Hellenistic Greece

The Hellenistic period covers the period of Terra's ancient Greek history between 323 BCE and the emergence of the Roman Empire as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. Scholars and historians are divided as to what event signals the end of the era. The period may be seen to end either with the final conquest of the Greek heartlands in 146 BCE, with the final defeat of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 31 BCE, or even the move of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople in 330 CE.   "Hellenistic" is distinguished from "Hellenic" in that the first encompasses the entire sphere of direct ancient Greek influence, while the latter refers to Greece itself.

At this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its peak in Europe, Africa and Asia, experiencing prosperity and progress in arts, exploration, literature, theater, architecture, music, mathematics, philosophy, and science. It is often considered a period of transition, sometimes even of decadence or degeneration, compared to the brilliance of the Greek Classical era. Greek Science was advanced by the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes.

