The term Hellenistic (derived from Héllēn, the
Greeks' traditional self-described ethnic name) was established by the
German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the spreading of
Greek culture and
colonization over the non-Greek lands that were conquered by
Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. The Hellenistic age marks the unification of the
Greek world, sharing a common culture based on that of 5th and 4th century BC
Athens, along with a fusion of
Near Eastern cultures. The period is characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and Kingdoms in
Asia and
Africa. Those new cities were composed by Greek colonists who came from different parts of the Greek world, and not from a specific "mother city" (metropolis) as before. The main cultural centers expanded from mainland Greece, to
Pergamon,
Rhodes, as well as to new Greek colonies such as
Antioch and
Alexandria. This mixture of Greek-speakers gave birth to a common
Attic-based dialect, known as
Hellenistic Greek, which came to absorb and replace all idioms of the
Greek language. Although this era brought great cultural accomplishments through the fusion of Greek and Middle Eastern elements, to the Greeks, the Hellenistic era was considered anti-climactic since the citizen ruled entities of the classical polis had given way to dynastic god-king styled rule of Eastern Despotism. The material wealth caused by far more years of peace and stability is a testament to the importance of this period.
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