The Hellenistic Silver Crisis and the Rise of the Attic Standard

The Hellenistic Fortress: How Demetrius Poliorcetes Besieged Rhodes

In 305 BC, Demetrius Poliorcetes—son of Antigonus Monophthalmus—laid siege to the island city of Rhodes with the most advanced military technology the Hellenistic world had ever seen. This episode explores the year-long siege that gave Demetrius his epithet 'the Besieger,' focusing on his massive siege towers, including the famous helepolis, naval blockades, and Rhodian countermeasures. We examine how the Rhodians, led by architect Diognetus, used flooding, fire, and diplomacy to outlast Demetrius's relentless assaults. The siege ended in a negotiated peace that left Rhodes independent and Demetrius humbled. We also discuss the legacy: the Colossus of Rhodes, built from melted-down siege equipment, and the shift in Hellenistic warfare toward ever-larger engines. Featuring the helepolis, Demetrius Poliorcetes, Antigonus Monophthalmus, Diognetus, Rhodes, and the Diadochi wars. #DemetriusPoliorcetes #SiegeOfRhodes #Helepolis #Diadochi #HellenisticWarfare #AntigonusMonophthalmus #Rhodes #Diognetus #ColossusOfRhodes #AncientSiege #NavalBlockade #HellenisticWorld #SiegeTower #DiodorusSiculus #Plutarch #History #MilitaryHistory #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Hellenistic Silver Crisis and the Rise of the Attic Standard

In this episode of What Happened After Alexander the Great Died, Lucas and Luna dive into the economic chaos that followed Alexander's conquests. They explore how the Diadochi — Antigonus, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Cassander — fought not only with armies but with coinage. The silver crisis of the late 4th century BCE, exacerbated by Alexander's massive coin hoards and the disruption of Persian mines, forced each successor kingdom to adopt its own monetary policy. The episode focuses on the so-called 'Attic Standard' versus the 'Phoenician Standard' used by Ptolemy in Egypt, and how these decisions shaped trade, military pay, and the rise of new economic powers like Rhodes. Lucas explains the role of the Laurion silver mines in Attica, the shift to gold coinage by Antigonus, and the long-term consequences for the Hellenistic economy. A lesser-known but pivotal element: the emergence of the Rhodian standard as a major trade currency. Perfect for listeners who want to understand the nuts and bolts of how empires fall apart financially. #Diadochi #SilverCrisis #HellenisticEconomy #AtticStandard #PhoenicianStandard #RhodianStandard #LaurionMines #AntigonusMonophthalmus #PtolemyISoter #SeleucusINicator #Lysimachus #Cassander #Coinage #History #FexingoHistory #AncientEconomy #MonetaryPolicy #HellenisticPeriod Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Cynics and Stoics After Alexander

Episode 141 of What Happened After Alexander the Great Died explores the philosophical revolutions that emerged from the chaos of the Diadochi wars. Lucas and Luna dive into the lives of Diogenes of Sinope, the Cynic who mocked Alexander to his face, and Zeno of Citium, the Phoenician merchant who founded Stoicism after a shipwreck. They discuss how Alexander's conquests, by uprooting traditional Greek city-state values and exposing Hellenes to Persian and Indian ideas, created a fertile ground for new philosophies that prioritized inner virtue over external power. The episode traces the Cynic ideal of self-sufficiency through Crates and Hipparchia, the married philosophers who lived on the streets of Athens, then shifts to Zeno's Stoic system with its emphasis on logos, cosmic reason, and the unity of mankind. Lucas and Luna consider how these ideas resonated in a world where old certainties had crumbled and individuals needed a new moral compass. They also touch on the Stoic influence on later Roman thinkers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, and how the Hellenistic kings themselves sometimes patronized or persecuted philosophers. A natural conversation about finding meaning in an age of empires. #Diogenes #ZenoOfCitium #Cynicism #Stoicism #HellenisticPhilosophy #AlexanderTheGreat #Diadochi #Hipparchia #CratesOfThebes #AntigonusGonatas #Logos #Cosmopolitanism #AncientGreece #Philosophy #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Hellenistic World After Alexander: Antigonus Gonatas and the Rise of Macedon

In the aftermath of Alexander's death, his generals carved up his empire, but the next generation faced a new struggle: holding it together. This episode focuses on Antigonus II Gonatas, the grandson of Antigonus Monophthalmus, who rebuilt Macedonian power after chaos. We explore his victory over the Galatian invasions (the 'savior of Greece'), his wars with Ptolemy II Philadelphus, and the Chremonidean War. We also examine his patronage of philosophy, particularly his relationship with the Stoic Zeno of Citium, and how he used culture as a political tool. Along the way, we touch on the naval Battle of Cos, the revolt of Alexander of Corinth, and the elusive nature of Gonatas's character—was he a cynical realist or a philosopher-king? This episode fills a gap in the Diadochi narrative, covering the consolidation phase that shaped the Hellenistic world before the rise of Rome. #AntigonusGonatas #HellenisticWorld #Macedon #Galatians #ChremonideanWar #BattleOfCos #ZenoOfCitium #Stoicism #PtolemyIIPhiladelphus #AlexanderOfCorinth #Diadochi #AncientGreece #History #FexingoHistory #HellenisticKingship #PhilosophyAndPower #Antigonid #MediterraneanHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Diadochi's Silver Crisis: Why the Coinage Collapse Changed History

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known economic catastrophe that reshaped the Hellenistic world: the silver crisis faced by the Diadochi after Alexander's death. With the Persian treasuries depleted and the silver mines of Thrace and Attica under competing control, the Successor kings were forced to debase their coinage, leading to inflation, military mutinies, and a shift in power that favoured those with access to new resources — like Ptolemy's Egyptian gold and Seleucus's eastern silver from Bactria. The episode focuses on the monetary policies of Antigonus Monophthalmus, Cassander, and Lysimachus, the role of the Athenian silver mines at Laurion, and the surprising impact of Celtic raids on the supply chain. Lucas also discusses the archaeological evidence from hoards found at Gordion and in Macedonia, which reveal the gradual decline in silver purity. The conversation ties these economic pressures to political events like the Battle of Ipsus and the rise of the Seleucid Empire, showing how money — or the lack of it — was a decisive weapon in the wars of the Successors. #Diadochi #SilverCrisis #HellenisticEconomy #AntigonusMonophthalmus #Lysimachus #Cassander #Seleucus #Ptolemy #CoinageDebasement #LaurionMines #Thrace #Bactria #BattleOfIpsus #GordionHoard #MacedonianSilver #EconomicHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]