The Hellenistic Period of Ancient History is generally though of as the time between the Classical Period (5th century B.C.) and the onset of the Roman period (1st century B.C.). It is characterized by Macedonian rule, brought about by the military exploits of Philip II, and later by his son, Alexander the Great. Both Philip (who ruled until 336 B.C.) and his son Alexander held the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, in high regard because of their affinity for art, culture, and intellectual pursuits. This respect would be beneficial to Athens during the tumultuous period of Macedonian conquer and rule.
In 338 B.C., Philip of Macedon solidified his effort to control mainland Greece when he defeated Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaironeia at Boeotia. Because of Philip's respect for Athens, he treated them with relative fairness. However, the Athenians were understandably averse to the new way of things, and were likely frightened of losing their precious democratic political structure. Nonetheless, Athens was able to recoup the fortunes (lost at the hand of Sparta) somewhat during this time, thanks to Philip basically leaving them alone.
During this recovery period, much building occurred in Athens. Unfortunately, most of the building was not occurring in the Agora. A new SW Fountainhouse was constructed, as well as a water clock, or klepsydra. Both the water clock and the fountainhouse obtained water from an aqueduct that was built in the second half of the 4th century B.C. The water clock is an interesting and important example of the innovations of Greek engineering, demonstrating their knowledge of flow, gravity, gears, and time calculation.
When Alexander died in 323 B.C., most of Greece (including Athens) attempted to revolt against the Macedonians, and regain their independence. The conflict lasted less than a year, and resulted in Athens and Greece not regaining its sovereignty. Athens had forever lost the grandeur and importance it once held politically.
The 3rd century B.C. is marked by civil wars in the city. This likely drained what little resources (both finances and manpower) Athens had, and the Agora saw really no improvements or additions during this time. However, the Agora did hold its position as an important gathering place for the Athenian people.
The 2nd century B.C. saw the emergence of a new power, which came to the aid of Athens: Rome. Rome, having been victorious over the Macedonians at the beginning of the 2nd century (197 B.C.), provided Athens with the opportunity to recover yet again. And from this point, we will see more great things come out of Athens.
In the final chapter of our series on the Athenian Agora, we will look at how it was impacted by the new Roman Empire.
Sources consulted:
The Athenian Agora. Camp, John M. 1986, Thames and Hudson, Inc.
Past Worlds: Atlas of Archaeology. 1988, Times Books Ltd. HarperCollinsPublishers.
