"seven characteristics [...] which affect the attitudes of the Hellenistic world" (42)
"First, Greek became the language of educated people throughout the ancient world" (43)
"Second, philosophy, which had already been firmly established in Greece under Plato and Aristotle, continued to expand" (43)
"Third, the conquests of Alexander and the subsequent organization of his empire helped bring an end to the provincial city-states" (43)
"Fourth, there was a major increase in trade and travel" (Britain, China, India)
"Fifth, the rapid political and cultural changes that occurred in the early centuries of the Hellenistic age were accompanied by a growing sense of malaise and despondency"
"Sixth, at the same time that religion turned toward the individual it was vitalized by the beginnings of theological abstraction"
"Seventh, although the political and philosophical base of the Hellenistic world was located in Greece and Rome, the religions that ultimately dominated this period came from the Eastern half of the empire. Oriental cults form Egypt, Persia, Syria, Phrygia, and Israel captured the imagination of the people." (45)