Opposite Macedonian Mask
This is a sixth century b. c.e. gold Macedonian funeral mask from a necropolis (burial city) in Trebeniste. The Macedonians had a sophisticated culture, but were regarded as barbarians by their Greek neighbors to the south.
THE PHILOSOPHER ARISTOTLE ADVISED ALEXANDER TO “play the part of a leader to the Greeks, and of a master to the barbarians, and to care for the former as friends and kinsmen, and treat the latter as beasts and plants” (as quoted by Dutch scholar and author Jona Lendering at his web site Www. livius. org). This view of foreigners as barbarians inferior to the Greeks was shared by most of Aristotle’s countrymen. Aristotle’s most famous student did not agree with this outlook, however. Alexander came to have a great deal of respect for his eastern subjects, and even began to adopt many of their customs. Eventually, Alexander’s respect for the Persians became a source of contention between him, his army, and even his closest generals, but he never changed his mind.
The influence flowed both ways: As a result of Alexander’s conquests, Greek culture spread throughout the Middle East. His death marks the beginning of what has become known as the Hellenistic age, which lasted for about 300 years. The term Hellenism is typically used to describe the influence of Greece on the East, and most scholars have focused on how Greek culture affected the rest of the world. However, there was a great deal of cross-fertilization between East and West, and Greek society was also influenced by Persia during the Hellenistic period.
There were many similarities between the two societies. Both had strong divisions between their upper and lower classes. Both accepted slavery. Women and children had virtually no rights in either society. However, in many ways the two societies were very different. The Greeks worshiped many gods; most Persians believed in a single god. The Greeks spoke one language; the Persian Empire included many different nationalities with different languages. More than a dozen languages were spoken in Asia Minor alone.
The governments of Greece and Persia were very different. Greece was not an empire with a single ruler, but rather was a collection of city-states that functioned much like separate nations, each with its own government, laws, and customs. Some, including Athens, were democracies, some were oligarchies (where power was shared by a wealthy aristocracy) and some, such as Sparta, were monarchies. Although the Greek city-states sometimes united to fight a common enemy, they functioned autonomously. Persia was a unified monarchy, with a single, central ruler.
World History
