ABSTRACT
Alexander’s empire opened a new world, the world of Persia, Africa, and the great cultures of the Orient; rivalry between minor Greek city-states could no longer appear as the focus of history but only as petty squabbling kept in check by the rule of the Macedonians. That Alexander, a barbarian upstart from primitive Macedonia, could become overlord of Athens meant that what happens must be only a contingent and temporary creation of the divine will. Alexander’s world was full of differences: different cultures, different religions, different ways of thought. At the same time, Athenians, never reluctant to pursue their own advantage, quickly saw the opportunities that had opened. Although Alexander had on occasion attempted to promote intermarriages between Greeks and daughters of local ruling classes, or integration of his army, these innovations had not been popular. There was a great demand for Greeks in the outposts of the empire, as officials, as administrators, as military leaders, as colonists.
