Page 128 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

also contained a divine spark. This led to a belief in the oneness of humanity. The world constituted a single society of equal human beings. Although they were not equal in the outer world, all were free to follow the divine will (what was best for each individual). All per- sons, then, even slaves, though unfree in body, were equal at the level of the soul.
Epicureanism and especially Stoicism appealed to large numbers of people in the Hellenistic world. Both of these philosophies focused primarily on the problem of human happiness. Their popularity would suggest a fundamental change in the character of the Greek life- style. In the classical Greek world, the happiness of individuals and the meaning of life were closely associ- ated with the life of the polis. One found fulfillment within the community. In the Hellenistic kingdoms, although the polis continued to exist, the sense that one could find satisfaction and fulfillment through life in the polis had weakened. Not only did individuals seek new philosophies that offered personal happiness, but in the cosmopolitan world of the Hellenistic states, with their mixtures of peoples, a new openness to thoughts of universality could also emerge. For some people, Stoicism embodied this larger sense of commu- nity. The appeal of new philosophies in the Hellenistic era can also be explained by the apparent decline in certain aspects of traditional religion.
Religion in the Hellenistic World
Q FOCUS QUESTION: Which religions were prominent during the Hellenistic period, and what does their popularity suggest about Hellenistic society?
When the Greeks spread throughout the Hellenistic kingdoms, they took their gods with them. Although the construction of temples may have been less impor- tant than in classical times, there were still many dem- onstrations of a lively religious faith. But over time, there was a noticeable decline in the vitality of the tra- ditional Greek Olympian religion. The civic cults based on the traditional gods no longer seemed sufficient to satisfy people’s emotional needs.
This left Greeks receptive to the numerous religious cults of the eastern world. The Greeks were always tol- erant of other existing religious institutions. Hence, in the Hellenistic cities of the Near East, the traditional civic cults of their own gods and foreign cults existed side by side. Alexandria had cults of the traditional
90 Chapter 4 The Hellenistic World
Greek gods, Egyptian deities such as Isis and Horus, the Babylonian Astarte, and the Syrian Atargatis.
But for many people, the search for personal mean- ing remained unfulfilled. Among educated Greeks, the philosophies of Epicureanism and especially Stoicism offered help. Another source of solace came in the form of mystery religions.
Mystery Religions
Mystery cults, with their secret initiations and prom- ises of individual salvation, were not new to the Greek world. But the Greeks of the Hellenistic era were strongly influenced by Eastern mystery cults, such as those of Egypt, which offered a distinct advantage over the Greek mystery religions. The latter had usually been connected to specific locations (such as Eleusis), which meant that a would-be initiate had to undertake a pilgrimage in order to participate in the rites. In con- trast, the Eastern mystery religions were readily avail- able because temples to their gods and goddesses were located throughout the Greek cities of the East.
All of the mystery religions were based on the same fundamental premises. Individuals could pursue a path to salvation and achieve eternal life by being initiated into a union with a savior god or goddess who had died and risen again. The ritual of initiation, by which the seeker identified with the god or goddess, was, no doubt, a highly emotional experience.
The Egyptian cult of Isis was one of the most popular of the mystery religions and became truly universal in Hellenistic times. Isis was the goddess of women, mar- riage, and children, as one of her hymns states: “I am she whom women call goddess. I ordained that women should be loved by men: I brought wife and husband to- gether, and invented the marriage contract. I ordained that women should bear children.”7 Isis was also por- trayed as the giver of civilization who had brought laws and letters to all humankind. The cult of Isis offered a precious commodity to its initiates—the promise of eternal life. In many ways, the mystery religions of the Hellenistic era helped pave the way for Christianity.
The Jews in the Hellenistic World
In observing the similarities among their gods and god- desses, Greeks and Easterners tended to assume they were the same beings with different names, giving rise to a process of syncretism. But a special position was occupied in the Hellenistic world by the Jews, whose monotheistic religion was exclusive and did not permit this kind of fusion of spiritual beings.
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