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Palestinian Syrians

Nomenclature

Greek Name: Παλαιστίνη

Latin Name: Pă-laestīnus , a, um, adj., of or belonging to Palestine: Pălaestīnă (Pălest- ), ae, and Pă-laestīnē , ēs, f.

Toponyms:

Cultural Notes

 

Geographical Notes

the land from Phoenicia to the borders of the territory of the city of Cadytis (probably Gaza)

Citations in Herodotos

 3.5
taken by Necos:  2.159; Palestine, in Syria:  1.105
circumcision practised there:  2.104
pillars set up there by Sesostris:  2.106
Syrians of Palestine in Xerxes' fleet:  7.89

Key Passages in English Translation

 

English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920. Retreived from <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu>

Key Passages in Greek

 

Other Testimonia

Ascalon in: Paus. 1.14.7
dates of: Paus. 9.19.8
Hebrews who dwell above: Paus. 10.12.9

Other Commentary


Perseus Encyclopedia:

W. W. How, J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotos: For Kadytis cf. ii. 159 n.

The Palestine Syrians are here distinguished by H. from the Phoenicians (so too in ii. 104); their lands also are distinguished in i. 105 (probably), iii. 91. 1, and iv. 39. 2; in ii. 106. 1 he applies the term to include the coast north of Mount Carmel. But the most important reference is vii. 89, where H. distinguishes the ‘Syrians in Palestine’ from the Phoenicians, and then goes on (§ 2) to use ‘Palestine’ of all the coast land, including Phoenicia, ‘as far as Egypt’. He never uses it of Phoenicia alone. Here he means ‘Philistines’, who were still powerful in his time (Zech. ix. 5); it is true that he says they were circumcised (ii. 104. 3), but he says (ib.) the same of Phoenicians. Either the neighbouring tribes had begun to copy the Jews in this rite, or H. confuses the Jews and the coast peoples. He cannot have meant by the ‘Palestine Syrians’ ‘the Jews’ only, for they were at this time very unimportant.
 
The ancient geographers did not usually extend ‘Arabia’ to the Mediterranean, nor does H. himself in iv. 39. He means here that the ends of the trade routes from Arabia to the Mediterranean were under Arabian control (cf. iii. 107 seq. for this spice trade); he writes τοῦ Ἀραβίου, ‘in possession of the Arabian,’ not τῆς Ἁραβίης, For the Arabs of South Palestine as dependent allies (not subjects) of the Persians cf. 88. 1 n.

Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898):
 

Disambiguation

No information available at this time.