The Problem of Hellenistic Syria
*And it came to pass after the victory of Alexander the son of Philip, the
Macedonian, who came out from the land of Kittim and smote Darius,
kingofthePersiansandMedes...andstarted many wars and con-
quered many fortified places and slew the kings of the earth....Andhis
sons ruled, each in his own place, and after his death they all assumed
diadems, and his sons (ruled) after him for many years and multiplied
evils in the land.
— Maccabees .–The first book of Maccabees in its opening paragraph reflects an important
aspect of the impact of Hellenistic rule in Syria, the prevalence of conflict,
war, and instability. It does also, however, illustrate something quite differ-
ent, the possibility of a communal historical consciousness and a national
culture which might provide a framework within which a community in
*First published in A. Kuhrt and S. M. Sherwin-White, eds.,Hellenism in the East(London,
), –.
The work on which this survey of the problem of Hellenistic Syria is based was carried
out at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, during an enjoyable and profitable
visit from January to April . Successive versions were presented at seminars held at the
institute and, in autumn , at the Institute of Classical Studies, London. The paper has
benefitted from assistance, advice, and criticism from the editors and from a number of
friends and colleagues, notably G. W. Bowersock, Pierre Briant, P. M. Fraser, the late J. F.
Gilliam, Chr. Habicht, and Javier Teixidor. It will readily be accepted that the remaining
imperfections are due to the author. There are many points at which systematic up-dating,
for instance as regards epigraphic finds, could be carried out. But that is a task for a new
study, and the chapter has been left as it was in .