EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

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43. THE WORK OF ALEXANDER

ALEXANDER AS WARRIOR AND STATESMAN

Alexander the Great was one of the foremost, perhaps the first, of the
great captains of antiquity. But he was more than a world-conqueror; he
was a statesman of the highest order. Had he been spared for an ordinary
lifetime, there is no telling how much he might have accomplished. In
eleven years he had been able to subdue the East and to leave an impress
upon it which was to endure for centuries. And yet his work had only
begun. There were still lands to conquer, cities to build, untrodden
regions to explore. Above all, it was still his task to shape his
possessions into a well-knit, unified empire, which would not fall to
pieces in the hands of his successors. His early death was a calamity, for
it prevented the complete realization of his splendid ambitions.

HELLENIZING OF THE ORIENT

The immediate result of Alexander's conquests was the disappearance of the
barriers which had so long shut in the Orient. The East, until his day,
was an almost unknown land. Now it lay open to the spread of Greek
civilization. In the wake of the Macedonian armies followed Greek
philosophers and scientists, Greek architects and artists, Greek
colonists, merchants, and artisans. Everywhere into that huge, inert,
unprogressive Oriental world came the active and enterprising men of
Hellas. They brought their arts and culture and became the teachers of
those whom they had called "barbarians."

FUSION OF EAST AND WEST

The ultimate result of Alexander's conquests was the fusion of East and
West. He realized that his new empire must contain a place for Oriental,
as well as for Greek and East and Macedonian, subjects. It was Alexander's
aim, therefore, to build up a new state in which the distinction between
the European and the Asiatic should gradually pass away. He welcomed
Persian nobles to his court and placed them in positions of trust. He
organized the government of his provinces on a system resembling that of
Darius the Great. [11] He trained thousands of Persian soldiers to replace
the worn-out veterans in his armies. He encouraged by liberal dowries
mixed marriages between Macedonians and Orientals, and himself wedded the
daughter of the last Persian king. To hold his dominions together and
provide a meeting place for both classes of his subjects, he founded no
less than seventy cities in different parts of the empire. Such measures
as these show that Alexander had a mind of wide, even cosmopolitan,
sympathies. They indicate the loss which ancient civilization suffered by
his untimely end.

[Illustration: SARCOPHAGUS FROM SIDON (Imperial Ottoman Museum,
Constantinople.)

One of eighteen splendid sarcophagi discovered in 1887 A.D. in an ancient
cemetery at Sidon. The sculptures on the longer sides represent two scenes
from the life of Alexander--the one a battle, the other a lion hunt. The
figures, in almost full relief, are delicately painted. ]

44. HELLENISTIC KINGDOMS AND CITIES

THE THREE GREAT KINGDOMS

The half century following Alexander's death is a confused and troubled
period in ancient history. The king had left no legitimate son--no one
with an undisputed title to the succession. On his deathbed Alexander had
himself declared that the realm should go "to the strongest." [12] It was
certain, under these circumstances, that his possessions would become the
prey of the leading Macedonian generals. The unwieldy empire at length
broke in pieces. Out of the fragments arose three great states, namely,
Macedonia, Egypt, and Syria. The kingdom of Egypt was ruled by Ptolemy,
one of Alexander's generals. Seleucus, another of his generals,
established the kingdom of Syria. It comprised nearly all western Asia.
These kingdoms remained independent until the era of Roman conquest in the
East.

[Illustration: A GREEK CAMEO (Museum, Vienna)
Cut in sardonyx. Represents Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, and his
wife Arsinoe.]

MINOR INDEPENDENT STATES

Several small states also arose from the break-up of Alexander's empire.
[13] Each had its royal dynasty, its capital city, and its own national
life. Thus the conquests of Alexander, instead of establishing a world-
power under one ruler, led to the destruction of the unity of government
which Persia had given to the East.

CITY LIFE IN THE ORIENT

More significant for the history of civilization than these kingdoms were
the Hellenistic [14] cities, which from the time of Alexander arose in
every part of the eastern world. Some were only garrison towns in the
heart of remote provinces or outposts along the frontiers. Many more,
however, formed busy centers of trade and industry, and became seats of
Greek influence in the Orient. Such cities were quite unlike the old Greek
city-states. [15] They were not free and independent, but made a part of
the kingdom in which they were situated. The inhabitants consisted of
Greeks and Macedonians, comprising the governing class, together with
native artisans and merchants who had abandoned their village homes for
life in a metropolis. In appearance, also, these cities contrasted with
those of old Greece. They had broad streets, well paved and sometimes
lighted at night, enjoyed a good water supply, and possessed baths,
theaters, and parks.

ALEXANDRIA

In the third century B.C. the foremost Hellenistic city was Alexandria. It
lay on a strip of flat, sandy land separating Lake Mareotis from the
Mediterranean. On the one side was the lake-harbor, connected with the
Nile; on the other side were two sea-harbors, sheltered from the open sea
by the long and narrow island of Pharos. [16] The city possessed a
magnificent site for commerce. It occupied the most central position that
could be found in the ancient world with respect to the three continents,
Africa, Asia, and Europe. The prosperity which this port has enjoyed for
more than two thousand years is ample evidence of the wisdom which led to
its foundation.

ANTIOCH

The chief city in the kingdom of Syria was splendid and luxurious Antioch.
It lay in the narrow valley of the Orontes River, so close to both the
Euphrates and the Mediterranean that it soon became an important
commercial center. The city must have been a most delightful residence,
with its fine climate, its location on a clear and rapid stream, and the
near presence of the Syrian hills. In the sixth century A.D. repeated
earthquakes laid Antioch in ruins. The city never recovered its
prosperity, though a modern town, Antakia, still marks the site of the
once famous capital.

[Illustration: Map, THE KINGDOMS OF ALEXANDER'S SUCCESSORS (About 200
B.C.), Before the Roman Macedonian Wars]

[Illustration: THE DYING GAUL (Capitoline Museum, Rome)
The statue represents a Gaul who in battle has fallen on his sword to
avoid a shameful captivity. Overcome by the faintness of death he sinks
upon his shield, his head dropping heavily forward. Though realistic the
statue shows nothing violent or revolting. It is a tragedy in stone.]

PERGAMUM

Asia Minor, during this period, contained many Hellenistic cities. One of
the most important was Pergamum, the capital of a small but independent
kingdom of the same name. Its rulers earned the gratitude of all the
Greeks by their resistance to the terrible Gauls. About fifty years after
Alexander's death this barbarous people, pouring down from central Europe,
had ravaged Greece and invaded Asia Minor. The kings of Pergamum
celebrated their victories over the Gauls with so many works of
architecture and sculpture that their city became the artistic rival of
Athens.

RHODES

One other great Hellenistic center existed in the island city of Rhodes.
Founded during the closing years of the Peloponnesian War, Rhodes soon
distanced Athens in the race for commercial supremacy. The merchants of
Rhodes framed admirable laws, especially for business affairs, and many of
these were incorporated in the Roman code. Rhodes was celebrated for art.
No less than three thousand statues adorned the streets and public
buildings. It was also a favorite place of education for promising orators
and writers. During Roman days many eminent men, Cicero and Julius Caesar
among them, studied oratory at Rhodes.

45. THE HELLENISTIC AGE

HELLENISTIC LITERATURE

These splendid cities in the Orient were the centers of much literary
activity. Their inhabitants, whether Hellenic or "barbarian," used Greek
as a common language. During this period Greek literature took on a
cosmopolitan character. It no longer centered in Athens. Writers found
their audiences in all lands where Greeks had settled. At the same time
literature became more and more an affair of the study. The authors were
usually professional bookmen writing for a bookish public. They produced
many works of literary criticism, prepared excellent grammars and
dictionaries, but wrote very little poetry or prose of enduring value.

THE MUSEUM AT ALEXANDRIA

The Hellenistic Age was distinguished as an age of learning. Particularly
was this true at Alexandria, where the Museum, founded by the first
Macedonian king of Egypt, became a real university. It contained galleries
of art, an astronomical observatory, and even zoological and botanical
gardens. The Museum formed a resort for men of learning, who had the
leisure necessary for scholarly research. The beautiful gardens, with
their shady walks, statues, and fountains, were the haunt of thousands of
students whom the fame of Alexandria attracted from all parts of the
civilized world.

THE ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY

In addition to the Museum there was a splendid library, which at one time
contained over five hundred thousand manuscripts--almost everything that
had been written in antiquity. The chief librarian ransacked private
collections and purchased all the books he could find. Every book that
entered Egypt was brought to the Library, where slaves transcribed the
manuscript and gave a copy to the owner in place of the original. Before
this time the manuscripts of celebrated works were often scarce and always
in danger of being lost. Henceforth it was known where to look for them.

[Illustration: LAOCOON AND HIS CHILDREN (Vatican Museum Rome)
A product of the art school of Rhodes (about 150 B.C.). The statue
represents the punishment inflicted on Laocoon a Trojan priest together
with his two sons. A pair of large serpents sent by the offended gods have
seized the unhappy victims.]

[Illustration: VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE (Louvre, Paris)
Commemorates a naval battle fought in 306 B.C. The statue, which is
considerably above life-size, stood on a pedestal having the form of a
ship's prow. The goddess of Victory was probably represented holding a
trumpet to her lips with her right hand. The fresh ocean breeze has blown
her garments back into tumultuous folds.]

SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

The Hellenistic Age was remarkable for the rapid advance of scientific
knowledge. Most of the mathematical works of the Greeks date from this
epoch. Euclid wrote a treatise on geometry which still holds its place in
the schools. Archimedes of Syracuse, who had once studied at Alexandria,
made many discoveries in engineering. A water screw of his device is still
in use. He has the credit for finding out the laws of the lever. "Give me
a fulcrum on which to rest," he said, "and I will move the earth." The
Hellenistic scholars also made remarkable progress in medicine. The
medical school of Alexandria was well equipped with charts, models, and
dissecting rooms for the study of the human body. During the second
century of our era all the medical knowledge of antiquity was gathered up
in the writings of Galen (born about 130 A.D.). For more than a thousand
years Galen of Pergamum remained the supreme authority in medicine.

ANCIENT AND MODERN SCIENCE COMPARED

In scientific work it seems as if the Greeks had done almost all that
could be accomplished by sheer brain power aided only by rude instruments.
They had no real telescopes or microscopes, no mariner's compass or
chronometer, and no very delicate balances. Without such inventions the
Greeks could hardly proceed much farther with their researches. Modern
scientists are perhaps no better thinkers than were those of antiquity,
but they have infinitely better apparatus and can make careful experiments
where the Greeks had to rely on shrewd guesses.

EXTENSION OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE

During the Hellenistic Age men began to gain more accurate ideas regarding
the shape and size of the habitable globe. Such events as the expedition
of the "Ten Thousand" [17] and Alexander's conquests in central Asia and
India brought new information about the countries and peoples of the
Orient. During Alexander's lifetime a Greek named Pytheas, starting from
Massilia, [18] made an adventurous voyage along the shores of Spain and
Gaul and spent some time in Britain. He was probably the first Greek to
visit that island.

ERATOSTHENES, ABOUT 276-194 B.C.

All this new knowledge of East and West was soon gathered together by
Eratosthenes, the learned librarian of Alexandria. He was the founder of
scientific geography. Before his time some students had already concluded
that the earth is spherical and not flat, as had been taught in the
Homeric poems. [19] Guesses had even been made of the size of the earth.
Eratosthenes by careful measurements came within a few thousand miles of
its actual circumference. Having estimated the size of the earth,
Eratosthenes went on to determine how large was its habitable area. He
reached the conclusion that the distance from the strait of Gibraltar to
the east of India was about one-third of the earth's circumference. The
remaining two-thirds, he thought, was covered by the sea. And with what
seems a prophecy he remarked that, if it was not for the vast extent of
the Atlantic Ocean, one might almost sail from Spain to India along the
same parallel of latitude.

[Illustration: PROGRESS OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE IN ANTIQUITY
Map, The World according to Eratosthenes, 200 B.C.
Map, The World according to Ptolemy, 150 A.D.]

PTOLEMY

The next two centuries after Eratosthenes saw the spread of Roman rule
over Greeks and Carthaginians in the Mediterranean and over the barbarous
inhabitants of Gaul, Britain, and Germany. The new knowledge thus gained
was summed up in the Greek _Geography_ by Ptolemy [20] of Alexandria. His
famous map shows how near he came to the real outlines both of Europe and
Asia.

THE PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM

Ptolemy was likewise an eminent astronomer. He believed that the earth was
the center of the universe and that the sun, planets, and fixed stars all
revolved around it. This Ptolemaic system was not overthrown until the
grand discovery of Copernicus in the sixteenth century of our era.

46. THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD

THE NEW LUXURY

The Hellenistic Age was characterized by a general increase in wealth. The
old Greeks and Macedonians, as a rule, had been content to live plainly.
Now kings, nobles, and rich men began to build splendid palaces and to
fill them with the products of ancient art--marbles from Asia Minor, vases
from Athens, Italian bronzes, and Babylonian tapestries. They kept up
great households with endless lords in waiting, ladies of honor, pages,
guards, and servants. Soft couches and clothes of delicate fabric replaced
the simple coverlets and coarse cloaks of an earlier time. They possessed
rich carpets and hangings, splendid armor and jewelry, and gold and silver
vessels for the table. The Greeks thus began to imitate the luxurious
lives of Persian nobles.

THE SEA ROUTE TO INDIA

These new luxuries flowed in from all parts of the ancient world. Many
came from the Far East in consequence of the rediscovery of the sea route
to India, by Alexander's admiral, Nearchus. [21] The voyage of Nearchus
was one of the most important results of Alexander's eastern conquests. It
established the fact, which had long been forgotten, that one could reach
India by a water route much shorter and safer than the caravan roads
through central Asia. [22] Somewhat later a Greek sailor, named Harpalus,
found that by using the monsoons, the periodic winds which blow over the
Indian Ocean, he could sail direct from Arabia to India without
laboriously following the coast. The Greeks, in consequence, gave his name
to the monsoons.

ORIENTAL INFLUENCE ON THE GREEKS

All this sudden increase of wealth, all the thousand new enjoyments with
which life was now adorned and enriched, did not work wholly for good.
With luxury there went, as always, laxity in morals. Contact with the vice
and effeminacy of the East tended to lessen the manly vigor of the Greeks,
both in Asia and in Europe. Hellas became corrupt, and she in turn
corrupted Rome.

GREEK INFLUENCE ON THE ORIENT

Yet the most interesting, as well as the most important, feature of the
age is the diffusion of Hellenic culture--the "Hellenizing" of the Orient.
It was, indeed, a changed world in which men were now living. Greek
cities, founded by Alexander and his successors, stretched from the Nile
to the Indus, dotted the shores of the Black Sea and Caspian, and arose
amid the wilds of central Asia. The Greek language, once the tongue of a
petty people, grew to be a universal language of culture, spoken even by
"barbarian" lips. And the art, the science, the literature, the principles
of politics and philosophy, developed in isolation by the Greek mind,
henceforth became the heritage of many nations.

THE NEW COSMOPOLITANISM

Thus, in the period after Alexander the long struggle between East and
West reached a peaceful conclusion. The distinction between Greek and
Barbarian gradually faded away, and the ancient world became ever more
unified in sympathies and aspirations. It was this mingled civilization of
Orient and Occident with which the Romans were now to come in contact, as
they pushed their conquering arms beyond Italy into the eastern
Mediterranean.

[Illustration: ORIENTAL, GREEK, AND ROMAN COINS
1. Lydian coin of about 700 B.C.; the material is electrum, a
compound of gold and silver.
2. Gold _daric_; a Persian coin worth about $5.
3. Hebrew silver _shekel_.
4. Athenian silver _tetradrachm_ showing Athena, her olive
branch and sacred owl.
5. Roman bronze _as_ (2 cents) of about 217 B.C.; the
symbols are the head of Janus and the prow of a ship.
6. Bronze _sestertius_ (5 cents) struck in Nero's reign; the
emperor, who carries a spear, is followed by a second horseman
bearing a banner.
7. Silver _denarius_ (20 cents) of about 99 B.C.; it shows a
bust of Roma and three citizens voting.
8. Gold _solidus_ ($5) of Honorius about 400 A.D.; the emperor
wears a diadem and carries a scepter.]

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the routes of Alexander, marking the
principal battle fields and the most important cities founded by him.
Note, also, the voyage of Nearchus.

2. On an outline map indicate the principal Hellenistic kingdoms about 200
B.C.

3. Give the proper dates for (a) accession of Alexander; (b) battle of
Issus; (c) battle of Arbela; and (d) death of Alexander.

4. In what sense was Chaeronea a decisive battle?

5. How is it true that the expedition of the Ten Thousand forms "an
epilogue to the invasion of Xerxes and a prologue to the conquests of
Alexander"?

6. How much can you see and describe in the Alexander Mosaic
(illustration, page 123)?

7. Compare Alexander's invasion of Persia with the invasion of Greece by
Xerxes.

8. Distinguish between the immediate and the ultimate results of
Alexander's conquests.

9. Comment on the following statement: "No single personality, excepting
the carpenter's son of Nazareth, has done so much to make the world we
live in what it is as Alexander of Macedon."

10. How did the Macedonian Empire compare in size with that of Persia?
With that of Assyria?

11. What modern countries are included within the Macedonian Empire under
Alexander?

12. How did the founding of the Hellenistic cities continue the earlier
colonial expansion of Greece?

13. Why were the Hellenistic cities the real "backbone" of Hellenism?

14. Why do great cities rarely develop without the aid of commerce? Were
all the great cities in Alexander's empire of commercial importance?

15. Show how Alexandria has always been one of the meeting points between
Orient and Occident.

16. How did the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 A.D. affect the
commercial importance of Alexandria?

17. Name some of the great scientists of the Alexandrian age.

18. What were their contributions to knowledge?

19. Using the maps on pages 76 and 132, trace the growth of geographical
knowledge from Homer's time to that of Ptolemy.

20. What parts of the world are most correctly outlined on Ptolemy's map?

21. "The seed-ground of European civilization is neither Greece nor the
Orient, but a world joined of the two." Comment on this statement.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Webster, _Readings in Ancient History_, chapter xii, "Demosthenes and
the Struggle against Philip"; chapter xiii, "Exploits of Alexander the
Great."

[2] Philippi became noted afterwards as the first city in Europe where
Christianity was preached. See _Acts_, xvi, 9.

[3] See the map between pages 68-69.

[4] See page 275.

[5] See page 39.

[6] See page 272.

[7] See page 90.

[8] See page 36.

[9] See John Dryden's splendid ode, _Alexander's Feast_.

[10] See pages 20 and 39.

[11] See pages 39-40.

[12] Arrian, _Anabasis of Alexander_, vii, 26.

[13] See the map facing page 128.

[14] The term "Hellenic" refers to purely Greek culture; the term
"Hellenistic," to Greek culture as modified by contact with Oriental life
and customs.

[15] See page 81.

[16] The lighthouse on the island of Pharos was considered one of the
"seven wonders" of the ancient world. The others were the hanging gardens
and walls of Babylon, the pyramids, the Colossus of Rhodes, the temple of
Artemis at Ephesus, the mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the statue of Zeus
at Olympia.

[17] See page 120.

[18] See page 89.

[19] See page 74.

[20] Not to be confused with King Ptolemy (page 127).

[21] See page 125.

[22] See page 48.

CHAPTER VII

THE RISE OF ROME TO 264 B.C. [1]

47. ITALY AND SICILY

THE APENNINES

The shape of Italy is determined by the course of the Apennines. Branching
off from the Alps at the gulf of Genoa, these mountains cross the
peninsula in an easterly direction, almost to the Adriatic. Here they turn
sharply to the southeast and follow the coast for a considerable distance.
The plains of central Italy, in consequence, are all on the western slope
of the Apennines. In the lower part of the peninsula the range swerves
suddenly to the southwest, so that the level land is there on the eastern
side of the mountains. Near the southern extremity of Italy the Apennines
separate into two branches, which penetrate the "heel and toe" of the
peninsula.

DIVISIONS OF ITALY

Italy may be conveniently divided into a northern, a central, and a
southern section. These divisions, however, are determined by the
direction of the mountains and not, as in Greece, chiefly by inlets of the
sea. Northern Italy contains the important region known in ancient times
as Cisalpine Gaul. This is a perfectly level plain two hundred miles in
length, watered by the Po (_Padus_), which the Romans called the "king of
rivers," because of its length and many tributary streams. Central Italy,
lying south of the Apennines, includes seven districts, of which the three
on the western coast--Etruria, Latium, and Campania--were most conspicuous
in ancient history. Southern Italy, because of its warm climate and deeply
indented coast, early attracted many Greek colonists. Their colonies here
came to be known as Magna Graecia, or Great Greece.

[Illustration: Map, ANCIENT ITALY AND SICILY.]

SICILY

The triangular-shaped island of Sicily is separated from Italy by the
strait of Messina, a channel which, at the narrowest part, is only two
miles wide. At one time Sicily must have been joined to the mainland. Its
mountains, which rise at their highest point in the majestic volcano of
Aetna, nearly eleven thousand feet above sea level, are a continuation of
those of Italy. The greater part of Sicily is remarkably productive,
containing rich grainfields and hillsides green with the olive and the
vine. Lying in the center of the Mediterranean and in the direct route of
merchants and colonists from every direction, Sicily has always been a
meeting place of nations. In antiquity Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans
contended for the possession of this beautiful island.

INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS

On Italian history, as on that of Greece, [2] we are able to trace the
profound influence of geographical conditions. In the first place, the
peninsula of Italy is not cut up by a tangle of mountains into many small
districts. Hence it was easier for the Italians, than for the Greeks, to
establish one large and united state. In the second place, Italy, which
has few good harbors but possesses fine mountain pastures and rich lowland
plains, was better adapted to cattle raising and agriculture than was
Greece. The Italian peoples, in consequence, instead of putting to sea,
remained a conservative, home-staying folk, who were slow to adopt the
customs of other nations. Finally, the location of Italy, with its best
harbors and most numerous islands on the western coast, brought that
country into closer touch with Gaul, Spain, and northwestern Africa than
with Greece and the Orient. Italy fronted the barbarous West.