Category Archives: Syrians / Assyrians / Aramaians

Arabians and Aramaians: Poseidonios on relations between eastern peoples (first century BCE)

Arabians and Erembians: Poseidonios, Strabo and others on obscure peoples mentioned by Homer (early first century CE)

Arabians: Ammianus Marcellinus on the customs of Saracens (late fourth century CE)

Assyrian / Babylonian wisdom: Sibyl of Babylon on the superiority of the Judean people (second century BCE)

Assyrian and Egyptian wisdom: Platonic author on Greek perfection of barbarian astral observation (late-fourth century BCE)

Assyrian wisdom: The Kyranides on a journey to learn from a foreign inscription (fourth century CE or earlier)

Assyrians, Babylonians, and surrounding peoples: Strabo on their customs (early first century CE)

Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Celts, and others: The Cicero brothers on the nature and effectiveness of divination (mid-first century BCE)

Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Macedonians, and Parthians: Polyhistor, Bion and Agathias on a succession of empires (mid-first century BCE on)

Assyrians: Trogus on the achievements of Ninos and Semiramis and on the extreme effeminacy of Sardanapalus (first century BCE)

Babylonian and Persian wisdom: Various authors on reception and expulsion of Chaldeans, Magians, and other foreign experts at Rome (first century CE on)

Babylonian diasporas: Josephos and other Judeans on legends of migration from Babel (first-second centuries CE)

Babylonian perspectives: Bel-re’ushu / Berossos on the origins of civilization (late fourth century BCE)

Babylonian wisdom: Iamblichos on Mesopotamian legends and his training in Magian skills (mid-second century CE)

Babylonians and Assyrians: Herodotos on legendary queens and outstanding customs (mid-fifth century BCE)

Barbarian wisdom: Clement of Alexandria [VI] on barbarian and Hebrew philosophy (late second century CE)

Boiotians: Ephoros on the superiority of Boiotia and on a Phoenician connection (mid-fourth century BCE)

Carthaginians: Appian of Alexandria (mid-second century CE)

Celtic, Indian, and Assyrian wisdom: Polyhistor on Pythagoras’ education by wise barbarians (first century BCE)

Cretans: Diodoros on Cretan (Greek) contributions to civilization (mid-first century BCE)

Egyptian perspectives: Isidoros’ hymns in praise of the goddess Hermouthis and legendary pharaohs (early first century BCE)

Egyptian perspectives: Oracles of the Lamb and the Potter on Greco-Macedonians and other foreigners (third-second centuries BCE)

Egyptian, Phoenician, and Phrygian wisdom: Ephoros on inventors (mid-fourth century BCE)

Egyptians: Cicero on superstition and animal-worship (mid-first century BCE)

Egyptians: Herodotos on customs and legendary kings (fifth century BCE)

Ethiopians: Philo of Alexandria on the supposed lowness of Ethiopians and self-control of Assyrians (early first century CE)

Ethnic diversity in Alexandria: Dio of Prusa on the cross-roads of the world (late first century CE)

Ethnic diversity in Egypt: Inscriptional and papyrological evidence

Ethnic diversity in Libya / Africa: Sallust on legends of migration (mid-first century BCE)

Germans, Britons, and Indians: Strabo on travelers, soldiers and merchants as sources of information (early first century CE)

Indian and Judean wisdom: Klearchos citing Aristotle (fourth century BCE)

Indians, Ethiopians, and Celts: Dio of Prusa critiques foreign imports and luxury (late first century CE)

Judean diasporas: Josephos on conflicts in Babylonia, ca. 40-66 CE (late first century CE)

Judean diasporas: Josephos on tensions with Greeks in Syria, the Decapolis, and Alexandria ca. 59-66 CE (late first century CE)

Judean wisdom: Josephos’ Against Apion in full (late first century CE)

Judean wisdom: Theophrastos on Judean philosophers (fourth century BCE)

Judeans, Egyptians, and others: Seneca on the “superstitions” of foreigners (mid-first century CE)

Judeans, Syrians, and Egyptians: Epiktetos engages with ethnographic discourses for philosophical aims (mid-first century CE)

Judeans, Syrians, Celts, Scythians and others: Plutarch on the “barbarian” origins of fearing the gods, or “superstition” (early second century CE)

Judeans, Syrians, Indians, and others: Porphyry of Tyre on abstinence from meat (third century CE)

Judeans: Strabo on decline after Moses and banditry (early first century CE)

Judeans: Trogus on contributions of Joseph and Moses and on the exodus (first century BCE)

Libyan perspectives: Juba of Numidia on ethnographic matters (late first century BCE)

Libyans, Assyrians and Arabians: Kleodemos and Josephos on Abraham and Keturah’s descendants and their many colonies (second or first century BCE on)

Lycians, Lydians, and Egyptians: Pseudo-Plutarch on the effeminacy of grief (third-fourth centuries CE)

Medes, Assyrians, Baktrians, and others: Herodotos on the mixed composition of the Persian army under Xerxes (fifth century BCE)

Mediterranean peoples: Artemidoros theorizes foreign elements in dreams (second century CE)

Mediterranean peoples: Diodoros, Pliny and Plutarch on Pompey’s subjugation of peoples of the world (mid-first century BCE on)

Mediterranean peoples: Pliny the Elder on inventors around the world (first century CE)

Mediterranean peoples: Sextus Empiricus engages with ethnographic discourses for philosophical aims (second-third centuries CE)

Parthians: Scenes from the Arch of Septimius Severus (early third century CE)

Persian, Babylonian, and Indian wisdom: Pseudo-Lucian on long-living sages and peoples (third century CE and earlier)

Phoenician diasporas: Ephoros on Kadmos and legends of migration to Boiotia (mid-fourth century BCE)

Phoenician perspectives: Philo of Byblos on “Phoenician Matters” (early second century CE)

Phoenician wisdom: Eudemos of Rhodes and Mochos of Sidon on the universe (fourth century BCE)

Phoenician wisdom: Strabo and Poseidonios on Mochos of Sidon (first century BCE)

Phoenician, Egyptian and Babylonian wisdom: Porphyry of Tyre and Antonius Diogenes on Pythagoras (third century CE)

Phoenician, Egyptian and Persian wisdom: Iamblichos of Chalkis on Pythagoras (fourth century CE)

Phoenicians: Gospel of Mark on Jesus and a Syro-Phoenician woman (late first century CE)

Phoenicians: Herodotos on customs and colonizing efforts (fifth century BCE)

Scythians and other Pontic peoples: Herodotos on the “most ignorant peoples of all” (fifth century BCE)

Scythians, Amazons, and Hyperboreans: Diodoros on some northerners (mid-first century BCE)

Scythians: Lucian on a competition between Toxaris and Mnesippos about ethnic superiority (mid-second century CE)

Scythians: Lucian on Toxaris’ and Anacharsis’ differing encounters with Greeks (late second century CE)

Syrian and Phoenician diasporas: Inscriptional and archeological evidence

Syrian diasporas: Diodoros and Florus on Eunous of Apameia’s leadership of the slave rebellion on Sicily (mid-first century BCE / second century CE)

Syrian perspectives: Lucian of Samosata on The Syrian Goddess in full (mid-second century CE)

Syrian perspectives: Lucian self-identifies as “barbarian” and “Assyrian” (mid-second century CE)

Syrians, Persians, Indians, Libyans, and others: Hekataios of Miletos on peoples of Asia (sixth century BCE)

Syrians: Apuleius on “effeminate” priests of Atargatis (late second century CE)