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In the Shadow of Phoenicia: North Syria and ‘Palestinian Syria’ in Herodotus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2018

Benjamin M. Sullivan
Benjamin M. Sullivan*
Affiliation:
Arizona State University*
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Abstract

Scrutiny of Herodotus’ ethnographic accounts of northern Syria and the region he calls ‘Palestinian Syria’ reveals oddities and inconsistencies. Here it is argued that such problems may be resolved if a fundamental fact is recognized: the enormous early literary prestige of the Phoenicians has obscured the historical roles of these other peoples in the Histories. The character and extent of this process, specifically as it bears on Syria-Palestine during Iron Age II, is analysed here. It is hoped that a new appreciation of the Syrians as an ethnicity may be gained as a result. It is suggested as well that for important historical problems researchers should ascertain whether Herodotus is not actually talking about Syrians when he discusses Phoenicians.

Keywords

HerodotusSyriansPhoeniciansethnography
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 138 , 2018 , pp. 67 - 79
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 2018 

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Footnotes

*

[email protected]. I am grateful to Jesse Weiner and to my sister, Rebecca Sullivan, for comments on earlier versions of this article. Many thanks go to the staff of the Ancient World Mapping Center, particularly to its Director, Gabriel Moss, for producing the article's map. I am also much indebted to the suggestions of the anonymous JHS reviewers. Naturally, none of them bears any responsibility for any infelicities that remain.