The Phoenician Cities of Europe to be seen in the temple of Astarte in Sidon (, , ) or its brief
reference to the worship of Kadmos there (, , ). But the Hellenistic and
imperial coins of Tyre and Sidon which represent Kadmos and Europe are
incontrovertible evidence; on one Tyrian coin from the reign of Gallienus,
Kadmos is shown giving a papyrus roll to three Greeks.^51 Equally good evi-
dence is offered by the well-known inscription of thedikastēsorshofet( judge;
see text to n. above) from Sidon, Diotimus, who in the late third cen-
tury..won the chariot race at the Nemean games: ‘‘You were the first of
the citizens to bring back from Greece the glory of the chariot race to the
house of the descendants of Agenor. The sacred town of Cadmeian Thebes
also rejoices to see her mother-city made famous by her victories.’’^52
We might well see the Hellenisation of Phoenicia, in the first instance, as
one of a number of examples from the eastern Mediterranean of a process
which began long before Alexander. In Phoenicia, as in the other cases, it
was based on long interaction with the Greek world,^53 and received a fur-
ther impulse from the ambitions and self-glorification of fourth-century
dynasts. Greek art had exerted a profound influence before Alexander; in
this context we may note the beautifully cut and entirely Greek reliefs of
the mid-fourth century on what is probably a throne from the sanctuary of
Eshmun/Asklepios in Sidon.^54 But the most consistent evidence for Greek
influences is provided by the coinages of the Phoenician cities, beginning
in the fifth century; as Colin Kraay wrote, ‘‘The coinage of the Phoenician
cities is the most notable and elaborate example of the transplantation of this
Greek institution into an area culturally alien.’’^55 It may seem a paradox, but
is not, that it was also these city coinages which were to continue longest
to exhibit Phoenician lettering (text to n. above) and themes from the
Phoenician past (see above).
Fourth-century dynasts, in Phoenicia and elsewhere, certainly contrib-
uted something at least to the superficial Hellenisation of their areas. Thus,
for instance, we have Theopompus’ famous description of the luxury and
.BMC Phoenicia, no. ; Kadmos and Greeks: Tyre, no. , pl. XXXV.l.
. E. Bikerman, ‘‘Sur une inscription grecque de Sidon,’’Mélanges DussaudI (), .
Translated by M. M. Austin, inThe Hellenistic World(), no. .
. See now P. J. Riis, ‘‘Griechen in Phönizien,’’ in Niemeyer (n. ), (for the archaic
period); J. N. Coldstream, ‘‘Greeks and Phoenicians in the Aegean,’’ in Niemeyer (n. ), .
. E. Will, ‘‘Un nouveau monument de l’art grec en Phénicie: la ‘tribune’ du sanctuaire
d’Echmoun à Sidon,’’BCH (): .
.C.M.Kraay,Archaic and Classical Greek Coins(), –, on p. . Cf. M. H.
Crawford,LamonetainGreciaeaRoma(), –, suggesting Persian influence on the
pattern of minting in Tyre and Sidon.