The reign of Alexander the Great (336-323BC) marks the end of the Classical and the beginning of the Hellenistic period. Alexander’s numerous conquests and the cities he founded in his non-stop, amazing route formed a vast kingdom extending roughly from India to Egypt. After the division of Alexander’s empire into the kingdoms of the East comes the Hellenistic era which lasted until the total occupation of Greece by the Romans(336-30BC). With the Hellenistic era, mainland Greece falls into a decline .The commercial routes moved eastwards towards the islands of Delos and Rhodes while the new Hellenistic capitals, Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamon became centres for the arts and sciences. Typical of Alexandrian sculpture are serene expressions and soft, naturalistic modeling, while in mainland Greece the established tradition was enriched with depiction of landscapes. The Greeks’ contact with the East enriched the pantheon of the 12 gods or transformed the old deities into comforting figures. The experience of hardship in Greece encouraged new philosophic movements such as Stoicism and Epicureanism.