Hellenistic Society

The Hellenistic Age in Ancient Greece is dated from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E to the Roman Conquest of Greece in 146 B.C.E. The conquests of Alexander resulted in the Greek immigration into Asia and Egypt. This among other changes that Alexander instigated produced dramatic changes in Greek society. Different religious influences infiltrated Greece including Babylonian customs, especially their superstitious beliefs, Zoroastrian dualism and to a lesser degree, Indian religions, in particular Buddhism. Alexander�s conquests also led to the end of independence of small city-states. Previously, city-states were generally self governing, whereas in the Hellenistic era, large empires ruled by dynastic monarchs and great administrative organisations that controlled taxes, the judiciary system and water and corn supplies, among other things.

Accpording to a variety of sources, in the Hellenistic era, the dominant social thought contained in Greece was cosmopolitanism and individualism. This can be seen as a result of the break down of the polis, once a vital aspect of Greek life. With the loss of community and political activity that the break down of the polis produced people began to become involved personal commitments and their own aspirations without connecting them to those of the communities.

During the Hellenistic period, Greek civilisation was generally urbanized, whilst their economy was agricultural. With the immigration of Egyptians and Asians into Greece, it became largely overpopulated and the infanticide of females became common. Also this period found the upper classes becoming wealthier, and expanding their estates. Consequently, as Greece�s economy was largely agricultural, the middle and lower classes could not compete with and were often evicted, resulting in permanent land loss.