The Hellenistic Period stretching from the rise of Alexander the Great to the death of Cleopatra VII is one of the most complex and fascinating periods in Ancient History. The conquests of Alexander and the empires of his successors created a Greek world that stretched from Greece itself across the Middle East to modern-day Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Yet old traditions died hard in those regions that now fell under Greek sway, and the new Hellenistic koine brought a vast diversity of traditions, languages, and ideologies into immediate contact with one another. All the while, Rome was lurking ever closer over the horizon. This module will explore the society of the Hellenistic World by viewing it from four different perspectives: Macedonian Monarchy, the Greeks at home and abroad, the Achaemenid legacy of the Near East, and the Roman Republic. We will consider the give-and-take, the contact and conflict among these different traditions through the lenses of literary, numismatic, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence in order to better grasp the nuances of the Period. Throughout, we shall consider how contemporary approaches to globalisation relate to this dynamic ancient milieu.

Upon completion of the course it is intended that students will be able to demonstrate: 

-a grasp of the narrative history of the late Hellenistic period and the late Roman Republic.

-an ability to analyse the context and bias of ancient literary authors, and the politics of their composition

-an ability to synthesize and reconcile different types of ancient source material, including epigraphy, archaeology, and numismatics.

-an ability to consider the same event or development from the perspective of several different traditions.

-the capacity to provide argumentation in support of a thesis, supported by the critical incorporation of primary and secondary sources

-critical engagement in seminar discussions, and the ability to communicate an argument orally.

The module will be delivered via 10 2-hour teaching blocks, comprised of a mix of lecture and discussion of primary source material through the term. Students will choose their own topic for the coursework in consultation with the module coordinator, and develop their work throughout the term.

• analysis of a variety of different types of historical evidence, such as literary texts and material evidence
• assimilating and synthesising complex information and ideas
• critical thinking skills, such as analysing and evaluating evidence, critiquing interpretations or arguments, and challenging assumptions
• constructing and defending arguments based on evidence
• clear, accurate and effective communication of ideas and arguments in writing and in debate
• employing basic skills and conventions in the presentation and use of literary and material evidence
• contributing to group discussions
• using IT resources effectively
• independent working and time management

The module will be assessed through coursework of 2,000 words or equivalent (45%), a final examination of 1.5 hours (45%), and a contribution to the module blog (10%).

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

Students who fail the module will normally be expected to resit the failed component(s) in the summer resit period.

Topics which will be covered in lectures and seminars include:

• Macedonian Kingship
• Greek Mainland in the Hellenistic Period
• Greek Kings and Greek Cities
• Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and Antigonid Dynasties
• Hellenistic Babylon
• Hellenistic Alexandria
• Life & Society in Ptolemaic Egypt
• Seleucid City Foundations
• Roman elites in the Hellenistic World
• The Achaemenid Legacy in the Hellenistic World
• Royal and Elite Women in Hellenistic Society
• Slavery in Hellenistic Society
• Theories of Globalization and Cultural Exchange

Integral Texts: (all readings will be supplied online via the course website)

Austin, Michel 2006. The Hellenistic World from Alexander to the Roman Conquest, 2^nd edition, Cambridge : CUP.

Erskine, Andrew (ed.) 2008. A Companion to the Hellenistic World. Oxford: Blackwell. Available online via library

Bilde, Per. et al. (eds) 1990. Religion and religious practice in the Seleucid kingdom. Aarhus: Aarhus UP.

Bilde, Per, et al. (eds) 1992 .Ethnicity in Hellenistic Egypt, Aarhus: Aarhus UP.

Cartledge, Paul. et. al. (eds) 1997. Hellenistic Constructs. Essays in Culture, History, and Historiography, Berkeley: UC Press.

Coskun, A. and A. McAuley (eds) 2016. Seleukid Royal Women. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Crawford, Dorothy 2007. Kerkeosiris: An Egyptian Village in the Ptolemaic Period. Cambridge: CUP.

Derks, Ton and Nico Roymans (eds) 2009. Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam Press.

Eckstein, Arthur 2012. Rome Enters the Greek East. Oxford: Blackwell.

Erskine, Andrew and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (eds) 2011. Creating the Hellenistic World. Swansea.

Fowler, Barbara H. 1989. The Hellenistic Aesthetic. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin Press.

Grainger, John D. 1990. The Cities of Seleukid Syria. Oxford: Oxford UP.

Gruen, Erich 1990. Studies in Greek Culture and Roman Policy. Berkeley: UC Press.

Gruen, Erich 1992. Culture and National Identity in Republican Rome. Ithaca NY.

Gruen, Erich 2010. Rethinking the Other in Antiquity. Princeton: Princeton UP.

Holt, Frank 1999 Thundering Zeus. The Making of Hellenistic Bactria, Berkeley: UC Press.

Holt, Frank 2005. Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan. Berkeley: UC Press.

Kosmin, Paul 2014. The Land of the Elephant Kings. Cambridge MA: Harvard UP.

Kuhrt, Amelie and Susan Sherwin-White 1993. From Samarkhand to Sardis. Berkeley: UC Press.

Lewis, Naphtali 1986. Greeks in Ptolemaic Egypt: Case Studies in the Social History of the Hellenistic World, Oxford: Oxford UP.

Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd 2003. Aphrodite’s Tortoise. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales.

Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd 2015. King and Court in Ancient Persia. Edinburgh: EUP.

Mairs, Rachel 2014. The Hellenistic Far East. Berkeley: UC Press.

Ogden, Daniel (ed.) 2002. The Hellenistic World: New Perspectives. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales.

Oliver, Graham 2010. War, Food, and Politics in Early Hellenistic Athens. Oxford: Oxford UP

Pakkanen, Petra 1996. Interpreting Early Hellenistic Religion. Helsinki: Finnish Institute at Athens.

Robertson, Roland 1992. Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Villing, Alexandra (ed.) 2005. The Greeks in the East. London: The British Museum.

Vlassopoulos, Kostas. 2007. Unthinking the Greek Polis. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.

Sherk, Robert K. 1984. Rome and the Greek East to the Death of Augustus. Cambridge: CUP.

Stanwick, Paul. E. 2002. Portraits of the Ptolemies: Greek Kings as Egyptian Pharaohs. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Stephens, Susan A. 2003. Seeing Double: Intercultural Poetics in Ptolemaic Alexandria. Berkeley: UC Press.

Waters, Malcolm 2013. Globalization, 2nd edition. London: Routledge.