Archaic Greeks in the Orient: Textual and Archaeological Evidence

22 Pages·2001·3.56 MB·English

by  Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier

Archaic Greeks in the Orient: Textual and
ArchaeologicEavild ence*
WOLF-DIETRICH NIEMEIER
Archaologisches Institut
Universitat Heidelberg
69117 Heidelberg
Germany
It is a matter of controversial discussion whether, after the Philistines in Iron Age I,
a second wave ofpeople from the Aegean-Greeks-arrived on the Levantine coast in
the Iron Age IIB-C period. Greek presence at that time has been assumed for a series
of settlements. A systematic investigation of these settlements in regard to criteria for
foreign presence-as imported religion and cult, burial customs, settlement layout,
architecture, and kitchen-does not provide convincing evidence for resident Greek
civilians in the Levant before the second half of the seventh century B.C. when Greek
merchants apparently lived in some of the harbor cities. More clearly, textual, icono-
graphic, and archaeological evidence discussed in this paper indicates the presence of
Greek mercenaries from the eighth century B.c. on. These mercenaries were not com-
mon men but members of the elite driven out of their homeland. On their return, they
transferredf oreign ideas and concepts and thus were mediators in the continuing Ori-
ental influx to Greece.
THE FIRST GREEKS IN THE ORIENT: studied in a seminal work the Aegean backgroundo f
THE PHILISTINES the Philistines (Dothan 1982),2 she demonstrated
with the results of her excavations at Tel Miqne-
It was a great honor for me to be in Jerusalem Ekron that the Philistines settling in Iron Age I in
in January 1999 as the first Annual Trude Do- Canaan were people from the Aegean who had ar-
than Lecturer of the Dorot Foundation. It ap- rived via Cyprus (Dothan 1995).3
pears well fitting to dedicate this paper, one of the Emigrants usually transfer to the new homeland
two lectures held in Jerusalem, to Trude Dothan, their religion and cult, their burial customs, their
since the connections between the littoral of the Le- eating and drinking manners, as well as techno-
vant and the Aegean have always been one of her logical features as, for instance, loomweights (cf.
main fields of interest, and it was she who Hagg and Marinatos 1984: 221). As to the burial
demonstratedt hat the Philistines who arrived in the customs of the Philistines, as yet we have no direct
southern Levant soon after 1200 B.C. and carved out information since no early cemeteries have been ex-
a major piece of territoryf or themselves in southern cavated in the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod,
Canaan at the expense of the Canaanites were the and Ekron (Singer 1994: 302). A Philistine identi-
first "Greeks" settling in the Orient.1 After having fication of Cemeteries 500 and 900 at Tell-FarCah
(S.), the chamber tombs of which are of Aegean
* This article is the revised version of a lecture deliv- origin according to Waldbaum (1966),4 is doubtful
ered at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research
in Jerusalem in March 1999, when the author was the 2A revised, expanded,a nd updatedt ranslationo f a
first Trude Dothan Lecturer in Ancient Near Eastern workp ublishedi n 1967 in Hebrew.O n the historyo f re-
Studies. This series, which also includes lectures at Al- searcho n the Philistinesa nd earliera ttemptst o link the
Quds and Hebrew Universities, was sponsored by the Philistinesw itht he Mycenaeanc ivilizationo f the Aegean,
Albright Institute and endowed by the Dorot Foundation. see Dothana ndD othan1 992:2 9-55.
1See the recent summary by Stager (1995: 342-48, 3See also Stager1 995:3 36-40; Niemeier1 998:4 7-49.
fig. 2). 4Cf. also Dothan1 982:2 9-33, 260-68.
11
12 WOLF-DIETRICHN IEMEIER BASOR 322
because the site is situated outside of Philistia pro- pottery and other items of their material culture
per and less than 10% of the pottery from the graves show signs of acculturation. Around the mid-tenth
is Philistine (McClellan 1979; Brug 1985: 70-73; century, Philistia deteriorated into a minor political
Singer 1994: 303). Moreover, some scholars see the entity and rapidly lost its distinct cultural character,
chamber tombs of Tell el-FarCah( S.) as belonging to although the Philistines' sense of ethnic identity
a long local tradition (Loffreda 1968; Stiebing 1970; remained secure for several more centuries; in the
Vanschoonwinkel 1999: 87-89). Bible Philistia was defined through the Iron Age by
However, there are certain indicators that people geopolitical and cultural boundaries and was viewed
from the Aegean were present in Early Iron Age I in by the Israelites as a separate region (Dothan 1982:
Canaan. These include terracotta figurines of ritual 13-16, 160-91, 251; B. Mazar 1992: 34-41; Gitin
function and Mycenaean tradition (Dothan 1995: 1998a). Although the royal dedicatory inscription
48, 50, fig. 3:12),5 hearths that were not common from the seventh centuryB .C.T emple Complex 650 at
before in Canaan but in the Mycenaean palaces and Tel Miqne-Ekron is written in a language close to
shrines (Dothan 1992: 96; 1995: 42-45; 1998: 155- Phoenician,t he name of the dedicatingk ing, Ahish, is
58), kitchen ware of Mycenaean types (Dothan non-West Semitic and PerhapsG reek in origin (Gitin,
1995: 46-47, fig. 3.7:10, 15-17; 1998: 154, fig. 5: Dothan, and Naveh 1997; Gitin 1998a: 173-74).
15-17; Killebrew 1998: 397, figs. 7, 10:13-14, 12:
14-15), the introduction of pork and beef into the ARCHAIC GREEK RESIDENTS IN
diet (Hesse 1986: 17-27; Dothan 1998: 154; Kille-
THE ORIENT?
brew 1998: 397), and Mycenaean-type loomweights
(Dothan 1995: 46-47).6 Vanschoonwinkel (1999), It is a matter of controversial discussion whether
who argues that the Philistines were not of Aegean a second wave of Greeks arrived on the Levantine
origin but Canaanite people, ignores important evi- coast in the Iron Age IIB-C period. In the late
dence such as the Mycenaean-type kitchen ware and 1930s, when Greek Geometric and Archaic pottery
loomweights and changes in the diet in the first was found for the first time in the Levant in large
phase of Philistine settlement. Ventris's decipher- quantities in the excavations conducted by Woolley
ment of the Mycenaean Linear B script used for at Al Mina on the mouth of the Orontes (Robertson
administrative purposes in the Late Bronze Age 1940; Woolley 1953: 165-81), the place was re-
Aegean demonstrated that it had been used to write garded as an essentially Greek site which "has been
an early form of the Greek language (Ventris and proved by excavation to have been no less important
Chadwick 1956; Chadwick 1958). Thus we may a project than that of the earliest western colonies"
term the Philistines "Greeks,"7a lthough non-Greek- (Boardman 1957: 24-25) and in which "there is
speaking groups, such as "Minoans"f rom Crete, may nothing to differentiate the place from one of the
have been among them.8 After becoming firmly many colonies in Italy or Sicily or on the Black Sea
established in their Pentapolis, the Philistines began coast" (Dunbabin 1957: 25). This supposed Greek
first to compete with the Israelite tribes and later colony was believed to have formed the chief point
with the kingdoms of Saul, David, and Solomon for of contact between Greece and the Near East.9
political and cultural hegemony over the region. Later, when more Greek pottery was found at other
From the middle of the 12th century B.c. on, their Levantine sites, the presence of Greek residents was
assumed for further Iron Age settlements, from
north to south (fig. 1): Ras el-Bassit (Riis 1982: 252;
5See also Dothan1 982:2 34-49; A. Mazar1 988:2 59-
Courbin 1990: 508; Haider 1996: 63), Ras Ibn Hani
60, fig. 2; Stager1 995:3 46. Fort he role of terracottafi gu-
(Riis 1982: 251-52), Tall Sukas (Riis 1970: 126-29,
rines in Mycenaeanc ult, see Ginel 1998: 448-49 with
references. 158-59; 1979: 32; 1982: 246-51; Haider 1996: 64-
6See also Stager 1991: 36-37, 43 n. 12; 1995: 346; 65), Tabbat al-Hammam (Riis 1982: 251; Haider
Dothana nd Porath1 993:f ig. 24:3-5, pl. 39. 1996: 69), Tel Kabri (Niemeier 1994; 1995),10 and
7Unfortunatelya,l mostn o scripti s preservedf romt he
timeo f earlyP hilistines ettlemenwt itht hep ossiblee xcep-
tiono f a stamps eal fromA shdodw ithr atherc ryptics igns: 9See the summariesb y Graham( 1986: 51-53) and
Dothana ndD othan1 992: 153, pl. 10. Waldbaum(1 997: 1-4, with references).
8Ont he prehellenicla nguage(s)o f Cretet hatp robably l?The finalp ublicationo f the Kabrie xcavationsi s in
survivedi nto the historicp eriod,s ee Duhoux1 998. press.
2001 ARCHAIC GREEKS IN THE ORIENT 13
the absence of other criteria, the occurrence of
Greek decorated pottery, even in larger quantities, is
a rather poor indicator of the presence of Greeks in
the East (Papadopoulos 1997: 195-97, 205; Wald-
baum 1997: 5-6) and therefore has been questioned,
also recently in this periodical (Waldbaum 1997).
Scholars have distinguished different types of
colonies, such as those discussed by Branigan of the
Minoans (Branigan 1981) and by Berard and Riis of
the Greeks (Berard 1960: 13-15; Riis 1982: 237-
38). Branigan's "settlement colony" corresponds to
the Greek term apoikia: a settlement founded in a
foreign country and populated by people resettled
there from their homeland. For Branigan's "gov-
erned colony," a settlement that has a foreign admin-
istration or government imposed upon it by force, no
pre-Hellenistic Greek examples exist. Branigan's
"community colony" corresponds to the Greek term
enoikismos: settlements in which a more or less
significant element of the population is comprised
of immigrants from a foreign place. This element
forms a distinctive social grouping within the settle-
ment's society, sometimes but not always reflected
in their spatial distribution. The characteristics of a
settlement colony or apoikia will be a distinctively
foreign material culture: architecture and artifacts
Fig. 1. Levantine sites for which the presence of Greek being strongly reminiscent of the architecture and
residents has been assumed. artifacts of the homeland (or imported from there),
and religious and burial practices of a characterf or-
Mezad Hashavyahu (Naveh 1962b: 97-99; 1977: eign to that of the new homeland (Branigan 1981:
863; 1993: 586; Cross 1962: 42; Strange 1966: 136- 26). The characteristics of community colonies or
39; Austin 1970: 53, n. 1; Riis 1982: 251: Weippert enoikismoi, by contrast, can vary according to the
1988: 620; Wenning 1989; 1991: 212-14; Redford strength of the cultural tradition of the "colonists"
1992: 444-45; Haider 1996: 75). For a long time, and of the indigenous inhabitants (Branigan 1981:
scholars thought that the Orientals had no taste for 26-27; 1984: 49-51). Often, the house design and
Greek pottery and where it occurs in the East, it is a construction is essentially native, but interior fur-
sign of Greeks living there (R. M. Cook 1959: 122; nishings reflect the origins of the occupiers. Usually,
Akurgal 1966; 161-62; Riis 1969: 436; 1970: 129; foreign communities maintain their native religion,
1982: 243-44, 251-52; Jeffery 1976: 63). Greek often including their own funerary traditions. Their
pottery has been found, however, in native tombs at diet is-if possible-very similar to that in the
Khalde near Beirut (Saidah 1971), at Tell Rachidieh homeland, and these preferences should be reflected
near Tyre (Doumet and Kawkabani 1995), and at not only in the food debris but also in the culinary
Hama (Coldstream 1977: 95; Braun 1982a: 7-9). A equipment. They conduct their business in their na-
big Attic kratero f the late ninth century was offered tive language.
as a votive in a local shrine at Hama (Riis 1970: Whereas the Philistine settlements in Canaan un-
153-54; Braun 1982a: 9). Moreover, the finds of im- doubtedly were settlement colonies forming urban
ported Greek pottery of the tenth to seventh centu- impositions over the charredr uins of earlier Canaan-
ries B.C. at Tyre (Nitsche 1987; Coldstream and ite places,11 today no scholar would identify a Greek
Bikai 1988: 35-43; Haider 1996: 60-62) have dem-
onstrated that "the metropolitan Phoenicians were
by no means averse to the use of imported Greek llCf. the summaryb y Stager( 1995: 345-48) for Ash-
pottery" (Coldstream and Bikai 1988: 43). Thus in kelon,A shdod,a ndE kron.
14 WOLF-DIETRICHN IEMEIER BASOR 322
settlement colony or apoikia of the Iron IIB-C per- Beside the high proportion of Greek decorated
iod in the Levant. Al Mina is now mostly seen as a wares (Boardman 1999: 150-51), the evidence for
Phoenician or Aramaic town in which a certain num- actual Greek presence at Al Mina is rather meager.
ber of Greeks at some time formed a community Of the criteria mentioned above in connection with
colony or enoikismos. There is, however, disagree- the intrusive Philistines, no tombs of the pre-Persian
ment whether Al Mina was founded in ca. 825-800 periods have been excavated at Al Mina and no evi-
B.C.( du Plat Taylor 1959: 91; Boardman 1982a: 758; dence for Greek ritual and cult was found. In Level
Braun 1982a: 9; Popham 1994: 26), ca. 770 B.C. 10/9, only scrappy walls giving no intelligible plans
(Boardman 1999: 145, 153), or ca. 750 B.C. (Wool- were found (Boardman 1999: 141). The settlement
ley 1938: 16; Gjerstad 1974: 122; Kearsley 1989: layout and the house architectureo f Levels 8-6 are
145; 1995: 67-69; 1999: 112-15; Haider 1996: 67), not of Greek but of local character( Riis 1970: 159;
whether Greeks were present from the very begin- 1982: 245-46; Bonatz 1993: 129-30). No Greek
ning of the settlement (Boardman 1980: 40; 1982a: kitchen ware is known. One of Woolley's arguments
758; 1990; 1999; Braun 1982a: 9; Haider 1996; 67; for the presence of resident Greek merchants at Al
Kearsley 1999: 116-18, 127-31) or only in the later Mina was that the inscriptions he found were Greek
seventh century B.C.( Graham 1986: 57), and wheth- (Woolley 1938: 15). There is, however, only one
er the Greek residents played a more (Boardman published Greek inscription earlier than the fifth
1990) or less important role (Coldstream 1977: 93; century B.C., a graffito probably representing the re-
Graham 1986; Snodgrass 1994: 4). Moreover, recent mains of a proper name on the wall fragment of a
research has tended to emphasize the Cypriot ele- skyphos from the seventh-century Levels VI-VII,
ment at Al Mina at the expense of the Greek (Jones but dated by Boardman as earlier, to the Late Geo-
1986: 694-96; Coldstream 1989: 94). metric period (Boardman 1982a; Graham 1986: 55-
In a recent very interesting hypothesis, Kearsley 56). It does not form unequivocal proof of the use
(1999: 116-31) interpretst he foundation Level 10/9 of the Greek language at Al Mina in such an early
of Al Mina as an encampment of Greek mercenaries period since it could have been inscribed before it
but cannot offer evidence other than the almost ex- reached the coast of Syria. There is a lengthier
clusively Greek character of the decorated pottery. Greek owner inscription on a vase of the late fifth
Unfortunately,m uch of the plain pottery found in the century B.C. (Beazley 1955: 205-6, no. 10, fig. 5;
Al Mina excavations was not kept (Boardman 1999: Riis 1982: 241), but most of the graffiti on other
144). From Level 8 on, Kearsley sees Al Mina as a contemporaryG reek vases are Phoenician, and some
port of trade in which different nations were active. Aramaic (Bron and Lemaire 1983).
Boardman (1999: 155) compares Al Mina, interpre- Of the other Levantine sites with the supposed
ted by him as a Greek port of trade, to Naukratis and presence of resident Greeks, Ras Ibn Hani and Tab-
to Pithekoussai on Ischia. Naukratis is, however, a bat al-Hammam have to be excluded since as yet
very special and unique case (Sullivan 1996: 177, they have failed to produce evidence for even one
189-91), and Pithekoussai from the very beginning of the criteria discussed above. At Ras el-Bassit,
was a much larger-scale phenomenon than an em- among the intramural and extramural cremation
porion (Greco 1994; d'Agostino 1994; 1999),12 hav- tombs, only one grave dated aroundc a. 600 B.C. con-
ing an agricultural hinterland, being possibly not a tained Greek pottery; all the rest contained local,
less formal foundation than Cumae (Wilson 1997: Phoenician, and Cypriot pottery (Courbin 1986:
205), and being a polis "within the limits and pecu- 190-93, 198, 201; 1990: 506-7; 1993: passim,
liarities characterizing this concept in the eighth Greek pottery: 30-32, 66-68; Waldbaum 1997: 11).
century B.C."( Greco 1994: 15). From the settlement, no evidence for Greek reli-
gious ritual and cult is known. Only a few of the
architectural remains have as yet been published.
12Ast o the terme mporions, ee Wilson 1997 who has No Greek kitchen ware is mentioned in the pre-
demonstrate"dt hatt he emporionb ecamei ncreasinglyfo r- liminary reports. There are several Greek graffiti, of
malised-a clearlyd istinguishede ntity,s eparatef romt he which three have been published. The earliest one
polis-in the courseo f the Classicalp eriod;t hatp riort o is on the fragment of a Late Geometric skyphos,
this an emporionw as any settlementi nvolved in com- according to P. Courbin of local production (Cour-
mercial activity" (Wilson 1997: 205). bin 1986: 194, fig. 20). The single preserved letter,
2001 ARCHAIC GREEKS IN THE ORIENT 15
however, is not necessarily a Greek (H)eta but can (Bonatz 1993: 131-34) and also more closely resem-
also be a Phoenician Het.13 Two graffiti transcrib- bles the plans of Cypriote chapels with two or three
ing Ionian personal names are to be dated to ca. 600 inner rooms than those of Greek temples (Boardman
B.C. That on the base of an Ionian cup (Courbin 1972: 216).15 The house architecturei s of local tra-
1978: fig. on p. 58) could have been incised before dition (Lund 1986: 189-92; Bonatz 1993: 125-26).
the cup reached Ras el-Bassit. Only that on the frag- Apparently no Greek kitchen ware occurs. Accord-
ment of a Phoenician torpedo jar (Courbin 1986: ing to the statement of the excavator, all kitchen
199, fig. 31; 1990: 508, pl. 48.1) was almost cer- ware is Phoenician (Riis 1982: 258). A spindle
tainly inscribed at Ras el-Bassit. There are also whorl in local clay of a Greek type in use from the
Phoenician inscriptions from Ras el-Bassit (Courbin eighth to the sixth century B.C. bears the Greek
1978: 58). owner's graffito of a woman named Pesaphore (Riis
At Tall Sukas, the Greek drinking sets found in 1970: 158, fig. 53d; 1982: 240-41, fig. 3:1; Ploug
the tombs of the cemetery at the Southern Harbor 1973: 90, no. 424, pl. 19f-g). It was found in a level
and the covering of some of the tombs with roof tiles that cannot be dated earlier than the third century
have been interpreted as evidence of Greek burial B.C. and was tentatively dated by the letter forms to
customs (Riis 1979: 31-32; 1982: 249-50). The ca. 600 B.C. (Riis 1965: 59-61). This date is, how-
presence of Greek drinking vessels does not, how- ever, very approximate (Graham 1986: 57). Several
ever, represent an unequivocal indicator of Greek vases of the first half of the sixth century B.C. carry
presence.14 None of the graves with roof tiles and Greek graffiti, including some in local fabric; oth-
grave goods is earlier than the sixth century B.C. ers, however, have Semitic graffiti (Ploug 1973: 54,
Moreover, the roof tiles are not conclusively associ- 84-85).
ated with the graves in question (Waldbaum 1997: At Tel Kabri, no tombs of the period in question
11). A small rectangularb uilding in the eastern sec- were excavated. There is no evidence for Greek
tor constructed in the course of the seventh century religious customs and cult patterns. The architecture
B.C. has been identified as a Greek temple (Riis 1969: of Tel Kabri does not show Greek features. The
446; 1970: 44-59; 1982: 240-41, 246-49; Haider seventh-century casemate construction of the forti-
1996: 64). Since we know very little about contem- fication wall in Area A is of Levantine tradition
porary small shrines in the larger cities of Phoenicia (Lehmannl994: 20*-22*, fig. 11).16 The fragments
(Coldstream 1975: 156) and since the building was of six Greek cooking pots (chytrai) have been un-
placed over a pre-Greek cult hearth and is associ- covered and-like the Greek cooking pots found
ated with a Semitic-type High Place, it cannot safely earlier at Mezad Hashavyahu (see infra)-are inter-
be accepted as a Greek temple (Boardman 1972: preted as evidence of Greek presence (Niemeier
215). Two roof tile fragments interpreteda s evidence 1990: xxxvI, fig. 22:4; 1994: *33, fig. 19:10).17 No
for the involvement of a Greek architect or a Hel- writing was found. Evidence for Greek religious
lenized local builder are not conclusively associated customs and cult pattern is lacking. Tombs were not
with the building of the first phase (Riis 1970: 52, excavated either at Mezad Hashavyahu, and evi-
58). Only in the second phase, which started before dence for Greek religious customs and cult patterns
ca. 570 B.C.( Riis 1970: 86) or after the middle of the is missing. At Mezad Hashavyahu-as at Kabri-
sixth century B.C. (Boardman 1972: 216), is the the casemate construction is of Levantine tradition
Greek feature of the use of clay roof tiles certain (Weippert 1988; 620; Wenning 1989: 175-76);
(Riis 1970: 68-69; 1982: 240). However, the longi- tombs and evidence for Greek cults have not been
tudinal and tripartite plan of the enlarged building found. Up to 18 fragments of Greek cooking pots
of the second phase follows old and local traditions
15Cf.G jerstad1 948: 19-22, figs. 2, 5.
13Cf.C oldstream1 982:f ig. 1; Naveh 1987:f ig. 87. 16Cf. Herzog 1992: 269-70. An earlier casemate
14Luke( 1992) has suggestedt hatG reekd rinkingv es- fortificationw all in Tel Kabri,A reaE , is datedt o the ninth
sels were importedt o satisfy local demandsr elatingt o centuryB .C.-see Pastor1 990:x xIx-xxxI, fig. 13; 1991:
Near Easternf easting and drinkingc ustoms. Cf. Wald- 11*-15* fig. 12; Lehmann1 994: *19.
baum 1997: 7-8, and for the Persianp eriod, De Vries 17Theo therf ragmentsa rei llustratedin the finalp ubli-
1977;W enning1 991:2 07-8. cationo f the Kabrie xcavationsi,n press.
16 WOLF-DIETRICHN IEMEIER BASOR 322
have been found (Naveh 1962b: fig. 6:7-8, pl. with n. 1 on p. 53; Braun 1982a: 21-22; Haider
12F:1, 3; Reich 1989: fig. 4:1-2; Waldbaum and 1988: 204-6; 1996: 75-76; Wenning 1989; 1991:
Magness 1997: 31-32, figs. 8-9), but no Greek graf- 213-14; Bettalli 1995: 65). Recently, Waldbaumh as
fiti. The inscriptions on several ostraca, on the considered the possibility of a mercantile side to
shoulder of a jar, and on a four-shekel stone weight Mezad Hashavyahu being responsible for the distri-
are written in Hebrew (Naveh 1960; 1962a). The bution of Greek pottery at Tel Batash and Tel Miqne-
fragments of Greek cooking pots have been inter- Ekron (Waldbaum 1994: 60). However, I think that
preted as evidence for Greek presence on the site the Greek pottery at Tel Miqne-Ekronm ore probably
(Naveh 1962b: 97; Wenning 1989: 171-73; 1991: came from the harbor city of Ashkelon.
212). Waldbaum (1997: 8 with n. 16) is skeptical Like Mezad Hashavyahu, the fortress of Tel
and points to the finds of one or two Greek cooking Kabri, Area E, is situated off from the next harbor
vessels at Tel Batash (ancient Timnah) (Waldbaum city, Achzib (Prausnitz and Mazar 1993), even in-
and Magness 1997: 31)-where, according to her, land. Beside a few Greek sherds from the late sev-
no one has suggested the presence of actual enth to the beginning of the sixth century B.C. from
Greeks-as well as at Ashkelon, and she thinks-in Stratum I at Tel Dan (Pakman 1992: fig. 5:12-14),
analogy to the imported cooking wares from Scan- there is no evidence at all that Greeks at Tel Kabri
dinavia, France, and Mexico in well-equipped con- could have distributed Greek pottery farther inland.
temporary kitchens in the United States-that "an- The northernp art of the Acco plain, the land Cabul
cient pottery that developed a reputation for having of the Bible, during this period formed part of the
desirable properties or imparting a special flavor to kingdom of Tyre (Gal 1990). The Kabri fortress
food might equally have been in demand among the probably was a stronghold at the southeasternb order
cognoscenti." There is, however, no evidence for a of the kingdom against the highlands of Galilee, as
special reputation of the Greek kitchen in the already argued in the preliminary reports (Kempin-
Levant. Tel Batash/Timnah is situated a little way ski and Niemeier 1993a: 184; 1993b: 259; Niemeier
inland and up the Sorek Valley from Mezad 1994: *34-*35) and accepted by P. W. Haider
Hashavyahu. Therefore, the one or two Batash cook- (1996: 71).
ing vessels could have been brought by visitors from
Mezad Hashavyahu.M oreover, there may have been GREEK MERCENARIES IN THE ORIENT:
some Greek presence at Tel Batash/Timnah, too (see TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
infra). Through its history, Ashkelon was a major
commercial seaport (Stager 1993; 1996b: 66-68). There are several records about Greek warriors
This may explain the occurrence of numerous frag- and mercenaries of the Archaic period active in the
ments of Greek cooking pots. Possibly they were Levant. In the Assyrian sources of the eighth cen-
owned by Greek seafarers and merchants living sea- tury B.C. and the beginning of the seventh century
sonally or permanently at Ashkelon. B.C., when the Assyrian kings were extending their
Mezad Hashavyahu and Tel Kabri, Area E, differ power westward to the MediterraneanS ea, to Pales-
from all the other Levantine sites with finds of Greek tine, Phoenicia, North Syria, and Cilicia, we find
pottery as yet discussed. They represent not harbor mention (Braun 1982a: 14-21; Kearsley 1999: 119-
sites but relatively small fortifications. Although the 22), among the opponents of the Assyrians in these
possibility that Mezad Hashavyahu was a Greek campaigns, of men from the Mediterraneann amed
trading colony has been considered (Naveh 1962b: "Ionians"-a term generally used for Greeks (Braun
98; Strange 1966: 138-39; Weinberg 1969: 94; Gall- 1982a: 1). There is no exact information about their
ing 1977: 137; Weippert 1988: 620), the fortress role, but among them may have been mercenaries
character of settlement and its situation next to the employed by the states against which the Assyrian
sea but without a harbor and off from existing cities expansion was directed. In Assyrian documents of
point against this hypothesis (Wenning 1989: 176). Sargon II, a man named "Yamani,"p robably a sol-
Instead, these characteristics support the interpreta- dier in the guard of King Azuri of Ashdod, is men-
tion of Mezad Hashavyahu as a military fortress tioned in connection with conflicts between the
(Naveh 1962b: 98-99; 1977: 863; 1993: 586; Cross Assyrians and Ashdod in 711 B.C. (Luckenbill 1927:
1962: 42; Strange 1966: 138-39; Austin 1970: 16 ??30, 62-63, 79-80; Oppenheim 1969: 285-86).
2001 ARCHAIC GREEKS IN THE ORIENT 17
The name Yamani has been thought to mean "Ion- sources about the reconquest of Egypt. However, in
ian," and Yamani has been interpreteda s a possible a much later source, Polyainos's Strategica (VII.3) of
Greek condottiere or mercenary (Olmstead 1923: the middle of the second century A.D., it is told that
218; Bengtson 1937: 150-51); some scholars have when Psammetichus overcame Tementhes (= Tanta-
thought that he came from Cyprus, because he is mani)19 in a battle at Memphis, the Carian Pigres
alternatively named "Yadna" = the Cypriot (Olm- was his advisor and he had many Carianm ercenaries
stead 1923: 218; Smith 1929: 58; Hall 1929: 277; (Kammerzell 1993: 114-15). Although the value of
Mazzarino 1947: 121-23; J. M. Cook 1962: 64-65). this text as a historical source was for a long time
Yamani is, however, possibly a regular Assyrian controversial, recent investigations concede a high
gentilic meaning "the Ionian," since similar names degree of historical reliability to it (Haider 1988:
occur among the contemporaryA ssyrians from Nin- 178-82). Pigres is indeed a personal name existing
eveh, and they certainly were not Greeks (Tadmor only in Caria and Lycia (Sundwall 1913: 179-80,
1958: 80 n. 217; 1978: 175; Rollig 1971: 644; Spa- 288; Aly 1950), and a grave stele from Memphis in
linger 1973: 97; Elayi and Cavigneaux 1979: 59- Brussels is, with some probability, that of the Pigres
63).18 Thus the Yamani of Ashdod was not neces- mentioned by Polyainos (Masson and Yoyotte 1956:
sarily a Greek, and the use of the name "Yamani" pl. 9; Ray 1982: 190; Kammerzell 1993: 145-48,
proves no more than that Greeks were at that time 165, 174, 179). Since the Carians were the merce-
familiar in the Levant (Braun 1982a: 16-17). naries par excellence in the Mediterranean,a nd since
The best-known Greek mercenaries of the Ar- the lyric poet Archilochos of Paros (Fragment4 0D)
chaic period in the eastern Mediterraneana re those already by about the middle of the seventh century
active in Egypt. Herodotus (II.152-54) and Dio- B.C. used "mercenary" and "Carian" as synonyms
dorus (1.66.12-67.2) report that Psammetichus I (Haider 1988: 174; Kammerzell 1993: 109), it ap-
(664-610 B.c.), the first pharaoh of the 26th (Saite) pears possible that Greeks were also among the Car-
Dynasty, employed Carian and Ionian warriors, who ian mercenaries mentioned by Polyainos (Haider
had come rathera ccidentally during raids to the Nile 1996: 93). If the battle mentioned by Polyainos hap-
Delta, to help him fight against his rivals; report- pened in 664 B.C.( Kees 1919; 1931: 663, 682; Helck
edly he later settled them in Stratopeda (camps) in 1975; Spalinger 1976: 137-38; Haider 1988: 181-
the eastern Delta on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile 82), these Carians served in the Assyrian army, and
(R. M. Cook 1937: 231-32; Kienitz 1953: 57; Gyles it was only through the conjectures of the Greek his-
1959: 20-21; Thissen 1977: 898-99; Boardman toriography that Psammetichus replaced the Assyri-
1980: 114-15; Braun 1982b: 35-37, 43-44; Kam- ans as the main opponent of Tantamani( Freedy and
merzell 1993: 110-11; Bettalli 1995: 54-61; Haider Redford 1970: 476-77 with n. 69).
1996: 92-93, 95-102, Sullivan 1996: 185-87). He- The Assyrian sources also indicate the presence
rodotus does not mention, however, that Psammeti- of Carian and Ionian mercenaries in Egypt. The an-
chus I first came to power as an Assyrian vassal king nals of Ashurbanipalr eportt hat King Gyges of Lydia
(Spalinger 1976: 138). After Psammetichus'sf ather, sent troops to Egypt to support Psammetichus (Spa-
Necho I, the Assyrian vassal king of Sais (Kitchen linger 1976: 134-36; Haider 1988: 164-74; Kam-
1973: 400, ?360; Spalinger 1974: 323; Haider 1988: merzell 1993: 111-14; Sullivan 1996: 184). The
158), had been beaten and probably killed in battle Lydian expansion had brought almost all of western
by king Tantamani of Kush (Spalinger 1974: 323; Anatolia-with the exception of some Ionian harbor
1976: 133; Haider 1988: 158; Sullivan 1996: 182), cities but including Caria-under the rule of Gyges
Psammetichus escaped to his overlord Ashurbanipal and his successors (Roebuck 1959: 50-53; Huxley
and returned within the same year with a victorious 1966: 52-53; Jeffery 1976: 211; Boardman 1980:
Assyrian army and, after the defeat of Tantamani, 95-97; Haider 1988: 174). There is evidence that at
was invested with the territories of Sais, Memphis, that time Lydia had large contingents of Ionian and
and Athribis (Kitchen 1973: 393 n. 883; Haider Carian mercenaries (Haider 1988: 174; Kammer-
1988: 159-60, Sullivan 1996: 182). No Carian or zell 1993: 111-12; Bettalli 1995: 75-82). The intro-
Greek mercenaries are mentioned in the Assyrian duction of coinage in Lydia in the last quartero f the
18Contras,e e Haider1 996:8 1-82 with n. 128. 19SeeH elck 1975.
18 WOLF-DIETRICHN IEMEIER BASOR 322
seventh century B.C. (Roebuck 1959: 295-96; kelon by the Babylonians in 604 B.C. (Quinn 1961;
Boardman 1980: 101-2) has been explained by the Boardman 1980: 52; Braun 1982a: 22; Bettalli 1995:
necessity to pay out regular sums to large bodies of 49-50; Haider 1996: 93-94; Stager 1996a: 61*).
people, the mercenaries, in standard amounts. The Other scholars have thought that Antimenidas par-
quick spreading of coinage in the Greek world indi- ticipated in one of the campaigns against the king-
cates that among this group of people were also dom of Judahb etween 601 and 586 B.C.( Page 1955:
Greeks (Murray 1980: 223-26). There is some de- 223-24; Momigliano 1980: 91).
bate about when Gyges sent troops to Egypt, be- Greek mercenaries were also employed by the
tween Psammetichus'sa ttaining the autocracy in 656 kingdom of Judah. In the Judaean border fortress
B.C. and Gyges's death, the date of which has been Arad in the northernN egev, numerous ostraca with
recently corrected from 652 to between 645 and Hebrew inscriptions of the time just before the de-
643/2 B.C. (Spalinger 1978; Haider 1988: 166-69) struction of the fortress by the Babylonians around
or in the first years of Psammetichus's reign, be- 600 B.C.w ere found in the archive of the commander
tween 664 and 657 B.C. (Spalinger 1976: 143; Eliashib (M. Aharoni 1993: 82-84). Many personal
Haider 1988: 170-71; Kammerzell 1993: 112-14). names with the theophoric element-yahu demon-
Gyges's troops may well be identical with the Cari- strate that the garrison consisted predominantly of
ans and Ionians of Herodotus'sr eport (Bettalli 1995: Judaeans, but ten ostraca mention KTYM (Kittim),
58). Greek mercenaries continued to serve during interpreted to indicate mercenaries (Albright 1969:
the entire 26th Dynasty in the Egyptian army 568-69; Y. Aharoni 1981: 12-13 and passim). Since
(Boardman 1980: 115-17; Braun 1982b: 49-52; the Jews associated Kittim (originally Kition in Cy-
Bettalli 1995: 61-63; Haider 1996: 102-13). The prus) with Yawan = Ionia/Greece (Braun 1982a: 3),
foreign mercenaries, beside the Ionians and Carians, the Kittim mercenaries of the Arad ostraca probably
Syrians, and other Asiatics, enjoyed a certain degree were Greeks (Braun 1982a: 22; Weippert 1988: 617;
of autonomy and sometimes caused problems for Wenning 1991: 214-15). Another ostracon of this
their Egyptian officers. On a statue dedicated to the group mentions a different ethnic title, probably
cataract gods, a commander of mercenary troops at connected with Cyprus or Eastern Greece: QRSY
Elephantine on the southern frontier reports about a (Kerosite) (Y. Aharoni 1981: 35-37, Inscription 18;
rebellion and says, "as thou didst deliver me from Garfinkel 1988: 29-30, 32-34).
the difficult situation caused by the troops of Asiat- Mercenaries from different countries were em-
ics, Greeks, Syrians and others ... " (Schafer 1904: ployed by Tyre, as the detailed description of the
155-58; Redford 1992: 443-44). forces and trade of Tyre in Ezekiel 27 indicates. This
Greek mercenaries also served in the Near East. description follows a Phoenician model (Maisler
The possible presence of Greek mercenaries in the 1952: 83-84; Ruger 1961; Smend 1989: 164-66,
Assyrian army has been mentioned above. For the 240) and refers to the situation before the beginning
presence of Greek mercenaries in the Babylonian of the siege of Tyre by the Babylonian king Nebu-
army, evidence is found in the poem of Alcaeus of chadnezzar II, dated between 603 (Wiseman 1985:
Mytilene in which he welcomes back his brother 28) and 585 B.C. (Katzenstein 1973: 328, 330).
Antimenidas, who had fought for the Babylonians.20 Among them were men from Prs, Lwd, and Pwt
"You have come from the ends of the earth dear An- (Ezek 27.11). Lwd has been almost unanimously
timenidas, with the gold-bound ivory heft of the identified with Lydia (Simons 1959: 56-57, ??150-
sword with which fighting for the Babylonians who 51; Zimmerli 1967: 375; Zadok 1985: 213; Hamil-
dwell in houses of bricks four hands long, you per- ton 1990: 344-45; Diakonoff 1992: 174; Haider
formed a mighty deed and saved them all from 1996: 71),21 and Pwt with Libya (Simons 1959: 56,
grievous troubles by slaying a warrior who wanted ?149, 75-76, ?198; Zimmerli 1967: 373; Zadok
but one palm's breadth of five royal cubits of stat- 1985: 252; Westermann 1986: 114; Hamilton 1990:
ure." The juxtaposition of the names of Ashkelon 336; Haider 1996: 71). The role of Greek mercen-
and Babylon in another fragment (Edmonds 1958: aries in Lydia has already been mentioned. As to
404, Fragment 134) has suggested the conjecture Libya, Haider (1996: 71) thinks that the term Pwt
that Antimenidas took part in the capture of Ash- may indicate here the ethnic group which at that time
20Translation:E dmonds 1958: 403-4, Fragment 133. 21Doubting only Westermann 1986: 118.
2001 ARCHAIC GREEKS IN THE ORIENT 19
Fig. 2. ArchaicG reekb ronzeg reave founda t Carchemish( Woolley1 921: pi. 25a; courtesy
of the BritishM useum,L ondon).
was economically and politically the most important GREEK MERCENARIES IN THE ORIENT:
one in Libya: the Greeks in Cyrenaica, designated in ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
the Neo-Babylonian sources as Putu-Iaman= "Libya
REPRESENTATIONAL EVIDENCE
of the Ionians" or "Ionian Libya" (Edel 1978: 15-
16). Diakonoff (1992: 177-81) suggests a different
interpretationo f Pwt, reading it as Pot and regard- As to the archaeological evidence for the pres-
ence of Greek mercenaries in the Near East, there
ing this as a Phoenician rendering of the Greek Pon-
tos = sea, indicating that the mercenaries from Pot are only two Archaic Greek weapons known, both
were island Greeks. The term Prs has always been found at Carchemish: a bronze greave (fig. 2) of
enigmatic. The connection with Persia suggested by E. Kunze's "hocharchaische Stufe" (ca. 630/620-
J. Simons (1959: 72-73, ?193) is problematic for 560/550 B.C.) (Kunze 1991: 24-40, 99 p.) and a
bronze shield of the second half of the seventh cen-
linguistic (Haider 1996: 71-72) and historical rea-
sons (Diakonoff 1992: 174 with n. 29). Therefore tury B.C., decorated with concentric animal friezes
Diakonoff thinks that Prs is wrong and should be and a Gorgon head in the center (fig. 3).22 Together
read Trs = Asian Thrace. Haider accepts the reading with the greave, arrowheadsa nd the bones of horses
and men were found in the West Gate of the Inner
Prs but connects it with Para, the name of one of the
leading tribes of Caria. Although Ezekiel (27.13, 19) Town. It is tempting to connect these finds with the
knows Ionians only as trading partners importing
slaves and bronze vessels to Tyre, Carian and Greek 22See also Kunze 1956: 48-50; Boardman1 980: 51,
mercenaries most probably were in the pay of Tyre. fig. 20.
20 WOLF-DIETRICHN IEMEIER BASOR 322
?:? ?-?? - .???-
i? --
?,./.-.,? i -..;. ..:. .Z??-** k" ?/?* ; *, .....?..?..?.,- ???-?;- ?iIr, ..i ?1`2,
?:
-.?C1
...,,' *Pv ' ?i. . ,.... ?5 1II -??- ?C"5 1? ..J
?...- f
. ???? --- ??- -???: t
ic?i -???.. it
T ?X/? / ??.j i ,.1 t*?; '.."..':..1":j-I *? t a,; .?t \i)t.*, - ";i : rr I'\
%;--?I?r* "'~'"""L
??'*'*'*I , f-j..j:::::.1t??-?..$..=.. ;: 4r
c?? -,?,?? J, '3.r'? ??*'??? ?*, -? t\?r?. ,' -, ?
.. ?r? ri.?: :?
I
' ' *,r?*LI;j t: ?
?I, *I/,:r"c?v' L qtr ??r *??t 7 Cc fii
?, ; i' o
L-?r2 p aIi,I r' F?
:ii-. :? r _._.. Q :LI I ),i Ifti"i" l I :
Fig. 3. ArchaicG reek bronze shield found at Carchemish( Woolley1 921: pi. 24; courtesy of
the BritishM useum,L ondon).
conquest of Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar II of make it certain that Greek mercenaries fought in the
Babylon in 605 B.C., but they may also come from battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., in which Necho
an earlier siege (Woolley 1921: 79). The shield was was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon and
found in the unusual well-built House D of the abandoned the Egyptian intervention in Syria.
Outer Town, probably the seat of a dignitary of the As to artistic representationso f Greek mercenar-
city with close contacts to Egypt, as indicated by ies in the Near East, Kunze (1930: 156-57 n. 4;
the finds of Egyptian objects of art, clay seal im- 1958: 118-25) claimed the conical crested helmets
pressions with the cartouche of Necho II, and a as original Greek types. If this were true, the war-
bronze ring with its bezel in the form of the car- riors wearing conical crested helmets representedo n
touche of Psammetichus I (Woolley 1921: 121-29, a bas-relief at Karatepe in Cilicia (ca. 730 B.C.)
figs. 43-46, pls. 21b-c, 22a; Bettalli 1995: 65). The (Bossert et al. 1950: pl. 16.83; Borchhardt 1972:
burnt House D suffered a warlike destruction, evi- pl. 27.2)23 and on a wall painting of the eighth cen-
denced by the finds of hundreds of arrowheads, tury B.C. at Til Barsip (Thureau-Dangina nd Dunand
numerous javelin heads, a sword, and the shield 1936: 50, pl. 49 bottom row, right) could be iden-
(Woolley 1921: 125, pls. 22b, 32a). The seal im- tified as Greek mercenaries. However, it appears
pressions of Necho provide evidence that House D more likely that the helmets are of Anatolian and/or
was destroyed in 605 B.C. Boardman (1980: 51, Assyrian origin (Stier 1950: 214-18; Snodgrass
115) has supposed that the shield was owned by a
Greek mercenary in the pay of Necho, and Braun 23Fort he date, see Bosserte t al. 1950:6 2; Borchhardt
(1982b: 49) believes that the two Greek weapons 1972: 102-3.