The ancient world inspires every observer with the originality of different features which were arranged and developed. In this respect, the development of vital trends in the development of mankind at that time allows state advantages and disadvantages of the epoch. It means that social, economical, political, and religious/philosophical concepts are of great importance in the paper. Such parameters concern the comparison and contrast of two social phenomena, such as Hellenic society and Hellenistic civilization. A relevant similarity according to both periods considers the time shift which these types of Greek society represent. In this case, the paper searches for the arguments which designate each from both civilizations under the analysis. The polis-based Hellenic society of ethnic Greeks could not resist the flow of other nations after the death of Alexander the Great, so the Hellenistic civilization succeeded it.
The comparison of both epochs in the history of ancient Greece is a way to demonstrate the growth of the social, political, and religious relations in the society. The thing is that both epochs are similar in their Greek “origin”. In other words, both contemplate the relation to ancient Greece. The Hellenic civilization according to the assertions of historians started its existence in 1100 BC, when Mycenae collapsed (Swain 1998). Thus, the cultural and social development of this early civilization was colored with the formation and further development of mythology, social relations, and political growth. The emergence of polis-cities dates back to the Hellenistic period. This fact makes Greece at the time one of the most developed countries in social, political, philosophical, and religious contexts. The era of Hellenic society reached its zenith in the 5th century BC when the Persian invasion was defeated (Swain 1998). Moreover, the period is characterized by the growth of Greek cultural achievements in arts and philosophical ground. This tendency was increasing throughout the historical frame of the civilization.
In the Hellenic period emerged commerce and banking which gave the way for governmental bureaucracy (Swain 1998). The main peculiarity of this period is the appearance of the polis. These administrative and territorial units were governed by the oligarchy and from the very beginning, the preferred form of governance was a dictatorship. However, in the 7th and 6th centuries democracies appeared in Greece and its city-states with the best-known Athenian democracy (Meyers 2008). In this period Greeks exclusively appreciate their origin. Importing most of the cultural achievements from ancient Egypt and the Near East, Greeks highly valued their language and their culture (Swain 1998). Thus, the moral and cultural identification of Hellenic Greeks is the fact that distinguishes it from the Hellenistic civilization.
The Hellenistic period begins at the time when Hellenic civilization declined. Such shift is considered with the death of Alexander the Great and his invasive wars on the territories of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The main difference of this period is in its cosmopolitan coloring. Ethnic Greeks were pressed by different nations which came to Greece from three continents. The only thing which united the population was the language, Greek. All Greek-speaking people could fit in the Hellenistic society. This was a point of personal identification. It was an attribute of belonging to Greece and Athens, in particular. In this period the most eminent people continue to follow the society in terms of social, economical, and political trends. Religious and philosophical aspects were tightly related to the sphere of art. This served as a rational approach toward various conflicts or probable disturbances in the society of ancient Greece. The political dominance of city-states was changed into the emergence of larger monarchies in Greece (Myers 2008). This fact is the result of the geographically scattered possessions of Greece after the conquests of Alexander the Great.
It is necessary to admit that with a flow of time civilizations can grow, reach their apogee and decline, as a result. In terms of two epochs, one can see that the decline of one epoch simultaneously was implemented into another. The Hellenistic period in ancient Greece was contoured with Greek and non-Greek elements of the society. The Hellenic period is the time when ethnic Greeks formed their genuine culture and religion for the growth of society in other parameters. The cosmopolitan character of Hellenism is logical due to the easiness of traveling throughout the Greek cities and their colonies (Chamoux 2003). Sea trade was highly developed due to the previous achievements of Greeks in the Hellenic period. Society was provided with more communication among individuals due to the development of trade, culture, and philosophical thought.
In this respect among Greek and non-Greek elements, there were different categories of the population. These were the political exiles, traders, travelers, mercenaries seeking employment, architects, sculptors, dramatists looking for orders, athletes trying to have an opportunity in city competitions, and others (Chamoux 2003). In the Hellenic era, Greece was known to be essentially Greek. This statement is the fact that Greeks tried to prevent their populations in cities from non-Greeks or barbarous (Swain 1998).
The philosophical thought in ancient Greece was its “credit card”. In this case, Greece gave mankind such illustrious philosophers as Herodotus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and others. Greek philosophical thought greatly influenced the further development of the world. It gave the growth for today’s Western thought interns of speculations on pragmatics and rationality. Three periods of Greek philosophy can be pointed out: pre-Socratic, Classical Greek philosophy, and Hellenistic.
Heraclitus and Parmenides are outstanding philosophers of the pre-Socratic period. Their ideas provided an outlook on the nature of change and perish (Armstrong 1981). Thus, the reasoning of Parmenides about existence and the way from which it starts, and how it ends, and for what reasons were at the sight of pre-Socratic philosophers. Classical Greek philosophy is considered with an eminent philosopher who made great efforts for an explanation of physical, social, political, and other aspects of life. These were Plato and Aristotle. The moral philosophy of both Plato and Aristotle was intended to solve the social conflicts in Greece and to restore and further develop the ideas and approaches of previous philosophers. These two philosophers posed their reasoning about Heraclitus’s claims: “Plato and Aristotle agree that Heraclitus taught that ‘nothing ever is, everything is becoming’ (Plato), and that ‘nothing steadfastly is’ (Aristotle)” (Russel 2004, 52). Thereupon, the philosophers living in the period of Hellenistic civilization in Greece tried to get the best among achievements of those from the Hellenic and even archaic periods. The Hellenistic philosophy of Greece is concerned with many non-Greek philosophers from all over the ancient world. Some among them were Diogenes of Sinope Epicurus, Lucretius, and others.
To conclude, the historical observation of the Hellenic and Hellenistic civilizations is compared in their belonging to Greek possessions. The contrast is seen in the emergence of multiple numbers of non-Greek elements in the society who pressed the ethnical coloring of Hellenic Greece. Notwithstanding, these periods gave mankind a lot of philosophers whose ideas impacted public opinion of the ancient world and Western civilization as well.
Bibliography
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Chamoux, François. Hellenistic civilization. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003.
Meyers. Peter A. “Hellenic Studies Announcements: Cosmopolitanism and Commercial Civility in Perspective: Reclaiming European Enlightenment.” Princeton University, 2008. Web.
Russell, Bertrand. History of Western Philosophy. Ed. 2. London: Routledge, 2004.
Swain, Simon. Hellenism and empire: language, classicism, and power in the Greek world, AD 50-250. Ed. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.