CultureThe Middle East

Hellenism and the Library of Alexandria

324 BCE – 31 BCE

Greek becomes a world language from Egypt to Afghanistan

In depth

Here Eratosthenes measured the Earth's circumference to within a few per cent, Euclid wrote the geometry taught into the twentieth century, and Aristarchus proposed that the Earth goes round the sun — eighteen centuries before Copernicus. In Bactria, today's Afghanistan, Greco-Buddhist art arose in which the Buddha was first shown in human form.

For children

After Alexander's death his empire was divided, but Greek language and culture remained everywhere. In Alexandria the kings gathered every book they could obtain — every ship that docked had to surrender its scrolls for copying.

Connects to

Alexander the Great332 BCE – 324 BCE
Aristotle336 BCE
Earth is not the centreJan 1, 1543
The Buddha and the Axial Age484 BCE

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org