THE GREEK WORLD AFTER ALEXANDER In this comprehensive and well-documented book, Graham Shipley integrates the diverse aspects of politics, society and culture to create a coherent and thorough survey of the Hellenistic world. The Greek World after Alexander examines social changes in the cities of the Greek world and in the kingdoms which succeeded Alexander’s empire. The investigation is set in the context of an up-to-date appraisal of the momentous military and political changes that took place after Alexander’s reign. Graham Shipley’s ground-breaking study also considers developments in literature, religion, philosophy, and science, establishing whether they departed radically from Classical Greek culture or developed continuously from it. In addition, he explores the divisions in Hellenistic culture separating an educated élite from the general population which was more mobile than before but perhaps less involved in city politics. The Greek World after Alexander offers an indispensable introduction to the Hellenistic world, and provides the reader with extensive translated source material and references for further study. It will be invaluable to students, teachers, and researchers alike. Graham Shipley is Reader in Ancient History at the School of Archaeological Studies at the University of Leicester, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He is the author of A History of Samos 800–188 BC (1987) and the co-editor of several volumes of papers on Greek and Roman history. A longstanding member of the British School at Athens, he was editor of the School’s Annual for five years and is a co-author of the Laconia Survey. ROUTLEDGE HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD General Editor: Fergus Millar THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST c. 3000–330 BC Amélie Kuhrt THE GREEK WORLD 479–323 BC Simon Hornblower THE BEGINNINGS OF ROME c. 1000–264 BC T.J. Cornell THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD IN LATE ANTIQUITY AD 395–600 Averil Cameron GREECE IN THE MAKING 1200–479 BC Robin Osborne THE ROMAN WORLD 44 BC–AD 180 Martin Goodman THE GREEK WORLD AFTER ALEXANDER 323 – 30 BC Graham Shipley First published 2000 by Routledge Published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2000 Graham Shipley The right of Graham Shipley to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Typeset in Garamond by Taylor & Francis Books Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 13: 978-0-415-04617-6 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-04618-3 (pbk) To my students and colleagues at Leicester, past and present CONTENTS List of figures Preface Acknowledgements Note on Greek names and dates Note on extracts List of abbreviations List of dates 1 Approaches and sources The period and its problems The literary sources Non-literary sources Conclusion 2 Alexander and his successors to 276 BC The fourth century and after The Successors The Gauls Armies and emigration 3 Kings and cities Representations of kingship The negotiation of power Civic society and socio-economic change Beyond the polis? 4 Macedonia and Greece Macedonia to 276 BC Greece under Macedonian domination The Spartan ‘revolutions’ and their aftermath Athens and Macedonia after 239 BC The limits of Macedonian power 5 Religion and philosophy Religious change Rival philosophies and common ground World-views and society 6 Ptolemaic Egypt Land and people Evidence The Ptolemaic dynasty Greeks and Macedonians in Egypt Economic administration The results of Ptolemaic rule 7 Literature and social identity Writers in society Sites of production Tradition and innovation Different audiences? The public and the personal The ‘Other’ Historiography and the community Conclusion 8 The Seleukid kingdom and Pergamon Land and resources Crises and continuities in Seleukid power, 312–164 BC Methods of control The Attalid dynasty (283–133 BC) Seleukid decline 9 Understanding the cosmos: Greek ‘science’ after Aristotle Greek thinkers in their society Engineering, mechanics, and physics Understanding life-forms Mathematical speculation Exploration, empires, and economies Conclusion 10 Rome and Greece Rome in the third century Rome’s wars against Macedonia and Syria Mithradates The culmination of Roman hegemony Appendix I: Dynastic chronologies Appendix II: Genealogical tables Further reading Notes Bibliography Index of sources General index FIGURES 1.1 Decree of Athenian military corps for Demetrios Poliorketes 1.2 Samian decree for Metrodoros of Sidon 1.3 Dedication to Ptolemy IV from Itanos 1.4 Manumission document from Sousa in Media 1.5 Gold stater in the name of Alexander 1.6 Silver tetradrachm in the name of Alexander 1.7 Silver didrachm of Samos 1.8 Silver hemidrachm of Samos 1.9 Silver hemidrachm of Aitolian League 1.10 Bronze coin of Antiochos IV 2.1 Significant dates in the age of Alexander, 338–322 BC 2.2 Significant dates in the age of Antigonos, 323–301 BC 2.3 Family tree of Antipater 2.4 Significant dates in the age of Demetrios, 301–276 BC 2.5 Family tree of Lysimachos 2.6 Silver tetradrachm of Lysimachos 3.1 Silver tetradrachm in the name of Alexander, issued under Ptolemy I 3.2 Portrait of Demetrios Poliorketes from the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum 3.3 Portrait of Alexander from the Athenian Acropolis 3.4 Gold octadrachm of Ptolemy II and Arsinoë II 3.5 The Athenian Agora 3.6 Plan of Priene 3.7 A street in Priene 3.8 Plan of Kassope 3.9 Plan of Gorítsa 3.10 Plan of Demetrias 3.11 Plan of New Halos 3.12 Plan of Pergamon 3.13 The altar of Zeus (or Telephos) at Pergamon 4.1 Map of northern Greece 4.2 Map of the Aegean 4.3 Silver tetradrachm of Antigonos Gonatas 4.4 Map of central and southern Greece 5.1 Military order of Peukestas, on papyrus