The Classical Period, c. 600 BCE to c. 600 CE: Content Summary 2.3: Greek and Hellenistic States in the Classical Mediterranean

Thales was the founder of Greek philosophical traditions that investigated natural physical phenomena through theories and hypotheses. (2.3.A)

Aristotle formalized the notion that true knowledge is supported by empirical data. (2.3.A)

Aristotle formalized the notion that true knowledge is supported by empirical data. (2.3.A)

Beyond science and mathematics, the empirical emphasis on reason and evidence influenced Greek philosophical and political debates. (2.3.A)

Greek moral and political philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, sought to explain and perfect human social organization based on principles of reason, deduction, and observation. (2.3.A)

The republican and democratic forms of government developed by Greek city-states both reflected and shaped Greek philosophy through the promotion of systematic legislative procedures, public debate, and reason as the basis of policy. (2.3.A)

Greek cities, administrators, and systems of accountability were established, as were centers of Greek scholarship and learning. (2.3.B)

Alexander also recognized the importance of accommodating local traditions, both cultural and political, in a cosmopolitan and multicultural empire. (2.3.B)

Alexander also recognized the importance of accommodating local traditions, both cultural and political, in a cosmopolitan and multicultural empire. (2.3.B)

Alexander died suddenly and without an heir. Large successor empires developed in the decades after his death, such as the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties in West Asia and Egypt. (2.3.B)

These Hellenistic states continued to promote Greek culture and language, administer Greek political structures, and support long-distance trade. (2.3.B)

Cultural exchange also likely contributed to convergences in philosophical traditions, such as the shared goal of Stoics and Buddhists to detach from material and physical wants. (2.3.B)

Cultural exchange also likely contributed to convergences in philosophical traditions, such as the shared goal of Stoics and Buddhists to detach from material and physical wants. (2.3.B)

Hellenistic and Roman scientists such as Archimedes and Galen applied Greek empiricism to make many advances in engineering and medicine, respectively. (2.3.C)

Greek architectural forms heavily influenced the design of civic building in both the Hellenistic and Roman empires. (2.3.C)