Hellenistic cities became centers of learning and culture

Hellenistic cities became centers of learning and culture. During the Hellenistic Era, philosophers, scientists, poets, and writers flocked to the new Greek cities in southwest Asia and Egypt, especially Alexandria became a center of learning with it’s library which contained over 500, 000 scrolls that were useful to students of literature and language and it’s museum where researchers went to do their work.

Hellenistic kingdoms attracted Greek architects because new cities were being built by kings who wanted to make their cities cultural centers of Greece and were willing to pay high wages for it. Architects designed and built bathhouses, theaters and temples. Hellenistic kings and wealthy citizens hired Greek sculptors to fill their towns with statues that represented Greece’s Golden Age.

Hellenistic kings and wealthy citizens spent generously to support writers and the Hellenistic Age produced a large body of literature. One of the few writings to survive is an epic poem by Appolonius of Rhodes called Argonautica tells the legend of Jason and his band of heroes as they sail the seas in search of a ram with golden fleece.

Another poet, Theocritus, wrote short poems about the beauty of nature and rural life called “pastoral poetry. ” Athens was the center of Greek theatre and playwrights in Athens created a new kind of comedy that was funny had a happy ending. One of the best known playwrights was Menander. The new plays told stories about love and relationships unlike plays written during Greece’s Golden Age which poked fun at political leaders.

Epicurus and Zeno showed the world different ways to look at happiness During the Hellenistic Era, Athens attracted the most famous philosophers in the Greek world. The most important philosophers were Epicurus and Zeno.

Epicurus founded a philosophy we now know as Epicureanism which taught that happiness was the goal of life and that the way to be happy was to seek out pleasure. Today the word epicurean means the love of physical pleasure, such as good food or comfortable surroundings. To Epicurus, pleasure meant spending time with friends and learning not to worry about things. Epicureans avoided worry by staying out of politics and public service.

Stoicism was developed by A Phoenician named Zeno and became very popular in the Hellenistic world. “Stoicism” comes from the Greek word “stoa” which means porch. How did Stoicism begin? When Zeno came to Athens, he could not afford to rent a lecture hall, so he taught at a building known as the “painted porch” near a market.

For Stoics, happiness came from following reason, not emotions, and doing your duty. Today, stoic is used to describe someone who is not affected by joy or grief. Stoics thought people had a duty to serve their city and engage in public service.

Hellenistic scientists made major discoveries in math and astronomy. Astronomers, mathematicians and other scientists made major contributions during the Hellenistic Era. Astronomers studied the stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies.

Aristarchus claimed that the sun was at the center of the universe and that Earth circled the sun but other astronomers rejected his ideas In ancient times, most astronomers believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. Created a system to explain how planets and stars move.

1. Was in charge of the library of Alexandria. What did Erastosthenes do? 2. Concluded that Earth is round and used his knowledge of geometry and astronomy to measure Earth’s circumference or the distance around Earth. 3. Estimated that the distance around Earth as 24, 675 miles which is in within 185 miles of the actual distance. 4. Measured the distance to the sun and to the moon.

was the most famous Greek mathematician Wrote a book called Elements, that organized information about geometry and described plane geometry. Plane geometry is the branch of mathematics that shows how points, lines, angles, and surfaces relate to one another.

“Give me a lever and a place to stand on and I will move the earth. ” Who was he? Most famous scientist of the Hellenistic Era who established the science of physics. Worked on solid geometry, or the study of ball-like shapes called spheres and tubelike shapes called cylinders. Figured out the value of pi, a number that is used to measure the area of circles and is represented by a symbol.

Designed catapults, machines that hurled arrows, spears, and rocks. Archimedes’ catapults were used to fight against the Romans. What happened to Archimedes? Archimedes was killed when the Romans captured his hometown of Syracuse. Don’t forget Pythagorus!! The First to establish the principles of geometry.

A doctor and pioneer of medical science who began to separate medicine from religion. Stressed that it was important to examine the body and look at a patient’s symptoms to find out why someone was ill. Taught that it was important to have a healthy diet.

Known for the oath, or pledge that he asked his medical students to recite which is now called the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath requires a promise from doctors to “never harm and always to care for their patients. ”