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Hellenistic Diffusion

Hellenistic diffusion is the spread of Greek ideas, or traits from one culture to another. It was said the “All men are Greek”. This means that culturally, all men have some kind of Greek background or influence.

One of the first civilizations was the Minoan civilization. Some of their contributions include art, trading and flushing toilets. The Mycenaeans defeated the Minoans. They moved westward from southwestern Russia and settled in wave after wave into Greece. There they established fortified towns in the valley between the many mountainous ridges that reach down to the sea and divide Greece into a number of distinct geographic units. In 1150 B.C. Greek culture fell into a 400-year long Dark Age. This was caused by, or led to another wave of Greek invaders from the Northeast, the Dorians. The Doric invasion set off a secondary wave of Greek migrations in around 1000 B.C. to the shores of Western Asia Minor and continued their migration across the Aegean to the southern shores of Asia Minor as well as Crete.

As things settled down in Greece, the population increased—causing a new wave of migrations, sailing east and west and discovered land that they could colonize with their excess population. Colonies were established to the West on the island of Sicily and on southern Italian peninsula. Settler crossed to the Egyptian and Libyan coast of Africa. Others sailed west beyond Sicily and established towns along the French coast.

In the ancient days “Greece” encompassed a whole huge area along the northern half of the Eastern and central Mediterranean Sea.

Alexander the Great’s expedition was the first large-scale western expansion in Asia. As a result, Hellenistic culture emerged as a significant factor in the old world, but Hellenism also recognized no national boundaries. Alexander changed the image of world history. He contributed with his ideas to the notion of humanity and with courage put his ideas into practice.

With the spread of Greek and its establishment as the official language for his Asiatic and African State, the Hellenic language became the main communication tool for the diverse populations of the East. Alexander and his successors became not only local but also international carriers of Hellenic language and culture so that the world could ready...

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