ANTIOCHUS IV EPIPHANES ~ THE KING WHO CAUSED THE MACCABEAN REVOLT

Antiochus IV Epiphanes, (Greek: “God Manifest”) also called Antiochus Epimanes (the Mad), (born c. 215 BCE—died 164 BCE ) was a Seleucid king of the Hellenistic Syrian Kingdom, who reigned from 175 to 164 BCE. As a ruler, he was best known for his support of Greek culture and institutions. His attempts to suppress Judaism brought on the Wars of the Maccabees.

Early career

Antiochus was the third son of Antiochus III the Great. After his father’s defeat by the Romans in 190–189 BCE, he served as hostage for his father in Rome from 189 to 175, where he learned to admire Roman institutions and policies. His brother, King Seleucus IV, exchanged him for Demetrius, the son of Seleucus; and after Seleucus was murdered by Heliodorus, a usurper, Antiochus in turn ousted him. During this period of uncertainty in Syria, the guardians of Ptolemy VI, the Egyptian ruler, laid claim to Coele Syria, Palestine, and Phoenicia, which Antiochus III had conquered. Both the Syrian and Egyptian parties appealed to Rome for help, but the Senate refused to take sides. In 173 BCE, Antiochus paid the remainder of the war indemnity that had been imposed by the Romans on Antiochus III at the Treaty of Apamea .

Antiochus forestalled an Egyptian expedition to Palestine by invading Egypt. He defeated the Egyptians between Pelusium and Mount Kasion, conquered Pelusium, and in 169 occupied Egypt with the exception of Alexandria, the capital. Ptolemy VI was Antiochus’ nephew—Antiochus’ sister, Cleopatra I, had married Ptolemy V—and Antiochus contented himself with ruling Egypt as Ptolemy’s guardian, giving Rome no excuse for intervention. The citizens of Alexandria, however, appealed to Ptolemy VIII, the brother of Ptolemy VI, and to his sister Cleopatra II to form a rival government. Disturbances in Palestine forced Antiochus to return to Syria, but he safeguarded his access to Egypt with a strong garrison in Pelusium.

In the winter of 169/168 BCE, Perseus of Macedonia begged Antiochus to join forces with him against the danger that Rome presented to all of the Hellenistic monarchs. However, his pleas were in vain. In Egypt, Ptolemy VI,along with his brother and sister, sent a renewed request to Rome for aid, and Antiochus prepared for battle. The fleet of Antiochus won a victory at Cyprus, whose governor surrendered the island to him. Antiochus invaded Egypt again in 168 BCE, and demanded that Cyprus and Pelusium be ceded to him. He occupied Lower Egypt, and camped outside Alexandria. The cause of the Ptolemaeans seemed lost. But on June 22, 168 BCE, the Romans defeated Perseus and his Macedonians at Pydna, and Antiochus lost the benefits of his victory. In Eleusis, a suburb of Alexandria, the Roman ambassador, Gaius Popillius Laenas, presented Antiochus with the ultimatum that he evacuate Egypt and Cyprus immediately. Antiochus, taken by surprise, asked for time to consider this ultimatum. Popillius, however, drew a circle in the earth around the king with his walking stick and demanded an unequivocal answer before Antiochus left the circle. Dismayed by this public humiliation, the king quickly agreed to comply. Roman intervention had reestablished the status quo. By being allowed to retain southern Syria, to which Egypt had laid claim, Antiochus was able to preserve the territorial integrity of his realm.

Efforts to hellenize the kingdom

Both economically and socially Antiochus made efforts to strengthen his kingdom— mostly inhabited by non-Greeks—by founding and fostering Greek cities. Even before the beginning of his reign he had contributed to the building of the temple of Zeus in Athens and to the adornment of the theatre. He enlarged Antioch on the Orontes by adding a section to the city , named Epiphania after him. There he built an aqueduct, a council hall, a marketplace, and a temple to Zeus Capitolinus. Babylon, which revered him as Soter (Liberator, or Saviour) of Asia, was given a Greek colony that was granted freedom of the city. Another Epiphania was founded in Armenia. Ecbatana (in Persia) was also named Epiphania and became a Greek city. Many of these cities were granted the right to coin their own municipal currency. The mint of Antioch on the Persian Gulf served the trade along the sea route between India and the district at the mouth of the great Mesopotamian rivers.

Antiochus’s hellenizing policies brought him into conflict with the prosperous non-Greek temple organizations, and particularly with the Jews. Since Antiochus III’s reign the Jews had enjoyed extensive autonomy under their high priest. They were divided into two parties, the orthodox Hasideans (Pious Ones) and a reform party that favoured Hellenism. For financial reasons Antiochus supported the reform party and, in return for a considerable sum, permitted the high priest, Jason, to build a gymnasium in Jerusalem and to introduce the Greek mode of educating young people. In 172 BCE, for an even bigger tribute, he appointed Menelaus in place of Jason. In 169, however, while Antiochus was campaigning in Egypt, Jason conquered Jerusalem—with the exception of the citadel—and murdered many adherents of his rival Menelaus. When Antiochus returned from Egypt in 167 he took Jerusalem by storm and enforced its Hellenization. The city forfeited its privileges and was permanently garrisoned by Syrian soldiers.

The revolt of Judas Maccabeus

The Greeks and those friendly toward them were united into the community of Antiochians; the worship of Yahweh and all of the Jewish rites were forbidden by punishment of death. In the Temple an altar to Zeus Olympios was erected, and sacrifices were to be made at the feet of an statue in the image of the King. Against that action, Judas Maccabeus, leader of the anti-Greek Jews, led the Hasideans in a guerrilla war and managed to defeat repeatedly the generals Antiochus had commissioned to deal with the uprising. Judas refused a partial amnesty, conquered Judaea with the exception of the Acra in Jerusalem, and in December 164 was able to tear down the altar of Zeus and return the temple to the Jewish religion. 

Antiochus then mounted a campaign against the Parthians who were threatening the empire in the east, recovered the income from that area, forced Artaxias of Armenia—who had defected—to recognize his authority, founded the city of Antioch on the Persian Gulf, set out on an expedition to the Arabian coast, and, at the end of 164 BCE, died of an illness at Tabae (or Gabae, probably present Isfahan) in Persis.

Edited from: https://www.britannica.com

ATHENA AND ARACHNE ~ WHEN ART CREATES HUBRIS

 Arachne, the spider woman 

Arachne,  ( Αράχνη , her name meaning spider in Greek), was a beautiful woman that had a great talent in weaving. Everyone was amazed at her work and one day, Arachne boasted that she had a greater talent than Goddess Athena Herself. Making such a claim wasn't a good idea, as this was an offense towards all the Gods- a very serious and even deadly act for the ancient Greeks. That is why Goddess Athena punished her severely.

The Story 

Arachne was a Lydian woman who was highly gifted in the art of weaving. Born to Idmon, a famous dyer in Lydia, Arachne was no ordinary weaver and the very act of her weaving was sheer magic and a sight to behold. Soon, news of Arachne's artistry spread far and wide and it is said that nymphs from the forests left their frolicking and gathered around Arachne to watch her weave. So moved were they by her skills that they remarked that she surely must have been trained by none other than Goddess Athena, the Goddess of weaving.

All this adulation was more than Arachne could handle and being an ordinary mortal who was quite vulnerable to human failings, she became quite arrogant about her superior skills. She was annoyed at being regarded as a pupil of Athena and began bragging about her skills, proclaiming herself to be far more superior to even Athena.

The Challenge

Now, when the Goddess of weaving heard of Arachne's bold claims, She was upset, but nonetheless decided to give the young woman a chance to regret her folly. Disguised as an old woman, Athena appeared before Arachne and warned her of the consequences of provoking the wrath of the Gods, but Arachne was not a bit remorseful and challenged Athena to a contest, declaring that if she lost, she would accept any punishment that Athena would decide for her.

It was then that Athena revealed Her true form and accepted the challenge. The stage was set for a battle in which a Goddess and a mortal pitted their artistic skills to decide on who was the better artist. The nymphs who had come to watch Arachne weave shrank back, horrified at Arachne's audacity, but Arachne was unshakable and stood her ground. And so the contest began, Athena at Her loom and Arachne at hers, each working with threads of gold and a splendid array of colors to decide who would outdo the other in this ultimate trial.

What unfolded next was a feast for the eye. Athena created a tapestry replete with scenes from the history of the Gods. She portrayed Zeus at the center of the Olympic Pantheon, as well as Her own contest with Poseidon and Her victory, which ultimately made the people of Athens name their city after Her. At the corner of Her tapestry, She artfully depicted humans who had dared to defy the Gods and who had been punished without a trace of mercy.

As for Arachne, she deliberately chose scenes that depicted the infidelities and amours of the Gods. She vividly portrayed Zeus and His string of indiscretions. She showed how Zeus had turned into a swan to seduce the Spartan queen Leda; a bull to entice Europa; an eagle to abduct Aegina; as a shower of gold to seduce Danae; and as a satyr to seduce Antiope. Arachne's work of art, according to the Latin narrative, featured twenty-one scenes of the various misdemeanors of the mighty Gods, including Poseidon, Apollo, Dionysus and others.

The transformation into a spider

Although Arachne had shown no respect for the Gods by choosing a subject that made a mockery of the supreme deities of the Olympus, even Athena had to admit that Her work was brilliant and flawless. However, the fact that Arachne, apart from her arrogance towards the Goddess, decided to mock the rest of the Divine Family through her artwork, was enough to enrage Athena. In the end, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom. Still in anger, the Goddess transformed Arachne into a spider ("arachni" in Greek), proclaiming that Arachne and all her descendants would henceforth hang forever from threads and be skillful weavers.

Arachne, like many other foolish mortals, had dared to question the supremacy of the Gods. She had, in her arrogance over her art, been blind to the consequences of challenging Them.

EDITED FROM: https://www.greeka.com/

ZEUS AND EUROPA

The story of Zeus and Europa is one of the most famous stories of the Hellenic Tradition-the love story between The King of the Gods and a beautiful mortal princess, who gave her name to an entire continent. Europa's story has been particularly popular since the ancient times and has been depicted in many ancient pieces of ceramics and coins. Moreover, it touched the painters of Renaissance, who created many impressive and inspired pictures having the myth as their theme. Nowadays, Europa and her transformed Divine Lover are depicted in the 2-euro coin of the European Union to pay attribute to the Godmother of Europe. 

The abduction from Zeus

The most popular version of Europa's story tells us that she was the daughter of Agenor, a Phoenician king, and later became a wife of Zeus, the King of Gods.

According to the story, Europa was the epitome of feminine beauty on Earth. Zeus once saw her on the seashore of Phoenicia playing with her friends. He was so captivated by her beauty that He fell in love with her and developed a strong desire to possess her. Immediately, He took the form of a white bull and approached her. The bull looked wonderful with its snow-white body and gem-like horns. Europa looked at the extraordinary animal curiously and dared to touch and hug him because He appeared so calm to her. Later, she was somehow motivated to climb on His back.

As soon as she did so, Zeus ran to the sea and carried her all the way from Phoenicia to the island of Crete. There He regained his human form and they made love under an evergreen tree. Later on, Europa gave birth to three sons of Zeus, Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon. These men were known for their fairness and became the Three Judges of the Underworld, when they died. In fact, Minos founded the town of Knossos and gave his name to an entire civilization, the Minoan civilization.

Zeus loved Europa so much that He showered her with three priceless gifts. The first one was a bronze man, Talos, who served as a guard to her. He was the bronze giant that the Argonauts met and killed in their attempt to shore on Crete. The second was a dog, Laelaps, which could hunt anything she wanted. The last one was a javelin that had the power to hit the target, whatever it was. Europa was later married to one of the kings of Crete, Asterius, who adopted her sons and made her the first queen of Crete.

Searching for Europa

In the meantime, her father, Agenor, had ordered her brothers to cross the whole world and not to return if they hadn't found his precious daughter. Europa had four brothers. Cilix, her eldest brother, was searching for a long time but with no success. He ended up in a region in Asia Minor, which he named Cicilia after him and became a king there. Thasus eventually landed on the island of Thassos, also gave it his name and reigned there. Phoenix went to Africa.

Cadmus, the youngest and most beloved brother of Europa, asked the Oracle of Delphi what to do. The priests of the Oracle told him not to worry about his sister because she was safe. They also told him to go to Boeotia, a region to the north of Athens, and found a town there, which would become rich and powerful in the years to come. Indeed, Cadmus founded a town in Boetia to which gave his name, Cadmia. Later on, this town changed its name and was called Thebes.

The end

It is said that when Europa died, Zeus transformed her into a star complex and He himself took again the shape of the white bull to merge in the complex. The Taurus Constellation is believed to be the form of Zeus. Today the name Europa has been given to one of Jupiter's 16 moons and in fact this moon is very special, as it is believed to have water on its surface.

EDITED FROM: https://www.greeka.com/

WHEN INDOGREEKS INVADED INDIA

 The Indo-Greek invasion which happened after the fall of the Mauryan Empire was an important event in Indian history. In this video, we talk about the first phase of the Indo-Greeks invasion. In this phase, the territory up to Eastern Punjab was conquered by the Indo-Greeks.

Source  YouTube Channel Jay Vardhan Singh

THE INDO - GREEKS :HERAKLES , MENANDER , AND THE BUDDHA

In antiquity, Gandhara was one of the most deeply-rooted hubs of Buddhism, and scholars have attempted to search for any possible encounters between Buddhists and the Greeks who settled in Central Asia and India. Fascinating pieces of evidence hint at these connections: the Pali text known as the Milindapañha ("The Questions of King Milinda") portrays the Indo-Greek king Menander I Soter as a Buddhist convert and saint swayed by the wisdom of the Sage Nagasena, while Emperor Ashoka dispatched missionaries to the Hellenistic kingdoms and ordered his beliefs to be inscribed in Greek on the rocks outside of Kandahar. Centuries later, the sculptors of Gandhara would adapt Greco-Roman mythology and designs to create beautiful works of art, resulting in the first known depictions of the Buddha in human form, and transforming the demigod Heracles into Heracles-Vajrapani, protector of the Buddha.

This video was taken from the YouTube channel The Hellenistic Age History Podcast.All credit goes to them.
 

MILETUS ~ ANCIENT GREEK CITY IN ASIA MINOR

 Miletus, Byzantine Palation, Turkish Balat, ancient Greek city of western Anatolia, some 20 miles (30 km) south of the present city of Söke, Turkey. It lies near the mouth of the Büyükmenderes (Menderes) River.

Before 500 BCE, Miletus was the greatest Greek city in the east. It was the natural outlet for products from the interior of Anatolia and had a considerable wool trade with Sybaris, in southern Italy. Miletus was important in the founding of the Greek colony of Naukratis in Egypt and founded more than 60 colonies on the shores of the Black Sea, including Abydos, Cyzicus, Sinope (now Sinop), Olbia, and Panticapaeum. In addition to its commerce and colonization, the city was distinguished for its literary and scientific-philosophical figures, among them Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Hecataeus. Together with the people of the other two Ionian cities of Caria, Myus and Priene, the Milesians spoke a distinctive Ionian dialect. Little is known about Milesian government before 500 BCE. At the beginning and end of the 6th century BCE, however, the city was ruled by the tyrants Thrasybulus and Histiaeus, respectively.

In the 7th century BC Miletus came into conflict with the neighbouring state of Lydia, and it probably acknowledged Lydian overlordship in the mid-6th century. In the latter part of the 6th century, it came under Persian rule, along with the other Greek cities of Anatolia. About 499 BCE the Milesians led the Ionian revolt that marked the beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars (q.v.). The city was stormed and sacked by the Persians in 494. After the Persian defeat by the Greeks (479), Miletus joined the Athenian-dominated Delian League. By the mid-5th century the city had been weakened and impoverished by internal divisions, and in 442 it was defeated in war by neighbouring Samos.

Its fortunes soon revived, however, and the Milesians set about rebuilding their city on a new grid plan of the type invented in this period by Hippodamus of Miletus. In 412 the city sided with Sparta against Athens; before 350 Mausolus of Caria ruled it, and it fell to Alexander in 334 after a siege. Hellenistic rulers who competed for influence at Miletus included the Seleucid Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Eumenes II of Pergamum, both about 170 BC. Miletus retained its commercial importance and received special attention from the Roman emperors Augustus and Trajan. By the 6th century CE, however, its two harbours had silted up, and it was eventually abandoned.

The ruins occupy the former peninsula crowned by the hill of Kalabak Tepe. The total area of the archaic city is unknown, but Hellenistic town walls and foundations have been uncovered. There also are extensive remains of the classical city from the 5th century BCE to Roman imperial times. The Greco-Roman theatre and its adjoining Byzantine castle are the most visible of the site’s ruins.

Edited  from https://www.britannica.com/

INTERVIEW- GRECO BUDDHISM IN CENTRAL ASIA AND INDIA WITH LEE CLARKE

In the wake of Alexander the Great, the traditions of Hellenism and Buddhism thought came into close contact in Central Asia and India. Lee Clarke, a PhD student in cross-cultural philosophy at Nottingham Trent University, joins the show to discuss the idea of “Greco-Buddhism”, tracing the origins of the Buddha and the establishment of his teachings in Gandhara, before comparing and contrasting the philosophical outlooks of Greek and Indian schools of thought like Pyrrhonian Skepticism and Mahayana Buddhism.

The video is taken from the YouTube channel The Hellenistic Age History Podcast. All credit goes to them.

 

THE LOST GREEK CITIES OF CENTRAL ASIA

For centuries, Bactria - a region shared by modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan - was part of the Hellenistic world. Conquered by Alexander the Great, Bactria became the heart of a powerful Greek kingdom. And even after the Greco-Bactrian kingdom was overrun by nomads, its cities continued to thrive. This video explores their fates. 

Credit to YouTube channel  toldinstone

 

GREEKS AND KUSHANS IN CENTRAL ASIA ( VIDEO )

 

Coins form a significant corpus of evidence that allow the archaeologists, historians, and numismatists to reconstruct the past. Coins are not just money; they are symbols of wealth and power, and sometimes convey complex political messages. In addition to archaeological evidence, numismatical evidence is in Central Asia central to understanding the emergence and culmination of the Hellenistic and Kushan societies (4th century BCE – 3rd century CE), as there is virtually no available written source dating to these periods in this region. This lecture focuses on the evolution of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms as well as the Kushan Empire through their coinages. It examines the varied types of messages that coins convey, together with the latest archaeological discoveries relating to these periods in Central Asia.

By Dr. Olivier Bordeaux CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research, France), UMR 7041, ArScAn, Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité, Archéologie de l'Asie centrale

Organizers: Benjamin Mutin & Farhod Razzokov 

SOURCE ARWA Association YouTube channel

SELEUCIA-ON-THE -TIGRIS, IRAQ

 In Iraq, 29 kilometers south of modern Baghdad, lies the site of Seleucia-on-the-Tigris, which rose, flourished, and dwindled away between 307 BCE and 215 CE. Its inception was part of the Hellenizing of the Middle East, the ultimate result of Alexander the Great's campaigns. In the second and third centuries BCE, it was one of the great Hellenistic capitals, comparable to Alexandria in Egypt and greater than Antioch in northern Syria. Lying at the confluence of the Tigris River and a major canal from the Euphrates, Seleucia was in a position to receive traffic from both great waterways. As a vital trading center, the city presided over the exchange of goods from Central Asia, India, Persia, and Africa.

The economic significance of this region, the juncture of the Iranian Plateau with the two rivers of Mesopotamia, had been fully realized and exploited in the millennia prior to the existence of Seleucia. It was in search of one of its predecessors, Opis, that excavations at Seleucia were undertaken by Professor Leroy Waterman of the University of Michigan. In a survey of Babylonian topography, Professor Waterman's attention was drawn to two mounds on the west bank of the Tigris across the river from Ctesiphon. One of these mounds lay one mile northwest of the river, and its great size suggested that it was the site of an important city and that, at one time, the river had flowed beside it. Professor Waterman's hypothesis was confirmed by aerial photographs taken by the Royal Air Force stationed in Baghdad.

Believing that the site he was searching for, Opis, lay beneath the mound identified as Seleucia, Waterman began excavations December 29, 1927, and continued (interrupted at times by the Depression) for six seasons until 1937. Under the auspices of the University of Michigan, the excavations were carried out on behalf of the American School of Oriental Research of Baghdad with funds supplied by the Toledo Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art. The first five seasons (1927–1932) were under the directorship of Professor Waterman, and in the final, sixth season, Professor Clark Hopkins, also from the University of Michigan, acted as General Director. (The University of Michigan excavations, incidentally, did not find Opis below Seleucia.)

Seleucia was founded by Seleucus Nicator, a general of Alexander the Great who, after the death of Alexander in 323 BCE, secured for himself the Middle East from the Mediterranean to India. He located his new Hellenistic city on the Tigris, and it became the eastern capital of the Seleucid Empire. In 141 BCE, the Parthians under Mithridates conquered the city, and Seleucia became the western capital of the Parthian Empire. In subsequent centuries, the ruins were buried under mounds of desert sand.

In the preliminary excavation of the site, archaeologists uncovered three levels of occupation (later expanded to four) and over a thousand objects, plus signs of older Babylonian occupation. At the same time, air photos and air maps of the regions—in one of the earliest applications of aerial photography to archaeology—confirmed the rectangular pattern of streets indicating a major city. After verifying the site as Seleucia, Waterman and his expedition began extensive excavations.

By the 1929–30 season, the team had cleared a block of houses from Level I (115–227 CE) and a more elaborate building, dedicated to Seleucus as founder of the empire. It contained twenty-one rooms around three sides of a quadrangular court. Waterman's Second Preliminary Report (1928–32) describes the excavation of the same block through three distinct levels of occupation, those being: A) The Parthian occupation level, known as Level II (43–116 CE), B) Level III (141 BCE–43 CE) during which the Hellenistic city was autonomous under Parthian rule, and C) Level IV (307–141 BCE), in which the city was a Seleucid capital.

In the course of these excavations archaeologists recovered over 3,500 objects. These included inscriptional material such as a cuneiform tablet, fragments of Greek inscriptions, stamped and inscribed objects, Parthian and Seleucid coins, and over 259 bitumen seal impressions or "bullae." Figurines, pottery, and other objects of everyday use were also recovered in abundance. While most of these objects could be dated between 290 BCE and 200 CE, the 1932 excavation of Tel Umar, the most prominent mound at Seleucia, brought to light in an outer wall of the Parthian period a reused brick dated by stamp to 821 BCE, during the Neo-Babylonian period. Since archaeological materials abounded, it was possible to reconstruct private life, the business, and the arts and crafts of the ancient city. Of preponderant interest to scholars, however, was Seleucia's role as a zone of cultural mediation and exchange between East and West.

In the Middle East, the birthplace of so many forces still active in current affairs, the lack of knowledge of the Parthian and of the Sassanian periods had long blocked attempts to reconstruct a continuous history for the region. Discoveries at Seleucia have done much to illuminate these regional "Dark Ages." In studying the history of Middle Eastern architecture during the centuries after Alexander's conquest, for example, art historians turn to Seleucia-on-the-Tigris, since for generations it remained the most important center of post-Alexandrian Greek civilization in the Middle East. Its architecture, according to Dr. Waterman, represents a "missing link" between Hellenistic and Sassanian styles that shows the results of blending Greek with Eastern elements.

Decorative Art

One type of object that is highly illustrative of such cultural blending is the Seleucid decorative stucco. In Seleucia, decorative plaster was employed in and about courtyards, important rooms, and building entrances, and was, in fact, one of the most common decorative materials. In terms of the style of such stucco, while some motifs at Seleucia clearly derive from Graeco-Roman designs common to the Middle East, other motifs show the strong influence of Eastern design. The four- or six-petalled circle rosette cut into a flat surface, for example, indicates Parthian influence. The deep overall repeat of the rosette pattern was particularly adaptable to plaster and was, by Parthians, translated into the stucco grillwork now so commonly associated with the Middle East. While the presence of Hellenistic motifs in shallow relief might suggest a Western origin, scholars agree, on the basis of excavation of Seleucia, that the use of decorative stucco in designs of light and shadow probably entered Mesopotamia with the Parthians, who early adapted it to the traditional Hellenistic house plans and decorative themes.

The Art of Pottery as  a Means to Uncover the Ancient Past 

Of incomparable value to the historian of the Middle East has been the research conducted on the pottery of Seleucia. The Kelsey Museum has the largest collection of Parthian ceramics outside Iraq. Parthian Pottery from Seleucia on the Tigris, by Nelson C. Debevoise, treats the nearly 1,600 Seleucian vessels that remained intact or sufficiently complete to provide a drawing shape. Debevoise records the history of Parthian ceramics in a city that was for two centuries the cultural center of Hellenistic life in "the land of the two rivers." Second only to coins as dating material, the products of the potter's wheel provide one of the best chronological scales for archaeologists. Owing to the very nature of the material, however, pottery seldom remains intact and rarely bears a date. Archaeologists must therefore depend on catalogues of comparative material, none of which existed in the field of Parthian ceramics before the University's expedition to Seleucia.

To devise a satisfactory system of chronology for dating the pottery, Debevoise first reviewed the coins (see Coins from Seleucia-on-the-Tigris, by Robert H. McDowell), some 30,000 of which were found at Seleucia, half with a definite provenance. Since these were datable and occurred with pottery at all levels, they provided a fairly accurate chronological index for the Parthian period. Debevoise also referred to McDowell's research on dated clay seals pertaining to taxes, salt, and slaves in order to obtain further points of chronological reference vis-à-vis the Parthian pottery. Once the chronology of the ceramics was established, it was possible to deduce other information. Research revealed that Seleucian pottery was made from local clay on a true potter's wheel, with a few pot covers and certain irregular shapes that were made by hand being the exception. When completed, the pot was removed with a piece of string from the wheel and was set aside to dry before firing. Some very thin ware was reworked before firing, and handles were stuck on after drying had progressed to a certain point. Kilns were probably fired with bundles of camel thorn, a bush that still grows in the region. In manufacture, great care in technique is apparent from the earliest levels excavated. Seleucia reached the peak of its prosperity under the Hellenistic Greeks and this economic wealth was reflected in careful workmanship. With the growth in political and economic importance of the Parthian city of Ctesiphon across the river, Seleucia probably suffered a slow decline, reflected in the increasing carelessness of manufacture and glazing and even in a decline in the amount of pottery in use. Similarly, changes in shape of cooking pots and storage jars are easily observable at different levels of excavation. The greater part of the pottery from Seleucia was discovered where the inhabitants left it, discarded and broken; only a small percent was taken from graves.

The tombs of the dead of Seleucia were in the abodes of the living. Samuel Yeivin's research showed that some bodies were disposed of in walls or under floors without protection of any sort, but the great majority were covered by some kind of superstructure or placed in pottery coffins or jars or, for children and infants, in ordinary cooking pots. The inferior materials, workmanship, and cheap, drab appearance of the pottery coffins throughout the uppermost level corroborate other evidence that this was a period of great economic and cultural decline. Some cultural change in the burials between levels II and III is evident: otherwise, mortuary customs appeared relatively consistent, reflecting the belief that the dead would require the pottery, glassware, jewelry, and other articles of daily use in the afterlife and that a coin, usually placed in the palm or on the mouth, would be necessary to pay the captain of the ferry to the underworld. Close examination of burial practices has led to a somewhat more detailed understanding of the history of the ancient city.

History as Seen From the Sky

Further knowledge of how the people of Seleucia lived and how their city was arranged came from an unexpected source. In "A Birds-Eye View of Opis and Seleucia," Clark Hopkins used the aerial photographs of Seleucia as an aid in interpreting the overall topographical arrangement of the city and the conduct of its business and trade. The photographs suggest where the old bed of the Tigris touched the city, where the docks were, and where the canal from the Euphrates may have connected the city to traffic on that river. "Not only do the carefully formed streets form a regular network," writes Hopkins, "but the whole city exhibits a balanced plan of a master architect." Excavation has disclosed very little change in the general aspect of the city in the course of its history. Despite varying styles in arts, crafts, and architecture, and despite the city's many vicissitudes, the general Hellenistic plan as reproduced by aerial photography has remained intact. Further definitive information on the city can be found in The Topography and Architecture of Seleucia on the Tigris, edited by Clark Hopkins. It includes sections on "The Architectural Decoration," by Bernard Goldman, and "The History of Seleucia from Classical Sources," by Robert G. McDowell.

Source : KELSEY MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY 

https://lsa.umich.edu/kelsey/research/past-field-projects/seleucia-tigris-iraq-1927-32-1936-37.html

GREEK INVASION IN INDIA

With the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, the rulers of Greco-Bactria would seize the opportunity to invade India in approximately 185 B.C.E. Famous conquerors like Demetrius and Menander would campaign throughout the subcontinent, seizing the lands of Arachosia and Gandhara (southern Afghanistan and Pakistan) as their new domains, the so-called "Indo-Greek" kingdoms. Despite the hostilities, the Indo-Greeks would quickly acclimate to their new cultural environment: figures like Heliodorus, a Greek ambassador from Taxila and worshipper of Vasudeva-Krishna, or Sophytos, an Indian merchant from Alexandria-in-Arachosia who prided himself on his knowledge of Homer and Callimachus, provide hints of the complex interactions between the Hellenistic world and South Asia.

The following interesting podcast comes from the YouTube channel The Hellenistic Age History Podcast. All credit goes to them.

 

THE LEGACY OF THE INDO~GREEKS

This article contains five short videos about the history of the Indo-Greeks in India. All credits go to the YouTube channel Glimpses.

 

THE GOLD STATERS OF ALEXANDER’S SUCCESSORS

With no mass media, ancient coins functioned as powerful tools for propaganda due to their portability and potential to circulate widely. Rulers would carefully choose their types and each element of the designs of their coinage to convey a specific message to their subjects, allies, and enemies.

Alexander the Great understood this concept and carefully planned the specific details of his portraits on sculptures as well as coins. Alexander is represented most famously as Herakles on his tetradrachms. He aspired to be a hero himself and Herakles was the premier embodiment of strength, determination, and willpower in Greek Religion, traits central to Alexander’s mission of global dominance.

After Alexander died suddenly at the age of 32, the future of his vast empire was unknown. His generals scrambled to determine who should succeed him as Alexander had no heir.

On his deathbed, Alexander passed his signet ring to Perdiccas, the leader of his elite calvary, nominating him as his successor, but Perdiccas did not claim power immediately. Princess Roxana of Bactria was pregnant with Alexander’s child at the time of his death, and the gender of the baby was unknown.

Perdiccas argued that they should wait to see if the unborn child would be male and therefore have a legitimate claim to the throne. The infantry instead proposed that Philip III Arrhidaios, Alexander’s half-brother, should rule regardless of the gender of Roxana’s baby.

The factions reached a compromise, and when Alexander IV was born in August 323 BCE, he and Philip III were jointly made kings but acted only as figureheads, while Perdiccas would actually rule the Empire as regent.

This coin was minted within a year of Alexander’s death, and it retained the type started by Philip II of a portrait on the obverse and a charioteer driving galloping horses on the reverse. However, its style marked a significant deviation from any of the other gold staters of the era.

The type was struck in both Kolophon and Magnesia from a single obverse die which was transported and used in the two mints, indicating that it was clearly a critically important design that could not be easily replicated by a different artist due to its intricacy.

Most of the Macedonian staters depict the God Apollo, but this coin features Alexander himself, representing one of his earliest surviving portraits. It was engraved by an uncommonly talented artist, sculptural in nature, reflecting identical facial features to known depictions of Alexander in its magnificent, gem-like composition.

Alexander’s portrait was likely placed on the obverse in an attempt to legitimize the new haphazard regime, associating the image of the well-known ruler to denote his blessing. By replacing the God Apollo, the “Bringer of Light”, with the portrait of Alexander, the coin also conveys the message that Alexander carried the light and wisdom of Hellenistic society throughout the known world.

The coin’s beauty and historical importance have made it one of the most desirable and exciting of all gold staters minted in the name of Philip.

Despite the effort put into the development of this coin and the extensive negotiations, the new regime was met with confusion and discomfort, eventually resulting in the assassination of Perdiccas in 321 BCE and 40 years of war between the fragmented powerful generals, splitting Alexander’s Empire into the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon, and Macedonia.

Edited from coinweek

LUCKY NEW YEAR 2799

 

From all the admins here in Greek Asia Blogspot,we wish you a Happy and Lucky New Year. May Health, Happiness and Prosperity fill your homes and your hearts!

ANCIENT GREEK MEDALLION OF GODDESS APHRODITE DISCOVERED IN RUSSIA

  (Photo: Nikolay Sudarev )

Archaeologists have unearthed a silver medallion depicting the Greek Goddess Aphrodite in a 2100-year-old grave of a priestess on the northeast coast of the Black Sea. The grave is among a number of striking finds unearthed in the summer of 2022 at a site near the shore of the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia, east of the Crimean Peninsula and between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. According to the Oleg Deripaska Volnoe Delo Foundation’s spokesman Ruben Bunyatyan, archaeologists Nikolay Sudarev and Mikhail Treister discovered the grave of the woman during the Phanagoria archaeological expedition.

Apart from the unique medallion, other artifacts and jewelry found buried with the woman make the artchaeologists conclude that she was probably a priestess of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of beauty and love. The rings, silver earrings, and other grave goods that were dedicated to the Goddess led to these conclusions.

The large medallion is made of silver and shows the Goddess Aphrodite in the center, surrounded by symbols portraying 10 signs of the zodiac. The embossed female figure is Aphrodite, based on other contemporary iconographic portrayals. 

The medallion is about 7 centimeters (2.75 inches) in diameter and 15 millimeters thick. Medallions of this sort were used in many ways: as brooches, as hair accessories, and as pendants.

Such medallions were common in the territory of the Bosporan Kingdom as early as 2,300 years ago, said Maria Chashuk, senior research associate of the Phanagoria archaeological expedition.

According to archaeologists, the inclusion of the zodiac indicates the medallion is a portrayal of “Aphrodite Urania” — the heavenly aspect of the Goddess, as distinct from her Earthly aspect, “Aphrodite Pandemos.” However, the symbols for the zodiac signs Aquarius and Libra are missing, and the researchers don’t know why. This absence is intriguing,as it can provide insight into religious practices at the time of the creation of the medallion. It also highlights the importance of astrology during those times.

Greek historian Hecataeus of Miletus, said that Phanagoria was founded in the sixth century BCE by refugees from Teos, a Greek city on the coast of Anatolia, now part of modern-day Turkey.

Edited from : https://arkeonews.net

2,200-YEAR-OLD GREEK SLING BULLET FOUND IN ISRAEL

 

 A 2,200-year-old Greek sling bullet may have been used against Jews in Hanukkah story. Found in Yavne and bearing inscription ‘Victory for Heracles and Hauron,’ ,this efficient weapon, apart from its evident use in the battlefield,could also have been a tool for psychological warfare against Hasmonean soldiers during revolt.

Some 2,200 years ago, a Greek soldier stood in battle in what is now the Israeli city of Yavne, aimed his sling at Jewish Hasmonean troops, and launched a projectile at them during battles that would later become part of the story of Hanukkah.

At least, that is one option suggested following the discovery in Yavne of a sling bullet made of lead and bearing a Greek inscription reading “Victory for Heracles and Hauron” — a possible attempt at psychological warfare against enemies.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, which revealed the finding, told The Times of Israel that the sling bullet was discovered about a year ago and has been studied since then. It timed the announcement for Wednesday, 10 days before Hanukkah.

The IAA said in a statement that the sling bullet found in Yavne’s major archaeological site is 4.4 centimeters (1.7 inches) long and around 2,200 years old. Its age places it around the time of the battles between the Seleucid army against the Hasmoneans, who were seeking to prevent the Hellenization of the Jews.

The researchers, however, acknowledged that it isn’t known in what context the slingshot was used, and that there was no conclusive evidence that it even belonged to a Greek soldier.

“It seems that we will not be able to know for sure if the sling bullet belonged to a Greek soldier, but it is not impossible that it is related to the conflict between the Greeks and the Hasmoneans,” said Pablo Betzer and Dr. Daniel Varga, who directed the excavation on behalf of the IAA, in the statement.

“The tiny lead sling bullets, announcing the imminent victory of the Gods of pagan Yavne, is tangible evidence of a fierce battle that took place in Yavne at that time,” they added.

According to Prof. Yulia Ustinova of Ben Gurion University, who deciphered the inscription, “the pair of Gods Hauron and Heracles were considered the divine patrons of Yavne during the Hellenistic period. The inscription on a sling bullet is the first archaeological evidence of the two guardians of Yavne, discovered inside Yavne itself. Until today, the pair was only known from an inscription on the Greek island of Delos.”

Ustinova said the inscription wasn’t a simple call for the deities’ help, but “a threat directed towards adversaries.

“Lead sling bullets are known in the ancient world, beginning in the 5th century BCE, but few individual sling bullets with inscriptions have been found in Israel,” she added. “The inscriptions convey a message of unifying the warriors with the aim of raising their spirits, scaring the enemy, or a call intended to magically energize the sling bullet itself. These inscriptions were part of psychological warfare, the main purpose of which is to terrorize the opponent, and in addition, to unite the warriors and raise their spirits.”

“One can only imagine what that warrior who held the sling bullet 2,200 years ago thought and felt, as he held on to the hope of divine salvation,” said IAA director Eli Escusido.

“In the 2nd century BCE, pagan Yavne – which was an ally of the Seleucids (the Greeks who ruled Eretz-Israel), were subject to attacks by the Hasmonean armies,” the directors explained. “The Hasmoneans sought to subjugate the other nations and create a homogeneous and ‘pure state’ from a religious-ritualistic point of view.”

The IAA said the excavations in Yavne are carried out as part of an Israel Land Authority initiative to expand the city, in cooperation with the municipality. The excavations themselves are an ongoing large-scale project.

Edited from  the Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post

GREEK CAMPAIGNS IN INDIA

 

In ancient times, trade between the Indian subcontinent and Greece flourished with silk, spices and gold being traded. The Greeks invaded South Asia several times, starting with the conquest of Alexander the Great and later with the Indo-Greek Kingdom.Yet,prior to mortal men,a Greek God had marched through India.

 The expedition of Greek God Dionysus in Ancient India

One of the beloved children of Zeus, God Dionysus,is the first who discovered the cultivation of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice;but Hera struck Him with madness, and drove Him forth a wanderer through various parts of the earth. In Phrygia the Goddess Cybele, better known to the Greeks as Rhea, cured Him and taught Him Her religious rites, and He set out on a progress through Asia teaching the people the cultivation of the vine. The most famous part of His wanderings is His expedition to the Indian subcontinent, which is said to have lasted several years. When Alexander the Great reached a city called Nysa near the Indus river, the locals said that their city was founded by Dionysus in the distant past and their city was dedicated to the God Himself. These travels took something of the form of military conquests; according to Diodorus Siculus,he conquered the whole world except for Britain and Ethiopia.Returning in triumph ( Dionysus is considered the founder of the triumphal procession) He undertook to introduce His worship into Greece, but was opposed by some princes who dreaded its introduction on account of the ecstasy, and the liberating madness it brought with it (e.g. Pentheus or Lycurgus).

Conquests of Alexander the Great (327–326 BCE)

In 327 BCE, Alexander the Great began his foray into Punjab. King Ambhi, ruler of Taxila, surrendered the city to Alexander. Many people had fled to a high fortress/rock called Aornos. Alexander took Aornos by storm after a successful siege. Alexander fought an epic battle against the ancient Indian monarch Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes (326).

East of Porus' kingdom, near the Ganges River, was the powerful kingdom of Magadha, under the Nanda Dynasty.

According to Plutarch, at the time of Alexander's Battle of the Hydaspes River, Magadha's army further east numbered 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 war elephants, which was discouraging for Alexander's men and stayed their further progress into the Indian subcontinent:

As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was •thirty-two furlongs, its depth •a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at‑arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants. And there was no boasting in these reports. For Androcottus, who reigned there not long afterwards, made a present to Seleucus of five hundred elephants, and with an army of six hundred thousand men overran and subdued all India.

--Plutarch, Parallel Lives, "Life of Alexander"

Seleucid (305 BCE)

Alexander's army mutinied along the Hyphasis, as Alexander died before he could make a conquest in fighting the Nanda Empire, making the Beas River the eastern extant of the Macedonian Empire.

Following Alexander's death, Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid dynasty and former Diadochi, gained control over Mesopotamia and the eastern satraps of the former Macedonian Empire. Seleucus unsuccessfully tried to campaign in India by invading what is now Punjab in northern India and Pakistan in 305 BCE.

Meanwhile, in India, Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan Empire with the help of Chanakya his guru and political advisor, rose to power by overthrowing the Nanda Empire in Pataliputra. His next course of action was to lead his armies into the Indus to battle with the Seleucid Empire and annex the satraps. The Seleucid-Mauryan War waged on for over two years, resulting in significant territorial and political change in the region. To resolve the conflict both parties finally settled upon a marriage alliance. Chandragupta annexed the Greek satraps, while also gaining Seleucid's daughter in marriage. In exchange, Basileus Seleucus received 500 prized war elephants from the Indian Emperor, an asset which was used to decisively win the Battle of Ipsus.

Seleucus also sent an ambassador named Megasthenes to Chandragupta's court, who repeatedly visited Chandragupta's capital of Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state). Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandragupta's reign.

Continued diplomatic exchanges and good relations between the Seleucids and the Mauryan emperors are then documented throughout the duration of the Mauryan empire.

Indo-Greek rule

In 180 BCE, the Indo-Greeks, invaded parts of northwest and northern India and ruled in the Punjab region. They are an extension of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek kings (the Euthydemids) located in neighbouring Bactria.

The invasion of northern India followed the destruction of the Mauryan dynasty by the general Pushyamitra Shunga, who then founded the new Indian Shunga dynasty (185 BCE-78 BCE). The Indo-Greek king Menander may have campaigned as far as the capital Pataliputra in eastern India (today Patna): "Those who came after Alexander went to the Ganges and Pataliputra" (Strabo, XV.698).

The Indo-Greeks ruled various parts of north-western South Asia until the end of the 1st century BCE, when the Scythians and Kushans started rising into power.

Legacy

Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greeks, leading to the Greco-Buddhist cultural syncretism. The arts of the Indian sub-continent were also quite affected by Hellenistic art during and after these interactions.

Editet from Wikipedia