@inbook{beec4fad6ff447c6bd55225b95323fa6,
title = "From Alexander to Augustus",
abstract = "This chapter provides some sense of the historical context in which Hellenistic literature was produced. The fundamental shift from the Classical period is the appearance of powerful Greco-Macedonian kings with vast territories and enormous wealth. It examines the emergence of the Hellenistic kingdoms. The chapter explores three key themes which have particular relevance to our understanding of literature in this transformed world: first, the relationship between royal power and literary culture, second the place of the polis in this world after Alexander, and finally the impact of Rome. In both the Antigonid and Seleucid courts the author observes the recurring Hellenistic interplay between war and literature, the dagger and the Iliad. The Hellenistic period ends with the re-establishment of a single ruler, as Augustus emerges victorious from Rome's civil wars in 31 BCE. Senatorial government is replaced by an emperor, and the Hellenic world has to adapt yet again.",
author = "Andrew Erskine",
year = "2014",
month = jan,
day = "3",
doi = "10.1002/9781118970577.ch2",
language = "English",
isbn = "9781118782903",
series = "Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
pages = "17--29",
editor = "Clauss, {James J.} and Martine Cuypers",
booktitle = "A Companion to Hellenistic Literature",
address = "United Kingdom",
}