient Macedon on their shields and their war belts (a single one has been found, dated 3rd century BC at modern Selcë e Poshtme , a part of Macedon at the time under Philip V of Macedon ). The Odrysian Kingdom
5425-601: The Lamian war ) invaded Anatolia . The rebels were supported by Lysimachus , the satrap of Thrace and Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt. Although Eumenes , satrap of Cappadocia , defeated the rebels in Asia Minor, Perdiccas himself was murdered by his own generals Peithon , Seleucus , and Antigenes (possibly with Ptolemy's aid) during his invasion of Egypt ( c. 21 May to 19 June, 320 BC). Ptolemy came to terms with Perdiccas's murderers, making Peithon and Arrhidaeus regents in his place, but soon these came to
5580-469: The Mediterranean coast of Provence , France . The first Greek colony in the region was Massalia , which became one of the largest trading ports of Mediterranean by the 4th century BC with 6,000 inhabitants. Massalia was also the local hegemon , controlling various coastal Greek cities like Nice and Agde . The coins minted in Massalia have been found in all parts of Liguro-Celtic Gaul. Celtic coinage
5735-534: The Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641. Under Greco-Roman rule, Egypt hosted several Greek settlements, mostly concentrated in Alexandria , but also in a few other cities, where Greek settlers lived alongside some seven to ten million native Egyptians . Faiyum 's earliest Greek inhabitants were soldier-veterans and cleruchs (elite military officials) who were settled by the Ptolemaic kings on reclaimed lands. Native Egyptians also came to settle in Faiyum from all over
5890-746: The Partition of Babylon and subsequent Wars of the Diadochi , Hellenistic kingdoms were established throughout West Asia ( Seleucid Empire , Kingdom of Pergamon ), Northeast Africa ( Ptolemaic Kingdom ) and South Asia ( Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , Indo-Greek Kingdom ). This resulted in an influx of Greek colonists and the export of Greek culture and language to these new realms, a breadth spanning as far as modern-day India. These new Greek kingdoms were also influenced by regional indigenous cultures, adopting local practices where deemed beneficial, necessary, or convenient. Hellenistic culture thus represents
6045-501: The Ptolemaic Kingdom , which might otherwise have been lost, has been preserved in papyrological documents. This is particularly noteworthy given the limited documentation available for their Seleucid counterparts. Ancient Greece had traditionally been a fractious collection of fiercely independent city-states. After the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), Greece had fallen under a Spartan hegemony , in which Sparta
6200-556: The Roman Empire , as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the Roman conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt the following year, which eliminated the last major Hellenistic kingdom. Its name stems from the Ancient Greek word Hellas ( Ἑλλάς , Hellás ), which was gradually recognized as the name for Greece , from which the early modern 19th century historiographical term Hellenistic was derived. The term "Hellenistic"
6355-656: The Roman Republic against the Carthaginian Empire during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). However, Emporion lost its political independence around 195 BC with the establishment of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior and by the 1st century BC had become fully Romanized in culture. The Hellenistic states of Asia and Egypt were run by an occupying imperial elite of Greco-Macedonian administrators and governors propped up by
Egyptian Greeks - Misplaced Pages Continue
6510-636: The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World while during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus , the Library of Alexandria was the biggest library in the world until it was destroyed. The last Pharaoh was a Greek princess, Cleopatra VII , who took her own life in 30 BC, a year after the battle of Actium . After its conquest by the Roman forces in 30 BC, Egypt became a province of the new Roman Empire and remained an Eastern Roman territory until
6665-513: The Suez Crisis , the British and French laborers left while the Greeks stayed. The emergence of a Greek aristocracy of rich industrialists, merchants and bankers created the legacy of Greek-Egyptian philanthropism. These benefactors donated large amounts for the building of schools, academies, hospitals and institutions in both Egypt and Greece. Michail Tositsas donated large amounts for
6820-504: The arts , literature , theatre , architecture , music , mathematics , philosophy , and science characterize the era. The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy , Alexandrian poetry , translation efforts such as the Septuagint , and the philosophies of Stoicism , Epicureanism , and Pyrrhonism . In science, the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes are exemplary. Sculpture during this period
6975-551: The cataclysm ; likewise the Athenians built Sais . Siculus reports that all the Greek cities were destroyed during the cataclysm, but the Egyptian cities including Heliopolis and Sais survived. According to Herodotus (ii. 154), King Psammetichus I (664–610 BC) established a garrison of foreign mercenaries at Daphnae , mostly Carians and Ionian Greeks. In 7th century BC, after the Greek Dark Ages from 1100 to 750 BC,
7130-535: The " Nesiotic League " of the Cyclades . These federations involved a central government which controlled foreign policy and military affairs, while leaving most of the local governing to the city states , a system termed sympoliteia . In states such as the Achaean league, this also involved the admission of other ethnic groups into the federation with equal rights, in this case, non- Achaeans . The Achean league
7285-688: The Aegean (204–200 BC) and ignored Roman demands for non-intervention in Greece by invading Attica. In 198 BC, during the Second Macedonian War Philip was decisively defeated at Cynoscephalae by the Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus and Macedon lost all its territories in Greece proper. Southern Greece was now thoroughly brought into the Roman sphere of influence , though it retained nominal autonomy. The end of Antigonid Macedon came when Philip V's son, Perseus,
7440-816: The Athenians in the Chremonidean War , and then against the Achaean League of Aratus of Sicyon . Under the Antigonids, Macedonia was often short on funds, the Pangaeum mines were no longer as productive as under Philip II, the wealth from Alexander's campaigns had been used up and the countryside pillaged by the Gallic invasion . A large number of the Macedonian population had also been resettled abroad by Alexander or had chosen to emigrate to
7595-413: The Axumite king Zoskales ( Ancient Greek : Ζωσκάλης ) established the Axumite Empire ( Ancient Greek : Ἀξωμίτης ) (c. 100 AD–c. 960 AD), which maintained Ethiopian Greek culture and used Greek as its lingua franca . In the city of Axum , many obelisks, statues, and architecture made in Egyptian Greek style still mark the landscape. As the Islamic conquest of North Africa severed Axum's link with
7750-417: The Egyptian government for a diplomatic rapprochement with Greece and this has positively affected the Greek Diaspora. The Diaspora has received official visits of many Greek politicians. Economic relationships between Greece and Egypt have expanded. As of 2010, Egypt has received major Greek investments in banking, tourism, paper, the oil industry, & many others. In 2009, a five-year cooperation-memorandum
7905-406: The Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. According to Walker, early Ptolemaic Greek colonists married local women and adopted Egyptian religious beliefs, and by Roman times, their descendants were viewed as Egyptians by the Roman rulers, despite their own self-perception of being Greek. The dental morphology of the Roman-period Faiyum mummies
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#17327655275368060-462: The Great conquered Egypt at an early stage of his conquests. He respected the pharaonic religions and customs and he was proclaimed Pharaoh of Egypt. He established the city of Alexandria . After his death, in 323 BC, his empire was divided among his generals . Egypt was given to Ptolemy I Soter , whose descendants would give Egypt her final royal dynasty – a glittering one. The dynasty was composed solely by ethnic Greeks and produced dynasts such as
8215-400: The Great died (10 June 323 BC), he left behind a sprawling empire that was composed of many essentially autonomous territories called satrapies . Without a chosen successor, there were immediate disputes among his generals as to who should be king of Macedon. These generals became known as the Diadochi ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Διάδοχοι , Diadokhoi , meaning "Successors"). Meleager and
8370-440: The Greco-Egyptian Serapis , eastern deities such as Attis and Cybele , and a syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism in Bactria and Northwest India . Scholars and historians are divided as to which event signals the end of the Hellenistic era. There is a wide chronological range of proposed dates that have included the final conquest of the Greek heartlands by the expansionist Roman Republic in 146 BC following
8525-479: The Greek geographer and librarian at Alexandria , sketched "with fair accuracy" the course of the Nile as far south as what is now Khartoum , based on the accounts of various travellers. Pliny listed a number of Greeks who had travelled to Meroë and sometimes beyond: Dalion , Aristocreon , Bion , Basilis, and Simonides the Younger , who apparently lived at Meroe for five years. Relations between Kush and Ptolemaic Egypt thereafter remained tense, but stable. By
8680-505: The Greek language"), from Ἑλλάς ( Hellás , "Greece"); as if "Hellenist" + "ic". The idea of a Hellenistic period is a 19th-century concept, and did not exist in ancient Greece . Although words related in form or meaning, e.g. Hellenist ( Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνιστής , Hellēnistēs ), have been attested since ancient times, it has been attributed to the 19th century German historian Johann Gustav Droysen , who in his classic work Geschichte des Hellenismus ( History of Hellenism ), coined
8835-459: The Greek world in the 7th century, Greek culture and knowledge waned; Muslim presence in the Red Sea also caused Axum to suffer economically and it declined in power. Axum's final three centuries are considered a dark age, in which Ethiopian Greek culture disappeared; the Axumite Empire finally collapsed around 960 AD. Despite its position as one of the foremost empires of late antiquity, Axum fell into obscurity as Ethiopia remained isolated throughout
8990-433: The Greek world remained sporadic until Ptolemy II 's Nubian campaign for Meroë in the 270s BC. Ptolemy's interest in Nubia was to secure a source of war elephants from Meroë, and to gain access to Meroitic gold mines. At the same time, Ergamenes (Arkamani II), a king of one of the nine Nubian kingdoms, studied Greek language and customs at the Alexandrian court in the Ptolemaic Empire. Eratosthenes (circa 276–194 BC),
9145-639: The Greek world, making the endless conflicts between the cities that had marked the 5th and 4th centuries BC seem petty and unimportant. It led to a steady emigration, particularly of the young and ambitious, to the new Greek empires in the east. Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria , Antioch , and the many other new Hellenistic cities founded in Alexander's wake, as far away as modern Afghanistan and Pakistan . Independent city states were unable to compete with Hellenistic kingdoms and were usually forced to ally themselves to one of them for defense, giving honors to Hellenistic rulers in return for protection. One example
9300-467: The Greeks during the 8th century BC. In 4th-century BC Sicily the leading Greek city and hegemon was Syracuse . During the Hellenistic period the leading figure in Sicily was Agathocles of Syracuse (361–289 BC) who seized the city with an army of mercenaries in 317 BC. Agathocles extended his power throughout most of the Greek cities in Sicily, fought a long war with the Carthaginians , at one point invading Tunisia in 310 BC and defeating
9455-820: The Greeks in Egypt were foods, wine, soap, wood crafts, printing. In the food industry, the macaroni industries of Melachrinos ( Μελαχροινός ) and Antoniadis ( Αντωνιάδης ) were well known. Another example was the cheese and butter production of Argyriou ( Αργυρίου ), Roussoglou (Ρ ουσσόγλου ) and Paleoroutas ( Παλαιορούτας ). Chocolate-Biscuits and Toffee producers were: Daloghlou ( Δαλόγλου ), Russos ( Ρούσσος ), Repapis ( Ρεπάπης ); Oil-soaps-vegetable fats (Salt & Soda) producers like Zerbinis ( Ζερμπίνης ) were based in Kafr al-Zayat. There were many Greek theatres and cinemas. Major Greek newspapers were Ta grammata ( Τα Γράμματα ), Tachydromos ( Ταχυδρόμος ), and Nea Zoe ( Νέα Ζωή ). The Greek community in Egypt has produced numerous artists, writers, diplomats and politicians,
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#17327655275369610-577: The Hellenistic period breaks off after the battle of Ipsus (301 BC). Another important source, Plutarch 's ( c. AD 50 – c. 120 ) Parallel Lives although more preoccupied with issues of personal character and morality, outlines the history of important Hellenistic figures. Appian of Alexandria (late 1st century AD–before 165) wrote a history of the Roman empire that includes information of some Hellenistic kingdoms. Other sources include Justin 's (2nd century AD) epitome of Pompeius Trogus ' Historiae Philipicae and
9765-488: The Hellenistic period is Polybius of Megalopolis (c. 200–118), a statesman of the Achaean League until 168 BC when he was forced to go to Rome as a hostage. His Histories eventually grew to a length of forty books, covering the years 220 to 167 BC. The most important source after Polybius is Diodorus Siculus who wrote his Bibliotheca historica between 60 and 30 BC and reproduced some important earlier sources such as Hieronymus, but his account of
9920-425: The Hellenistic period. Inscriptions on stone or metal were commonly erected throughout the Greek world for public display, a practice which originated well before the time of Alexander the Great, but saw substantial expansion during the Hellenistic Period. The majority of these inscriptions are located on the Greek mainland , the Greek islands , and western Asia Minor . While they become increasingly rare towards
10075-425: The Hellenistic period. It became a center of culture and commerce, its coins were widely circulated and its philosophical schools became one of the best in the Mediterranean. After holding out for one year under siege by Demetrius Poliorcetes (305–304 BC), the Rhodians built the Colossus of Rhodes to commemorate their victory. They retained their independence by the maintenance of a powerful navy, by maintaining
10230-410: The Macedonians themselves were looked down upon as semi-barbaric by the rest of the Greeks. However, Macedon controlled a large area and had a relatively strong centralized government, in comparison to most Greek states. Philip II was a strong and expansionist king who took every opportunity to expand Macedonian territory. In 352 BC he annexed Thessaly and Magnesia . In 338 BC, Philip defeated
10385-468: The Magnificent from 1520 to 1566, is perhaps the best known. At the end of the 18th century, Ottoman Egypt was home to a small community of Egyptian Greeks who numbered from under a thousand to 5000 people. At the time Egyptian Greeks were split into two distinct communities that rarely intermingled. The first was composed of Arabic speaking descendants of early Greek settlers and Greeks who immigrated to Egypt after 1517, most of whom were merchants. During
10540-412: The Middle Ages. Later Abyssinian Greeks were attested in the 1700s, largely descending from Greek craftsmen and sailors residing in Abyssinia, who facilitated commerce between Abyssinia and Europe. The explorer James Bruce reported that a number of Greek refugees from Smyrna had also arrived in Gondar during the reign of Emperor Iyasu II . The Smyrniot refugees included twelve silversmiths, whom
10695-443: The Ottoman Caliphate, which witnessed many Ottoman sultans and pashas of Greek ancestry rule over the Ottoman Empire in general, and Egypt in particular. Other notable Greeks in Egypt during the Ottoman period included Damat Hasan Pasha from the Morea , a governor of Egypt. Raghib Pasha , born in Greece to Greek parents, served as prime minister of Egypt. During the Ottoman Caliphate, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha , grand vizier to Suleiman
10850-414: The Patriarchate, there is a Patriarchal theology school that opened recently after 480 years being closed. Saint Nicholas church in Cairo and several other buildings in Alexandria have been recently renovated by the Greek Government and the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation . Saint George's church in Old Cairo is undergoing restoration to end in 2014. During the last decade, there has been a new interest from
11005-422: The Roman rulers, despite their own self-perception of being Greek. The dental morphology of the Roman-period Faiyum mummies was also compared with that of earlier Egyptian populations, and was found to be "much more closely akin" to that of ancient Egyptians than to Greeks or other European populations. Victor J. Katz notes that "research in papyri dating from the early centuries of the common era demonstrates that
11160-474: The aftermath of the Egyptian coup d'état of 1952 , when most were forced to leave. Greeks have been present in Egypt since at least the 7th century BC. Herodotus visited ancient Egypt in the 5th century BC and claimed that the Greeks were one of the first groups of foreigners that ever lived there. Diodorus Siculus claimed that Rhodian Actis , one of the Heliadae , built the city of Heliopolis before
11315-460: The ancient Egyptian bureaucracy, highly centralized and focused on squeezing as much revenue out of the population as possible through tariffs, excise duties, fines, taxes, and so forth. A whole class of petty officials, tax farmers, clerks, and overseers made this possible. The Egyptian countryside was directly administered by this royal bureaucracy. External possessions such as Cyprus and Cyrene were run by strategoi , military commanders appointed by
11470-931: The building of the Athens University , the Amalio Orphanage and the Athens Polytechnic . His wife Eleni Tositsa donated the land for the National Archaeological Museum of Athens . George Averoff also contributed to the building of the National Technical University of Athens , the Evelpidon Military Academy and the donation of the cruiser Averoff to the Hellenic Navy . Emmanouil Benakis contributed to
11625-544: The building of the National Gallery of Athens , while his son Antonis Benakis was the founder of the Benaki Museum . Other major benefactors include Nikolaos Stournaras, Theodoros Kotsikas, Nestoras Tsanaklis, Konstantinos Horemis, Stefanos Delta, Penelope Delta , Pantazis Vassanis and Vassilis Sivitanidis. The exodus of Greeks from Egypt started before the coup d'état of 1952 . With the establishment of
11780-419: The centre of the Greek and Hellenistic world and the centre of international commerce, art and science. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World while during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus , the Library of Alexandria was the biggest library in the world until it was destroyed. The last Pharaoh was a Greek princess, Cleopatra VII , who took her own life in 30 BC,
11935-442: The city free again. Demetrius now turned his attention to Ptolemy, defeating his fleet at the Battle of Salamis and taking control of Cyprus. In the aftermath of this victory, Antigonus took the title of king ( basileus ) and bestowed it on his son Demetrius Poliorcetes , the rest of the Diadochi soon followed suit. Demetrius continued his campaigns by laying siege to Rhodes and conquering most of Greece in 302 BC, creating
12090-429: The city of Heliopolis before the cataclysm ; likewise the Athenians built Sais . Siculus reports that all the Greek cities were destroyed during the cataclysm, but the Egyptian cities including Heliopolis and Sais survived. According to Herodotus (ii. 154), King Psammetichus I (664–610 BC) established a garrison of foreign mercenaries at Daphnae , mostly Carians and Ionian Greeks. In 7th century BC, after
12245-432: The city of Heracleion , the closest to the sea, became an important port for Greek trade. It had a famous temple of Heracles . The city later sank into the sea, only to be rediscovered recently. From the time of Psammetichus I onwards, Greek mercenary armies played an important role in some of the Egyptian wars. One such army was led by Mentor of Rhodes . Another such personage was Phanes of Halicarnassus . Alexander
12400-403: The city of Naucratis was founded in Ancient Egypt. It was located on the Canopic branch of the Nile river, 45 mi (72 km) from the open sea. It was the first and, for much of its early history, the only permanent Greek colony in Egypt; acting as a symbiotic nexus for the interchange of Greek and Egyptian art and culture. At about the same time, the city of Heracleion , the closest to
12555-435: The complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the elite Egyptian Greek minority in Faiyum. By the Roman period, much of the "Greek" population of Faiyum was made up of either Hellenized Egyptians or people of mixed Egyptian-Greek origins, and by the time of Roman emperor Caracalla in the 2nd century AD, ethnic Egyptians could be distinguished from Egyptian Greeks only by their speech. Egyptian Greek
12710-561: The country, especially in the region of the Faiyum . Alexandria , a major center of Greek culture and trade, became his capital city. As Egypt's first port city, it became the main grain exporter in the Mediterranean. The Egyptians begrudgingly accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt, though the kingdom went through several native revolts. Ptolemy I began to order monetary contributions from
12865-537: The country, notably the Nile Delta , Upper Egypt , Oxyrhynchus and Memphis , to undertake the labor involved in the land reclamation process, as attested by personal names, local cults and recovered papyri . Christianity probably arrived in Egypt among the Hellenized Alexandrian Jews, from Palestine's communities of Jewish Christians. The earliest evidence of Christianity in Egypt is
13020-403: The country, notably the Nile Delta , Upper Egypt , Oxyrhynchus and Memphis , to undertake the labor involved in the land reclamation process, as attested by personal names, local cults and recovered papyri . It is estimated that as much as 30 percent of the population of Faiyum was Greek during the Ptolemaic period, with the rest being native Egyptians; the Faiyum mummy portraits reflect
13175-624: The course of the War of the Second Coalition France occupied Egypt . The new French authorities established cordial relations with the Greek community. This resulted in the recruitment of Greek mercenaries who once served the Mamluks. On 27 June 1800, a regular army unit composed of ethnic Greeks was established under the name Légion Grecque (Greek Legion). Commanded by Nikolaos Papazoglou it numbered 577 officers and soldiers. After
13330-486: The crown. Under Ptolemy II , Callimachus , Apollonius of Rhodes , Theocritus , and a host of other poets including the Alexandrian Pleiad made the city a center of Hellenistic literature. Ptolemy himself was eager to patronise the library, scientific research and individual scholars who lived on the grounds of the library. He and his successors also fought a series of wars with the Seleucids, known as
13485-600: The death of Pyrrhus, Epirus remained a minor power. In 233 BC the Aeacid royal family was deposed and a federal state was set up called the Epirote League . The league was conquered by Rome in the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC). Antigonus II , a student of Zeno of Citium , spent most of his rule defending Macedon against Epirus and cementing Macedonian power in Greece, first against
13640-488: The eastern regions, they are not entirely absent there, and they are most notably featured in public buildings and sanctuaries . The content of these inscriptions is diverse, encompassing royal correspondence addressed to cities or individuals, municipal and legal edicts, decrees commemorating rulers, officials, and individuals for their contributions, as well as laws, treaties, religious rulings, and dedications. Despite challenges in their interpretation, inscriptions are often
13795-601: The embalmed corpse on its way to burial, brought it to Egypt, and placed it in a golden coffin in Alexandria. It would remain one of the famous sights of the town for many years, until probably destroyed in riots in the 3rd century AD. The initial objective of Ptolemy's reign was to establish firm and broad boundaries to his newly acquired kingdom. That led to almost continuous warfare against other leading members of Alexander's circle. At times he held Cyprus and even parts of mainland Greece . When these conflicts were over, he
13950-642: The emperor put to work producing a variety of items for both his court and the churches of Gondar. Abyssinian Greeks held many of the highest positions in the Abyssinian Empire ; the principal Abyssinian Greek community stayed with the Abyssinian Emperor in the capital, Gondar. Emperor Theodore II specifically made known that he favored the Abyssinian Greeks, because of their virility and integrity of character. Cyrenaica
14105-674: The end of the French occupation of Egypt a part of the Greek Legion continued their service in the French military as part of the Bataillon Chasseurs d'Orient and other small units. Many Greek Muslims from Crete (often confusingly called Cretan Turks ) were resettled in Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, and Syria by Sultan Abdul Hamid II after the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 that resulted in the autonomy of Crete (see
14260-538: The example of al-Hamidiyah , a largely Cretan Greek Muslim village in Syria). In 1920, approximately 200,000 Greeks lived in Egypt. By c. 1940 , the Greeks numbered about 300,000. The Greek community in Alexandria lived around the church and convent of Sabbas the Sanctified . In the same area there was a guest house for Greek travelers, a Greek hospital and later a Greek school. The Greek Orthodox bishop
14415-424: The famous Cleopatra . Its capital was Alexandria. Ptolemy added legitimacy to his rule in Egypt by acquiring Alexander's body. He intercepted the embalmed corpse on its way to burial, brought it to Egypt, and placed it in a golden coffin in Alexandria. It would remain one of the famous sights of the town for many years, until probably destroyed in riots in the 3rd century AD. The initial objective of Ptolemy's reign
14570-416: The field, along with a group of privileged aristocratic companions or friends ( hetairoi , philoi ) which dined and drank with the king and acted as his advisory council. The monarch was also expected to serve as a charitable patron of the people; this public philanthropy could mean building projects and handing out gifts but also promotion of Greek culture and religion. Ptolemy , a somatophylax , one of
14725-421: The greatest intellectual and artistic centers of the Greek world, famous for its medical school, learned academies and architecture, which included some of the finest examples of the Hellenistic style . The Cyrenaics , a school of thinkers who expounded a doctrine of moral cheerfulness that defined happiness as the sum of human pleasures, were founded by Aristippus of Cyrene. Other notable natives of Cyrene were
14880-464: The growing power and ambition of Antigonus. He began removing and appointing satraps as if he were king and also raided the royal treasuries in Ecbatana , Persepolis and Susa , making off with 25,000 talents . Seleucus was forced to flee to Egypt and Antigonus was soon at war with Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander. He then invaded Phoenicia , laid siege to Tyre , stormed Gaza and began building
15035-704: The horns of a ram to his image. Ammon had a wife, Ammonia , and a son, Parammon ( Thoth-Hermes ), considered Ammon's hypostasis (incarnation). Parammon was also the secretary of Osiris , one of the sons of Ammon. Intercultural exchange between the Hellenic and Nubian civilizations started at least two and a half millennia ago. The Greek presence in the Nile Valley and its considerable impact on ancient Nubia have long been recognized by scholars. The first recorded contact took place in 593 BC: graffiti at Abu Simbel reveal that large numbers of Greek mercenaries served under Psamtik II in his invasion of what
15190-400: The huge territories Alexander had conquered became subject to a strong Greek influence ( Hellenization ) for the next two or three centuries, until the rise of Rome in the west, and of Parthia in the east. As the Greek and Levantine cultures mingled, the development of a hybrid Hellenistic culture began, and persisted even when isolated from the main centres of Greek culture (for instance, in
15345-399: The infantry supported the candidacy of Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus , while Perdiccas , the leading cavalry commander, supported waiting until the birth of Alexander's child by Roxana . After the infantry stormed the palace of Babylon , a compromise was arranged – Arrhidaeus (as Philip III) should become king and should rule jointly with Roxana's child, assuming that it
15500-655: The language of administration and of the nobility. The nobility also adopted Greek fashions in dress , ornament, and military equipment, spreading it to the other tribes. Thracian kings were among the first to be Hellenized . After 278 BC the Odrysians had a strong competitor in the Celtic Kingdom of Tylis ruled by the kings Comontorius and Cavarus , but in 212 BC they conquered their enemies and destroyed their capital. Southern Italy ( Magna Graecia ) and south-eastern Sicily had been colonized by
15655-599: The latest war between Macedon and the Greek leagues ( the Social War of 220–217 BC) to an end, and at this time he controlled all of Greece except Athens, Rhodes and Pergamum. In 215 BC Philip, with his eye on Illyria , formed an alliance with Rome's enemy Hannibal of Carthage , which led to Roman alliances with the Achaean League , Rhodes and Pergamum. The First Macedonian War broke out in 212 BC, and ended inconclusively in 205 BC. Philip continued to wage war against Pergamum and Rhodes for control of
15810-644: The most famous being the poet Constantine P. Cavafy ( Κωνσταντίνος Καβάφης ), also the painter Konstantinos Parthenis ( Κωνσταντίνος Παρθένης ). During the Balkan Wars , the Greek communities of Egypt sent volunteers, funded hospitals, and accommodated families of the soldiers. During World War II (1940–1945), more than 7000 Greeks fought for the Allies in the Middle East ; 142 died. Their financial contribution reached 2500 million Egyptian pounds. After
15965-554: The native population did not always mix; the Greeks moved and brought their own culture, but interaction did not always occur. While a few fragments exist, there are no complete surviving historical works that date to the hundred years following Alexander's death. The works of the major Hellenistic historians Hieronymus of Cardia (who worked under Alexander, Antigonus I and other successors), Duris of Samos and Phylarchus , which were used by surviving sources , are all lost. The earliest and most credible surviving source for
16120-430: The new eastern Greek cities. Up to two-thirds of the population emigrated, and the Macedonian army could only count on a levy of 25,000 men, a significantly smaller force than under Philip II. Antigonus II ruled until his death in 239 BC. His son Demetrius II soon died in 229 BC, leaving a child (Philip V) as king, with the general Antigonus Doson as regent. Doson led Macedon to victory in
16275-526: The new sovereign regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser , rise of Pan-Arab nationalism , and the subsequent nationalisation of many industries in 1961 and 1963, thousands of Greek employees decided to emigrate. Many of them emigrated to Australia , the United States , Canada, South Africa, Western Europe, and Greece. Many Greek schools, churches, small communities and institutions subsequently closed, but many continue to function to this day. The Nasser regime saw
16430-593: The oldest ancient Greek community was the one of Minia which was founded in 1812. The first banks in Egypt were crafted by Greeks, including the Bank of Alexandria , the Anglo-Egyptian bank (Sunadinos family / Συναδινός), and the General Bank of Alexandria. Also, it was the Greek agriculturists and farmers that first systematically and with scientific planning, cultivated cotton and tobacco . They improved
16585-406: The only source available for understanding numerous events in Greek history. Papyrus served as the predominant medium for handwritten documents across the Hellenistic world, though its production was confined to Egypt . Due to Egypt's arid climate , papyrus manuscripts was almost exclusively preserved there as well. That being said, the different historical periods are not represented equally in
16740-552: The original Theran colonists and ethnic Libyans , second, Peloponnesians and Cretans, and third, Aegean islanders. Under the Cyrenean constitution, the king only had the authority to grant land to citizens, and held the role of chief priest, in charge of religious duties. Libyan Greek religion was directly influenced by Ancient Egyptian religion . The Cyreneans assimilated the Egyptian god Amun with Zeus as "Ammon", embodying Zeus in his style and Amun in his nature, attributing
16895-569: The papyrological documents. Texts from the reign of Ptolemy I are notably scarce, while those from the reign of Ptolemy II are more frequently encountered, this is owing in part to the large quantities of papyri which were stuffed into human and animal mummies during his rule. Papyri have been classified into public and private documents, including literary texts, laws and regulations, official correspondence, petitions , records, and archives or collections of documents belonging to individuals of position and authority. Significant information about
17050-491: The people and, as a result, rewarded cities with high contributions with royal benefaction. This often resulted in the formation of a royal cult within the city. Reservations about this activity slowly dissipated as this worship of mortals was justified by the precedent of the worshipping of Greek heroes. The Ptolemies took on the traditions of the Egyptian Pharaohs , such as marrying their siblings ( Ptolemy II
17205-503: The pharaonic religions and customs and he was proclaimed Pharaoh of Egypt. He established the city of Alexandria . After his death, in 323 BC, his empire was divided among his generals . Egypt was given to Ptolemy I Soter , whose descendants would establish Egypt's last royal dynasty. This dynasty was composed solely of ethnic Greeks and produced dynasts such as Cleopatra . Its capital was Alexandria. Ptolemy added legitimacy to his rule in Egypt by acquiring Alexander's body. He intercepted
17360-616: The poet Callimachus and the mathematicians Theodorus and Eratosthenes . The most influential of the Libyan Greeks were the Cyreneans. The Cyreneans invited Greek colonists from all over the Greek world to settle in Cyrene. The Cyrenean government was originally an absolute monarchy, but under Demonax , it became a constitutional monarchy with a senate. Demonax divided the Cyreneans into three groups to elect senators: first,
17515-461: The province, with no major population centers, was called Marmarica ; the more important western portion was known as the Pentapolis, as it comprised five cities: Cyrene (near the modern village of Shahat) with its port of Apollonia (Marsa Susa), Arsinoe or Taucheira (Tocra), Euesperides or Berenice (near modern Benghazi ), Balagrae ( Bayda ) and Barce ( Marj ) – of which the chief
17670-495: The quantity and quality of production and dominated cotton and tobacco exports. Notable families in tobacco commerce were the Salvagos ( Σαλβάγκος ), Benakis ( Μπενάκης ), Rodochanakis ( Ροδοχανάκης ) and Zervoudachis ( Ζερβουδάκης ). The tobacco cultivars used for cigarette manufacturing, e.g., by Kyriazi Freres , were of Greek origin. A thriving commerce between Greece and Egypt was thus established. Other areas of interest for
17825-577: The regions of ancient Ethiopia. Greeks established colonies in Ethiopia, with Ptolemais Theron and Axum becoming major capitals of Ethiopian Greek culture. In the second century BC, Ptolemy III Euergetes annexed several northern Ethiopian cities such as Tigray and the port of Adulis , which became major trading hubs for Ethiopian Greeks. After the Romans annexed the Ptolemaic Empire,
17980-428: The remnants of his rule, thereby recapturing a rebellious Athens. Meanwhile, Lysimachus took over Ionia , Seleucus took Cilicia , and Ptolemy captured Cyprus . After Cassander's death in c. 298 BC , however, Demetrius, who still maintained a sizable loyal army and fleet, invaded Macedon, seized the Macedonian throne (294 BC) and conquered Thessaly and most of central Greece (293–291 BC). He
18135-467: The sea, became an important port for Greek trade. It had a famous temple of Heracles . The city later sank into the sea, only to be rediscovered recently. From the time of Psammetichus I onwards, Greek mercenary armies played an important role in some of the Egyptian wars. One such army was led by Mentor of Rhodes . Another such personage was Phanes of Halicarnassus . Alexander the Great conquered Egypt at an early stage of his conquests. He respected
18290-476: The seven bodyguards who served as Alexander the Great 's generals and deputies, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC, he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as "Soter" (saviour) for his role in helping the Rhodians during the siege of Rhodes . Ptolemy built new cities such as Ptolemais Hermiou in upper Egypt and settled his veterans throughout
18445-533: The sources of the Nile. Scholars assume that the potential Ptolemaic threat contributed to the decision by the Kushitic king Nastasen to move the capital from Napata to Meroë. Greek language and culture were introduced to the Kushitic ruling classes, which may have triggered the creation of an alphabetic Meroitic writing. Hellenic influences are also evident from changes in art styles. Nubian contact with
18600-407: The spread of Greek culture was not the generalized phenomenon that the term implies. Some areas of the conquered world were more affected by Greek influences than others. The term Hellenistic also implies that the Greek populations were of majority in the areas in which they settled, but in many cases, the Greek settlers were actually the minority among the native populations. The Greek population and
18755-497: The term Hellenistic to refer to and define the period when Greek culture spread in the non-Greek world after Alexander's conquest. Following Droysen, Hellenistic and related terms, e.g. Hellenism , have been widely used in various contexts; a notable such use is in Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold , where Hellenism is used in contrast with Hebraism . The major issue with the term Hellenistic lies in its convenience, as
18910-409: The time he abdicated in 285 BC, in favour of one of his sons, the Ptolemaic dynasty was secure. Ptolemy and his descendants showed respect to Egypt's most cherished traditions – those of religion – and turned them to their own advantage. Alexandria became the centre of the Greek and Hellenistic world and the centre of international commerce, art and science. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of
19065-567: The time of Ptolemy VIII (170-163 BC), Greek ships regularly sailed on the Red Sea and to Meroitic ports. The Nubian upper class traded with Greek merchants and adopted certain Hellenic styles of life. However, following the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC and an unsuccessful attempt by the Romans to conquer the kingdom, Greek influences withered in Nubia. The account of Strabo , the geographer and historian of Greek descent, in his Geographia
19220-422: The time of Roman emperor Caracalla in the 2nd century AD, ethnic Egyptians could be distinguished from Egyptian Greeks only by their speech. Egyptian Greek is the variety of Greek spoken in Egypt from antiquity until the Islamic conquest of Egypt in the 7th century. Egyptian Greek adopted many loanwords from Egyptian language ; there was a great deal of intracommunity bilingualism in Egypt. The following
19375-431: The title of king. Athens later allied itself to Ptolemaic Egypt to throw off Macedonian rule, eventually setting up a religious cult for the Ptolemaic kings and naming one of the city's phyles in honour of Ptolemy for his aid against Macedon. In spite of the Ptolemaic monies and fleets backing their endeavors, Athens and Sparta were defeated by Antigonus II during the Chremonidean War (267–261 BC). Athens
19530-549: The tripartite territorial division of the Hellenistic age was in place, with the main Hellenistic powers being Macedon under Demetrius's son Antigonus II Gonatas , the Ptolemaic kingdom under Ptolemy 's son Ptolemy II and the Seleucid empire under Seleucus' son Antiochus I Soter . Epirus was a northwestern Greek kingdom in the western Balkans ruled by the Molossian Aeacidae dynasty. Epirus
19685-545: The war against the Spartan king Cleomenes III , and occupied Sparta . Philip V , who came to power when Doson died in 221 BC, was the last Macedonian ruler with both the talent and the opportunity to unite Greece and preserve its independence against the "cloud rising in the west": the ever-increasing power of Rome. He was known as "the darling of Hellas". Under his auspices the Peace of Naupactus (217 BC) brought
19840-561: Was colonized by Greeks beginning in the 7th century BC. The first and most important colony was that of Cyrene , established in about 631 BC by colonists from the Greek island of Thera , which they had abandoned because of a severe famine. Their commander, Aristoteles, took the Libyan name Battos. His descendants, known as the Battiad dynasty , persisted in spite of severe conflict with Greeks in neighboring cities. The eastern portion of
19995-421: Was a boy (as it was, becoming Alexander IV ). Perdiccas himself would become regent ( epimeletes ) of the empire, and Meleager his lieutenant. Soon, however, Perdiccas had Meleager and the other infantry leaders murdered and assumed full control. The generals who had supported Perdiccas were rewarded in the partition of Babylon by becoming satraps of the various parts of the empire, but Perdiccas' position
20150-548: Was a union of Thracian tribes under the kings of the powerful Odrysian tribe. Various parts of Thrace were under Macedonian rule under Philip II of Macedon , Alexander the Great , Lysimachus , Ptolemy II , and Philip V but were also often ruled by their own kings. The Thracians and Agrianes were widely used by Alexander as peltasts and light cavalry , forming about one-fifth of his army. The Diadochi also used Thracian mercenaries in their armies and they were also used as colonists. The Odrysians used Greek as
20305-523: Was able to drive out the Macedonians from the Peloponnese and free Corinth, which duly joined the league. One of the few city states who managed to maintain full independence from the control of any Hellenistic kingdom was Rhodes . With a skilled navy to protect its trade fleets from pirates and an ideal strategic position covering the routes from the east into the Aegean, Rhodes prospered during
20460-483: Was also a center of education, where Celts went to learn Greek. A staunch ally of Rome, Massalia retained its independence until it sided with Pompey in 49 BC and was then taken by Caesar's forces . The city of Emporion (modern Empúries ), originally founded by Archaic-period settlers from Phocaea and Massalia in the 6th century BC near the village of Sant Martí d'Empúries (located on an offshore island that forms part of L'Escala , Catalonia , Spain ),
20615-500: Was also compared with that of earlier Egyptian populations, and was found to be "much more closely akin" to that of ancient Egyptians than to Greeks or other European populations. Victor J. Katz notes that "research in papyri dating from the early centuries of the common era demonstrates that a significant amount of intermarriage took place between the Greek and Egyptian communities". Greek culture and political influence continued and perhaps reached some of its most influential times during
20770-425: Was an ally of Macedon during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander. In 281 Pyrrhus (nicknamed "the eagle", aetos ) invaded southern Italy to aid the city state of Tarentum . Pyrrhus defeated the Romans in the Battle of Heraclea and at the Battle of Asculum . Though victorious, he was forced to retreat due to heavy losses, hence the term " Pyrrhic victory ". Pyrrhus then turned south and invaded Sicily but
20925-533: Was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus ("the thunderbolt"), who had taken refuge at the Seleucid court and then had himself acclaimed as king of Macedon. Ptolemy was killed when Macedon was invaded by Gauls in 279 BC —his head stuck on a spear—and the country fell into anarchy. Antigonus II Gonatas invaded Thrace in the summer of 277 and defeated a large force of 18,000 Gauls. He was quickly hailed as king of Macedon and went on to rule for 35 years. At this point
21080-637: Was assassinated. Succeeding his father, Alexander took over the Persian war himself. During a decade of campaigning, Alexander conquered the whole Persian Empire , overthrew the Persian king Darius III . The conquered lands included Asia Minor , Assyria , the Levant , Egypt , Mesopotamia , Media , Persia , and parts of modern-day Afghanistan , Pakistan , and the steppes of central Asia. The years of constant campaigning had taken their toll, however, and Alexander died in 323 BC. After his death,
21235-729: Was based in Damietta in the church of Nikolaos of Myrna . In Cairo , the first organised Greek community was founded in 1856, with the community based in three main neighbourhoods: Tzouonia, Haret el Roum (Street of the Greeks), and in Hamzaoui. The patriarchate was based in Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Hamzaoui . The monastery of Saint George , in Old Cairo still survives. The monastery
21390-592: Was characterized by intense emotion and dynamic movement, as seen in sculptural works like the Dying Gaul and the Venus de Milo . A form of Hellenistic architecture arose which especially emphasized the building of grand monuments and ornate decorations, as exemplified by structures such as the Pergamon Altar . The religious sphere of Greek religion expanded through syncretic facets to include new gods such as
21545-519: Was crushed at the Battle of Sellasia (222 BC) by the Achaean league and Macedon, who restored the power of the ephors . Other city states formed federated states in self-defense, such as the Aetolian League ( est. 370 BC), the Achaean League ( est. 280 BC), the Boeotian league , the "Northern League" ( Byzantium , Chalcedon , Heraclea Pontica and Tium ) and
21700-469: Was defeated and captured by the Romans in the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC). During the Hellenistic period, the importance of Greece proper within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great centers of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria and Antioch , capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria respectively. The conquests of Alexander greatly widened the horizons of
21855-621: Was defeated in 288 BC when Lysimachus of Thrace and Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Macedon on two fronts, and quickly carved up the kingdom for themselves. Demetrius fled to central Greece with his mercenaries and began to build support there and in the northern Peloponnese. He once again laid siege to Athens after they turned on him, but then struck a treaty with the Athenians and Ptolemy, which allowed him to cross over to Asia Minor and wage war on Lysimachus' holdings in Ionia , leaving his son Antigonus Gonatas in Greece. After initial successes, he
22010-414: Was firmly in control of Egypt and had strong claims (disputed by the Seleucid dynasty ) to Palestine . He called himself king of Egypt from 306 BC. By the time he abdicated in 285 BC, in favour of one of his sons, the Ptolemaic dynasty was secure. Ptolemy and his descendants showed respect to Egypt's most cherished traditions – those of religion – and turned them to their own advantage. Alexandria became
22165-453: Was forced to surrender to Seleucus in 285 BC and later died in captivity. Lysimachus, who had seized Macedon and Thessaly for himself, was forced into war when Seleucus invaded his territories in Asia Minor and was defeated and killed in 281 BC at the Battle of Corupedium , near Sardis . Seleucus then attempted to conquer Lysimachus' European territories in Thrace and Macedon, but he
22320-527: Was influenced by Greek designs, and Greek letters can be found on various Celtic coins, especially those of Southern France . Traders from Massalia ventured inland deep into France on the Rivers Durance and Rhône , and established overland trade routes deep into Gaul , and to Switzerland and Burgundy . The Hellenistic period saw the Greek alphabet spread into southern Gaul from Massalia (3rd and 2nd centuries BC) and according to Strabo , Massalia
22475-750: Was inhabited by various Illyrian tribes and kingdoms such as the kingdom of the Dalmatae and of the Ardiaei , who often engaged in piracy under Queen Teuta (reigned 231–227 BC). Further inland was the Illyrian Paeonian Kingdom and the tribe of the Agrianes . Illyrians on the coast of the Adriatic were under the effects and influence of Hellenisation and some tribes adopted Greek, becoming bilingual due to their proximity to
22630-426: Was joined by Eumenes) and was supported by Antigonus, Lysimachus and Ptolemy. In 317 BC, Cassander invaded Macedonia, attaining control of Macedon, sentencing Olympias to death and capturing the boy king Alexander IV , and his mother. In Asia, Eumenes was betrayed by his own men after years of campaign and was given up to Antigonus who had him executed. The third war of the Diadochi broke out because of
22785-468: Was pre-eminent but not all-powerful. Spartan hegemony was succeeded by a Theban hegemony after the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC), but after the Battle of Mantinea (362 BC) , all of Greece was so weakened that no one state could claim pre-eminence. It was against this backdrop that the ascendancy of Macedon began, under king Philip II . Macedon was located at the periphery of the Greek world, and although its royal family claimed Greek descent,
22940-520: Was reestablished in the 5th century BC with a new city ( neapolis ) on the Iberian mainland . Emporion contained a mixed population of Greek colonists and Iberian natives, and although Livy and Strabo assert that they lived in different quarters , these two groups were eventually integrated. The city became a dominant trading hub and center of Hellenistic civilization in Iberia, eventually siding with
23095-471: Was shaky because, as Arrian writes, "everyone was suspicious of him, and he of them". The first of the Diadochi wars broke out when Perdiccas planned to marry Alexander's sister Cleopatra and began to question Antigonus I Monophthalmus ' leadership in Asia Minor . Antigonus fled for Greece, and then, together with Antipater and Craterus (the satrap of Cilicia who had been in Greece fighting
23250-753: Was signed among the NCSR Demokritos Institute in Agia Paraskevi , Athens and the University of Alexandria, regarding Archeometry research and contextual sectors. Number of Greeks according to the Census in Egypt . Greeks of Cyrene (the Cyrenaica is a region corresponding to modern eastern Libya ) are also included, as during antiquity it held close relations to the Egyptian kingdoms, and at some points, also used to be
23405-539: Was the eponymous Cyrene. The term "Pentapolis" continued to be used as a synonym for Cyrenaica. In the south, the Pentapolis faded into the Saharan tribal areas, including the pharaonic oracle of Ammonium . The region produced barley, wheat, olive oil, wine, figs, apples, wool, sheep, cattle and silphium , a herb that grew only in Cyrenaica and was regarded as a medicinal cure and aphrodisiac . Cyrene became one of
23560-457: Was the first to adopt this custom), having themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participating in Egyptian religious life. The Ptolemaic ruler cult portrayed the Ptolemies as gods, and temples to the Ptolemies were erected throughout the kingdom. Ptolemy I even created a new god, Serapis , who was a combination of two Egyptian gods: Apis and Osiris, with attributes of Greek gods . Ptolemaic administration was, like
23715-550: Was then occupied by Macedonian troops, and run by Macedonian officials. Sparta remained independent, but it was no longer the leading military power in the Peloponnese . The Spartan king Cleomenes III (235–222 BC) staged a military coup against the conservative ephors and pushed through radical social and land reforms in order to increase the size of the shrinking Spartan citizenry able to provide military service and restore Spartan power. Sparta's bid for supremacy
23870-416: Was to establish firm and broad boundaries to his newly acquired kingdom. That led to almost continuous warfare against other leading members of Alexander's circle. At times he held Cyprus and even parts of mainland Greece . When these conflicts were over, he was firmly in control of Egypt and had strong claims (disputed by the Seleucid dynasty ) to Palestine . He called himself king of Egypt from 306 BC. By
24025-404: Was unsuccessful and returned to Italy. After the Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) Pyrrhus lost all his Italian holdings and left for Epirus. Pyrrhus then went to war with Macedonia in 275 BC, deposing Antigonus II Gonatas and briefly ruling over Macedonia and Thessaly until 272. Afterwards, he invaded southern Greece and was killed in battle against Argos in 272 BC. After
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