How did Alexander spread hellenstic culture?

Answer 1

By accident.

Alexander went to Asia for two things: glory and loot (in that order). That's what Macedonian kings did. The spread of Hellenic (Greek) culture to the east was:

1) Accidental

2) a thin veneer over what remained essentially native-the-the-area culture

In the Hellenistic empires that followed ATG's death, for locals to get ahead, esp. in gov't, they had to learn Greek and adopt at least some Greek culture. Likewise, ATG's cities (that weren't hill forts) were built in the Greek fashion, with a Greek layout, which might differ substantially from the local city plan (wherever it might be). This also spread Greek culture by accident to those who moved into the town.

That said, a number of local populations outside the Greek city-centers retained their traditional language, religion, and culture and did NOT adopt Greek culture or values. Or they adopted some of it, then adapted it for their own use. The spread of Greek culture in the East following ATG was actually less substantial than the spread of Roman culture later, especially in the west and N. Africa. But in both cases, it was largely driven by *pragmatic* -- not ideological -- reasons.

So no, Alexander was NOT on some grand mission to Hellenize the poor benighted barbarians of the east (for one thing, Greeks tended to regard Persian culture as MORE civilized than theirs, not less ... which ironically wasn't a good thing, as they were convinced "civilized" made the Persians soft). The Greek culture that threaded the ancient near east after his conquests was centered on urban areas, and was frequently found in the upper classes, not among the farmers in the field.