- Hellenistic Culture
-HELLENISTIC CULTURE – Greek culture blended with Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences
-the language that was used was called Koine meaning “common” in Greek
-the common language was very important as it allowed for people throughout all of Macedonian Empire to communicate in some fashion
- Alexandria –
-center of the Hellenistic culture
-located on western edge of the nile delta
-easy for people throughout the Macedonian Empire to get to by ship
-booming economy due to all the different customs and items that came to Alexandria
-sometimes similar to Ellis Island
- Alexandria’s appearance
-rulers spend a lot of money and time into making the city attractive
-Two greatest attractions were the museum and library
-it was said that Alexander founded those buildings because Aristotle had given him a love of learning
-the library was the first true research library, used for gifted group of scholars to do their work
- Science and Technology
-much of the scientific research was done in Alexandria was very influential
-until the turn of the 16th and 17th century, the city’s scholars provided most of the scientific info to the west
- Astronomy
-the museum contained a small observatory where astronomers could study the stars and planets
-astronomer named Aristarchus made two very important conclusions:
-that the sun was bigger than Greece, stating it was 300 times bigger than earth
-the planets revolved around the sun. Unfortunately, no one supported his theory and another philosopher stated that Earth was the center. This theory was supported for the next 14 centuries
- Math and Physics
-Euclid – well known mathematician also wrote a book. Known for writing proofs
-Archimedes – came up with the value of pi and also explained the law of the lever. He created a pulley to pull heavy objects as well.
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