Shaping civic identity over time : Seleucid cities in the Near East and their stories of beginnings and foundation
This work examines the transmission and reception of civic origin myths of some Seleucid cities in the Near East from the Roman period until the first half of the Middle Ages. It focuses primarily on five cities founded by Seleucus I â Antioch the Great and Apamea in Syria, Seleucia on the Tigris, Edessa and Karka de Beth Selok in Mesopotamia and it uses their stories of foundation and mythical beginnings to explore how their cultural identity was re-shaped in various ways in the post-Seleucid world. It argues that memories of Seleucus I and his empire were claimed by a variety of agencies, from both the Greek-speaking and the Syriac-speaking worlds; they were used to negotiate the identity of the Seleucid cities and communities while engaging with cultural memories of Greek archaic and classical past, Alexander the Great and the Achaemenids, which characterised cultural discourses in the empires of the post-Seleucid world. The first chapter focuses on Antioch and examines how the local historian Pausanias, the rhetor Libanius, and the chronographer John Malalas recalled stories concerning the Antiochene mythical founders and Seleucus I in order to interact in wider cultural discourses within the Greco-Roman
Grigolin, Chiara
Shaping civic identity over time : Seleucid cities in the Near East and their stories of beginnings and foundation. This work examines the transmission and reception of civic origin myths of some Seleucid cities in the Near East from the Roman period until the first half of the Middle Ages. It focuses primarily on five cities founded by Seleucus I â Antioch the Great and Apamea in Syria, Seleucia on the Tigris, Edessa and Karka de Beth Selok in Mesopotamia and it uses their stories of foundation and mythical beginnings to explore how their cultural identity was re-shaped in various ways in the post-Seleucid world. It argues that memories of Seleucus I and his empire were claimed by a variety of agencies, from both the Greek-speaking and the Syriac-speaking worlds; they were used to negotiate the identity of the Seleucid cities and communities while engaging with cultural memories of Greek archaic and classical past, Alexander the Great and the Achaemenids, which characterised cultural discourses in the empires of the post-Seleucid world. The first chapter focuses on Antioch and examines how the local historian Pausanias, the rhetor Libanius, and the chronographer John Malalas recalled stories concerning the Antiochene mythical founders and Seleucus I in order to interact in wider cultural discourses within the Greco-Roman
shaping civic_identity time seleucid city near_east story beginning foundation work examines transmission reception civic origin myth seleucid city near east roman period first_half middle_ages focus_primarily city found antioch great syria mesopotamia use story foundation mythical beginning explore cultural_identity shaped various_way post seleucid world argues memory empire claim variety agency greek_speaking syriac speaking world use negotiate identity seleucid city community engage cultural_memory greek archaic_classical past alexander great characterise cultural discourse empires post seleucid world first focus antioch examines local historian pausanias john recall story concern mythical founder order interact wider cultural discourse within greco_roman