By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
The concept of Helenism was first used by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen (1808-1884) to characterize the process of expansion of Hellenic culture , that is, Greek , to other regions of the ancient world after the death of Emperor Alexander , O Big.
Alexander the Great, or Alexander the Great (as he is also known), lived between 356 and 323 BC. He came from Macedonia, a region of the Balkan Peninsula that had a strong connection with the Greek city-states, having emerged as a political organization inspired by various elements of Greek civilization. Alexander was the son of Felipe da Macedonia and was tutored by the Greek philosopher Aristotle , having studied in Athens with that sage.
Unlike his father, Alexander was able to expand Macedonian dominions to all of Hellas (as the ancient Greek city-state complex was known), creating a Hellenic empire that for the centrality of Greek culture, especially for what had been developed in its main cities, such as Athens , Sparta and Thebes , in its form of political organization. In this way, aspects of theater, architecture, military organization, music, dress, philosophy, astronomical and poetic knowledge and the entire political and cultural atmosphere of Greek cities were absorbed by Alexander, who sought to expand them beyond the Balkan Peninsula, taking them towards the domains of your empire.
The Empire of Alexander comprised a vast expanse that stretched from North Africa, through the domains of the ancient Persian Empire, in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, to India. Throughout this region, elements of Greek culture were disseminated. One of the most famous examples is that of the city of Alexandria (which bears the name of its founder), built in northeast Egypt, which became an intellectual symbol of the Hellenistic era, due to its famous library of papyrus rolls, which contained copies of works by various sages of antiquity.
Alexandria, Egypt. One of the main cities created in the Hellenistic period
After Alexander's death, his generals divided the empire among themselves and maintained the administrative and cultural heritage that Alexander bequeathed to them until the time when Rome began to expand and dominate. the former territories conquered by Alexander. This period of flowering, expansion and dominance of Greek culture in the ancient world was what characterized Hellenism.
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