By 70 BC, Rome was gravitating toward an Empire instead of a Republic like how they had been traditionally for hundreds of years. Many influential Romans still wanted to preserve the Republic, including Sulla who implemented various reforms around 50-60 BC. After Sulla’s death, three prominent Roman men gained immense power. They were Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar and are known as the First Triumvirate.

Both Crassus and Popmpey became consuls, at that time one of the highest positions in Rome. The First Triumvirate started to get rid of Sulla’s laws and tried to undermine the power of the Senate and consolidate power in favor of an imperial system. Eventually, Caesar also took the office of consul, but more importantly he got large military commands. Crassus died in 53 BC, now leaving only Pompey and Julius Caesar in a power struggle for the most influential man in all of Rome. While Pompey was back home in Rome, Caesar continued to win countless military victories in Gaul and northern Europe, but key senators decided to support Pompey over Caesar, believing Caesar to be power hungry. 

The Senate boldly commanded that Julius Caesar disarm his army. Obviously, he refused as he had control of the most numerous soldiers. Caesar led his legions of men in a march on Rome. After a brief civil war between Caesar and Pompey and his supporters, Julius Caesar was victorious. Throughout a three-to-four-year period, he consolidated power, becoming dictator in 48 BC and dictator for life in 44 BC. In fear, the Senate honored Caesar and was promptly filled completely with his supporters. Not a brutal dictator, Julius Caesar was fair, had mercy on his enemies, and was generally beloved by the people. Some of his accomplishments include: creating a new calendar, granting citizenship to many people, and establishing colonies for veterans. 

There were some former Senators that resented Julius Caesar and even some of his associates and supporters that thought he had gained too much power. So in 44 BC, they assassinated Caesar who was  stabbed and was famously killed by his close friend Brutus. After Caesar’s death, the biggest question in Rome was the problem of the power gap that was left open. Two men would emerge into yet another power struggle: Marc Antony, a close associate of Julius Caesar and who was furious at the men responsible for killing him, and Octavian, a young ambitious man who was named heir to the throne by the Senate. 

Poetry and plays provide insight into the lives of the ancient Greeks. Their religion was ritual-based, each city-state had its own separate rituals, and citizenship was open only by participating in these customs. Performing as part of the annual festival of the god Dionysus, plays and poems helped unite the society. 

One of these poems was Hesiod’s “Theogony” which was written around 750 BC. In “Theogony,” Hesiod discusses the origins of the Mount Olympus’ gods who are not the same as the local gods, city gods, or gods of the underworld. Although it is the most well-known poem about the story of the gods, it’s not the only one. 

The whole opening section of the poem is a description of gods called “muses”: the daughters of Zeus. He is the supreme god but not omnipotent and he worries about being overthrown. 

Hesiod was a pious man, telling readers to respect the gods and even claiming that the gods told him in a vision to write the poem. However, he highlights multiple times in “Theogony” that they do many immoral and vile things such as murder, deception, and vengeance. Hesiod even points out that since there are no ethical rules among the gods, peace is impossible. 

The story of creation is told in “Theogony” and goes like this: the god chaos was first, then chaos created earth and from chaos came night and day, then earth bore heaven. The gods use humans to get their will and create war and conflict on earth. Interestingly, at birth men are chosen to be either good or evil, and their fate is also decided at that time by the gods. Like in the Old Testament of the Bible, the five fundamental themes are shown in “Theogony.” Sanctions are displayed when men are punished during a feud between two gods. The sanctions include suffering death, blame, woe, and “ruthless avenging fates.” One of these fates is women, who were created to destroy men and are referred to as the “deadly race.” Hierarchy is shown through “Theogony” as well with there being a complex order amongst the gods, with Zeus being supreme. 

Alexander the Great was one of the most successful emperors in the history of the world. Like his father King Philip II of Macedon, Alexander was a formidable military leader. Philip II developed Macedon’s military immensely and wanted to conquer the Greeks and Persians even had wide success defeating every Greek city-state except Sparta.

Unlike other emperors of vast empires at the time, Philip and later Alexander saw themselves as liberators instead of conquerors. This was somewhat true, as Philip lowered taxes in Greece but made it mandatory to send soldiers to help bolster his army. Although he was a well-liked and respected emperor, Philip was assassinated by one of his own men so Alexander took over the throne. 

Alexander was a highly intelligent man, partly because he was tutored by Aristotle the philosopher. Once he became emperor, Alexander consolidated power, dealing with his rivals in Macedon and re-conquering rebellious Greek city-states. Despite not being ethnically Greek, Alexander’s goal was to spread Hellenistic culture. This was Greek-like culture but different from Hellenic culture which was classical Greek culture and its traditions that the Greeks themselves actually practiced. 

Alexander started expanding his empire, taking Asia minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Egypt, the Persian Empire, and parts of India. After subduing these vast swaths of land, he built cities and implanted Hellenistic culture wherever he went. Alexander was not known as a brutal conqueror and showed his military intelligence by using brilliant engineering tactics. In 331 BC, after obliterating Persia, he looted the empire so thoroughly that all of their riches were brought back to Macedonia. Dying in 323 BC, he is remembered as one of the most effective military leaders to have ever lived. 

Alexander’s death brought a struggle between his generals in deciding who would succeed him as emperor. Ultimately, this led to the downfall of Alexander’s once mighty empire, as it was split up between his generals. The Hellenistic period lasted from the death of Alexander the Great to the death of Cleopatra (325 – 30 BC). Philosophy, arts, and medicine flourished during this period.