date_of_death hermesianax
Greece (' ), officially the Hellenic Republic ( Greek : ' ), historically also known as Hellas ("" ), is a country in southeastern Europe . Greece ' s population is approximately ___MASK68___ . 955 million as of ___MASK2___ . Athens is the nation ' s capital and largest city , followed by Thessaloniki . Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus , founded around ___MASK25___ BC . Epicurus was an atomic materialist , following in the steps of Democritus . His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention . Following Aristippus  about whom very little is known  Epicurus believed that what he called " pleasure " was the greatest good , but that the way to attain such pleasure was to live modestly , to gain knowledge of the workings of the world , and to limit one ' s desires . This would lead one to attain a state of tranquility (" ataraxia ") and freedom from fear as well as an absence of bodily pain (" aponia "). The combination of these two states constitutes happiness in its highest form . Although Epicureanism is a form of hedonism insofar as it declares pleasure to be its sole intrinsic goal , the concept that the absence of pain and fear constitutes the greatest pleasure , and its advocacy of a simple life , make it very different from " hedonism " as it is colloquially understood . Alexandria ( or ; Arabic : '; '; "") is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt , extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country . Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it highly vulnerable to rising sea levels . Alexandria is Egypt ' s largest seaport , serving approximately ___MASK15___ % of Egypt ' s imports and exports . It is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez . Alexandria is also an important tourist destination . Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD . It is often roughly divided into the Archaic period ( 9th to 6th centuries BC ), Classical period ( 5th and 4th centuries BC ), and Hellenistic period ( 3rd century BC to the 6th century AD ). It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek . Africa is the world ' s second - largest and second - most - populous continent . At about ___MASK67___ . 3 million km² ( 11 . ___MASK16___ million square miles ) including adjacent islands , it covers ___MASK5___ % of Earth ' s total surface area and ___MASK45___ . 4 % of its total land area . With 1 . 1 billion people as of 2013 , it accounts for about 15 % of the world ' s human population . The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north , both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast , the Indian Ocean to the southeast , and the Atlantic Ocean to the west . The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos . It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states ( countries ), nine territories and two " de facto " independent states with limited or no recognition . The Hellenistic period covers the period of ancient Greek ( Hellenic ) history and Mediterranean history between the death of Alexander the Great in ___MASK55___ BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the subsequent conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt the following year . At this time , Greek cultural influence and power was at its peak in Europe , Africa and Asia , experiencing prosperity and progress in the arts , exploration , literature , theatre , architecture , music , mathematics , philosophy , and science . It is often considered a period of transition , sometimes even of decadence or degeneration , compared to the enlightenment of the Greek Classical era . The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy , Alexandrian poetry , the Septuagint and the philosophies of Stoicism and Epicureanism . Greek Science was advanced by the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes . The religious sphere expanded to include new gods such as the Greco - Egyptian Serapis , eastern deities such as Attis and Cybele and the Greek adoption of Buddhism . Euclid (" Eukleids " ; fl . ___MASK14___ ), sometimes called Euclid of Alexandria to distinguish him from Euclides of Megara , was a Greek mathematician , often referred to as the " father of geometry ". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I ( 323  283 BCE ). His " Elements " is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics , serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics ( especially geometry ) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century . In the " Elements ", Euclid deduced the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms . Euclid also wrote works on perspective , conic sections , spherical geometry , number theory and rigor . Alexander III of Macedon ( ___MASK45___ / 21 July 356 BC  10 / 11 June 323 BC ), commonly known as Alexander the Great (" Aléxandros ho Mégas " ), was a king (" basileus ") of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty . Born in Pella in 356 BC , Alexander succeeded his father , Philip II , to the throne at the age of twenty . He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa , and by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world , stretching from Greece to northwestern India . He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history ' s most successful military commanders . Buddhism ( or ) is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions , beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha . Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE , from where it spread through much of Asia , whereafter it declined in India during the middle ages . Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars : Theravada ( Pali : " The School of the Elders ") and Mahayana ( Sanskrit : " The Great Vehicle "). Buddhism is the world ' s fourth - largest religion , with over ___MASK11___ million followers or 7 % of the global population , known as Buddhists . The Roman Empire ( Koine and Medieval Greek :    , tr . ) was the post - Roman Republic period of the ancient Roman civilization , characterized by government headed by emperors and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe , Africa and Asia . The city of Rome was the largest city in the world BC AD , with Constantinople ( New Rome ) becoming the largest around ___MASK11___ AD , and the Empire ' s populace grew to an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants ( roughly ___MASK45___ % of the world ' s population at the time ). The ___MASK11___ - year - old republic which preceded it was severely destabilized in a series of civil wars and political conflict , during which Julius Caesar was appointed as perpetual dictator and then assassinated in 44 BC . Civil wars and executions continued , culminating in the victory of Octavian , Caesar ' s adopted son , over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt . Octavian ' s power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power and the new title " Augustus ", effectively marking the end of the Roman Republic . Asia is Earth ' s largest and most populous continent , located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres and sharing the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe . Asia covers an area of , about ___MASK67___ % of Earth ' s total land area and ___MASK51___ . 7 % of the Earth ' s total surface area . The continent , which has long been home to the majority of the human population , was the site of many of the first civilizations . Asia is notable for not only its overall large size and population , but also dense and large settlements as well as vast barely populated regions within the continent of ___MASK31___ . ___MASK31___ billion people . The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic , a naval engagement between Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra on ___MASK75___ September ___MASK17___ BC , on the Ionian Sea near the promontory of Actium , in the Roman province of Epirus Vetus in Greece . Octavian ' s fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , while Antony ' s fleet was supported by the power of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt . Hermesianax of Colophon ( Greek :  ; gen . :  ) was an Ancient Greek elegiac poet of the Hellenistic period , said to be a pupil of Philitas of Cos ; the dates of his life and work are all but lost , but Philitas is supposed to have been born c . 340 BCE . His chief work was a poem in three books , dedicated to his mistress Leontion . Of this poem a fragment of about one hundred lines has been preserved by Athenaeus . Plaintive in tone , it enumerates instances , mythological and historical , of the irresistible power of love . Hermesianax , whose style is characterized by alternate force and tenderness , was exceedingly popular in his own times , and was highly esteemed even in the Augustan period . Many separate editions have been published of the fragment , the text of which is in a very unsatisfactory condition : by FW Schneidewin ( 1838 ) , J Bailey ( 1839 , with notes , glossary , and Latin and English versions ) , and others ; R Schulze ' s Quaestiones Hermesianacteae ( 1858 ) contains an account of the life and writings of the poet and a section on the identity of Leontion .