Fox News: One-of-a-kind ancient bathhouse found buried in the hills of Sicily A unique ancient bathhouse dating back to antiquity was recently found hidden in the hills of Sicily. The thermal complex, which is one of the largest ever found on the southern Italian island, was ... The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy, Alexandrian poetry, translation efforts such as the Septuagint, and the philosophies of Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Pyrrhonism.

Understanding the Context

In science, the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes are exemplary. Hellenistic age, in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 bce and the conquest of Egypt by Rome in 30 bce. Historians call this era the “Hellenistic period.” (The word “Hellenistic” comes from the word Hellazein, which means “to speak Greek or identify with the Greeks.”) Politically, the Hellenistic Period is characterized by a division and a split from Alexander's former empire, with endless wars between the Diadochi and their successors. The Hellenistic Age (323-31 BCE) marks the transformation of Greek society from the localized and introverted city-states to an open, cosmopolitan, and at times exuberant culture that permeated the entire eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, and Southwest Asia.

Key Insights

The Hellenistic Period, or Hellenism, is the name given to the period in Ancient History spanning from the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC, to the conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor by the Roman Republic, in 31 BC.