The Hellenistic World and Rome
some at least of the land there was classified asklēroi(lots;P. Dura, second
century..). As a physical structure it was, like Samaria, a fortified site of
moderate extent (the three longer sides measuring just under , metres
each), sited on a plateau above the Euphrates, and later equipped with walls.
Internally, it was set out in regular blocks on the well-known Hippodamian
plan, with a central agora. It is uncertain which, if any, temples can be attrib-
uted to the initial Hellenistic phase. No evidence for a theatre or other public
buildings of this period has been found.^31 It is natural to presume that we
should envisage both Samaria and Dura as Macedonian military settlements,
placed for strategic purposes in alien landscapes, and with modest preten-
sions to being the bearers of a wider Greek culture. In the case of many other
foundations there is still less evidence. Beroea (Aleppo) is recorded as a foun-
dation of Seleucus I (Appian,Syr. ). Once again we have nothing to show
whether the ancient city of Aleppo still existed at the moment of the settle-
ment; but the street plan to this day reflects the rectangular axes which may
well be those of the colony.^32
The same problems persist if we look at places which subsequently gained
Hellenistic dynastic names: Philadelphia (Amman) and Ptolemais (Acco)
from Ptolemy Philadelphus (near here Strabo .. [], notes three place-
names which may reflect Ptolemaic rule: ‘‘Sykaminōn polis,’’ ‘‘Boukolōn
polis,’’ and ‘‘Krokodeilōn polis’’). Epiphaneia (Hama) presumably gained its
name from Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This was of course another ancient city,
which, as Josephus records, the natives (epichōrioi) still called ‘‘Hama’’ (Ant.,
). But, paradoxically, excavations on the site have seemed to suggest that
it was unoccupied between its destruction by Sargon II in and the be-
ginning of Greek settlement in the second century..^33 On the other hand,
Sargon is recorded to have settled , Assyrians there, and there continue
to be occasional mentions of Hama as a place in documents of the inter-
vening period;^34 the archaeological evidence should not be interpreted on
theassumptionthat the site was desolate after ,^35 and imported Hellenistic
. A. Perkins,TheArtof Dura-Europos(), –; see F. Millar, ‘‘Dura-Europos under
Parthian Rule,’’ in J. Wiesehöfer, ed.,Das Partherreich und seine Zeugnisse, Historia-Einzel-
schrift (), – ( chapter in the present volume).
. J. Sauvaget,Alep:essaisurledéveloppementd’unegrandevillesyriennedesoriginesaumilieu
du XIXesiècle(), .
. SoE.Fugman,Hama. Fouilles et recherches de la Fondation Carlsberg –II:archi-
tecture des périodes pré-hellénistique(), .
. Fugman (n. ), .
. See esp. E. D. Francis and M. Vickers, ‘‘Greek Geometric Pottery at Hama and Its
Implications for Near Eastern Chronology,’’Levant (): ff.