Johannes Malalas
- pages 195-213
Johannes Malalas wrote a chronicle of world history, from the creation up until his own time (565 A.D.), in 18 books. His chronicle is especially valuable for the local information which he preserves about Syria and the city of Antioch. However the chronicle should be used with caution, because it contains many blunders and inaccuracies.
The eighth book of the chronicle is translated here, from the Greek text of L.Dindorf. Malalas' style of Greek is highly colloquial and very different from the classical Greek authors; but fortunately there is an accurate modern translation (by E.Jeffreys, M.Jeffreys and M.Scott, 1986), which has been consulted in the hope of avoiding any egregious mistakes in this translation. .
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[195] ... When he was about to die, Alexander ordered that all his bodyguards and allies should rule over the land where he had placed them, and should control the territories there. Alexander lived for 36 years; he reigned for 17 years, during which time he subdued all [countries], and his war lasted for 9 years. He subdued 22 barbarian nations, and 13 Greek nations; and he and his associates founded many cities.
From Adam until the death of Alexander the Macedonian, there are 5,593 years, as Theophilus the chronicler has recorded.
After the death of Alexander the Macedonian, the countries which he had subdued with his allies were divided into four toparchies or kingdoms. [196] The Macedonian comrades ruled over the kingdoms as he had instructed, as follows. Philippus his own elder brother ruled over Macedonia and all of Europe. Philippus was king, and after Philippus Cassander was king, and after Cassander his sons were kings, and after them Demetrius was king, and after Demetrius Pyrrhus of Epirus was king, and after Pyrrhus Meleager was king, and another six kings up until Perseus of Epirus. The kingdom of Macedonia lasted for 157 years after the death of Alexander.
Alexander instructed that the astronomer Ptolemaeus, son of Lagus, should rule and be king of all of Egypt and Africa. Ptolemaeus ruled the Egyptians with the authority of the Macedonians for 42 years. The second king was Ptolemaeus, his son. In the reign of this Ptolemaeus, son of Lagus, the books of the Jews were translated into Greek by 72 scholars in 72 days. These books were written in Hebrew, but Ptolemaeus wished to read the meaning of the Jewish books in the Greek language. After his reign, the third king was Ptolemaeus Philadelphus for 37 years, and after him the fourth king was Ptolemaeus Euergetes [197] for 25 years, and after him the fifth king was Ptolemaeus Philopator for 17 years, and after him the sixth king was Ptolemaeus Epiphanes [ ... ], and after him the seventh king was Ptolemaeus Philometor for 11 years. There were another five kings called Ptolemaeus, for a total of 92 years. The twelfth Ptolemaeus was called Dionysus, and reigned for 29 years; he had a daughter called Cleopatra and a son called Ptolemaeus. The thirteenth and last monarch of the Ptolemaic dynasty was Cleopatra, daughter of Dionysus; she was queen for 22 years. The thirteen Macedonian monarchs of the Ptolemaic dynasty, from Ptolemaeus son of Lagus until Cleopatra daughter of Dionysus, ruled over the whole country of Egypt for a total of 300 years, until the fifteenth year of the reign of the Augustus Caesar, who was also called Octavianus Sebastus Imperator. Augustus defeated Antonius and Cleopatra in a naval battle close to the land of Leucas; he killed them, and took possession of the whole of Egypt, as related by the chroniclers Eusebius [follower] of Pamphilus and Pausanias.
[Alexander] instructed that Antigonus, who was called Poliorcetes, should rule and be king of Asia as far as the river Dracon [Serpent], which is now called the Orontes, and separates the countries of Cilicia and Syria; the river is also called Typhon and Ophites.
[Alexander] instructed that Seleucus Nicator should be king of Syria, Babylonia and Palestine. [198] Seleucus [later] became king of Asia, after killing Antigonus; he made war on Antigonus, because he had established a city near the lake and the river Dracon, which he called Antigonia. After defeating him, Seleucus seized the whole of Asia and the best of the [possessions] of Antigonus. Seleucus appointed Nicomedes and Nicanor to govern the whole of the satrapy of Asia; they were his relatives, being the sons of Didymea, his sister. During the war against the Parthians, Seleucus Nicator took as his wife a virgin called Apama, after killing her father Pithamenes, who was a distinguished general of the Parthians. Seleucus had two daughters by Apama, who were called Apama and Laodice. After the death of Apama, Seleucus saw and fell in love with an extremely beautiful girl called Stratonice, who was the daughter of Demetrius, son of that Antigonus, called Poliorcetes, who had been killed by Seleucus. He found Stratonice hiding with her father Demetrius in Rhosus, a city founded by Cilix son of Agenor. Seleucus had a daughter by Stratonice, who was called Phila. Seleucus continued as king of Syria, all of Asia, Babylon and Palestine, for 43 years. Immediately after his victory over Antigonus Poliorcetes, [199] Seleucus Nicator, who wanted to establish some eminent cities, began to found [cities] by the coast of Syria. Going down by the sea, he saw a small city situated on the mountain, which had been founded by Syrus son of Agenor. On the 23rd day of the month of Xanthicus, Seleucus went up to Mount Casius in order to sacrifice to Zeus Casius. After completing the sacrifice and cutting the meat, Seleucus prayed [to be shown] where to found a city. Suddenly an eagle snatched the meat from the sacrifice and took it away to the old city. Following behind with his augurs, Seleucus found that the meat had been dropped near the sea below the old city, in the place called the trading-station of Pieria. Immediately he constructed walls and built the foundations of a city, which he called Seleuceia after his own name. He returned rejoicing to Iopolis and after three days he celebrated a festival there for Zeus Ceraunius, in the temple which had been established by Perseus, the son of Picus and Danae, on Mount Silpius, where Iopolis is situated. He performed the sacrifice on the first day of the month of Artemisius.
Seleucus came to the city of Antigonia, which had been founded by Antigonus Poliorcetes. The city was surrounded and defended by the river Archeuthas, also called the Iaphthas, which is another river which flows from the lake. There Seleucus performed a sacrifice to Zeus on the altars erected by Antigonus; he cut the meat and prayed with the priest Amphion for a sign to be given, to show whether he should settle the city of Antigonia, [200] and change its name, or he should abandon the city and found another city somewhere else. Suddenly a great eagle came down from the sky and snatched the meat of the offering from the fire on the altar. The eagle flew off by Mount Silpius, where Seleucus followed it and found the consecrated meat, with the eagle poised over it. When Seleucus and the priest and the augurs saw this marvel, they said, "We must settle here, and not in Antigonia; the city must not be there, because the gods do not wish it." And then he consulted with them as to where he might safely build the city, because he was worried by the streams and winter torrents which came down from Mount Silpius. He laid the foundations of the city at the bottom of the valley opposite the mountain, by the great river Dracon which was renamed Orontes, where there was a village called Bottia, opposite Iopolis. After Amphion, the high priest, had sacrificed a virgin girl called Aemathe between the city and the river, Seleucus [founded the city] on the 22nd day of the month of Artemisius which is also May, at the first hour of the day as the sun was rising, and he called the city Antioch, after the name of his son Antiochus Soter.
He immediately started to build a temple, which he dedicated to Zeus Bottius, and he erected imposing walls, designed by the architect Xenaeus. [201] He set up a bronze statue of the slaughtered girl as Tyche [Fortune] in the city above the river, and immediately made a sacrifice to Tyche. Then he went away and razed the city of Antigonia down to the ground; he took away the materials by river, and set up a statue of Tyche of Antigonia, with the horn of Amaltheia in front of it. There he set up a shrine with four pillars, and placed Tyche above it, and he built a tall altar in front of it; after the death of Seleucus, Demetrius the son of Antigonus Poliorcetes took away the statue of Tyche [and set it up] in the city of Rhosus in Cilicia, which had been founded by Cilix the son of Agenor.
After destroying Antigonia, Seleucus forced the Athenians who lived there to move to Antioch the great. Antigonus and his son Demetrius had allowed the Athenians to settle in Antigonia along with some Macedonians, 5,300 men in all. Seleucus set up an imposing statue of Athene at Antioch, on account of the Athenians, who worshipped Athene. Seleucus also brought down from the citadel the Cretans, whom Casus the son of Inachus had allowed to dwell up there; the Cretans came down to live in Antioch along with some Cypriots, because king Casus had married Amyce, also known as Citia, [202] the daughter of Sasalaminus the king of the Cypriots, and some Cypriots had come with her and settled in the acropolis. When Amyce died, she was buried about 100 stades away from the city, and therefore that place was called Amyce. Seleucus also urged the Argive inhabitants of Iopolis to move away from there, and made them live in Antioch, as priests and noble citizens.
Seleucus set up a stone image of the eagle in front of the city. He ordered that the months in Syria should be named after the Macedonian fashion, because he found that giants had once lived in the country. About two miles from Antioch, there is a place which contains the bodies of men turned into stone through the anger of god; these are even now called giants. And a giant called Pagras who lived in the same place was struck down by lightning, so that it is clear that the inhabitants of Syrian Antioch live in a land of giants.
In front of the city, on the other side of the river, Seleucus set up another statue, of the head of a horse with a gilded (helmet) nearby, and he added this inscription: "On this Seleucus escaped to safety from Antigonus; and returning from there, he killed Antigonus". Seleucus also set up a marble statue of Amphion, who was depicted performing an bird-sacrifice with him, inside the so-called Romanesian gate.
Seleucus Nicator founded another city by the coast of Syria, which he called Laodiceia [203] after the name of his daughter; previously there had been a village there called Mazabda. As was his custom, he performed a sacrifice to Zeus, and asked where he should found the city. Again, an eagle came down and seized [the meat] from the sacrifice. While Seleucus was pursuing the eagle, he was confronted by a huge boar, which came out of a reed-bed. Seleucus killed the boar with the spear which he held; after killing the boar, he dragged its body along and used its blood to mark out the walls [of the city], paying no further attention to the eagle. Thus Seleucus founded the city over the blood of the boar; he sacrificed a pure maiden called Agaue, and set up a bronze statue of her for the good fortune of the city.
Seleucus Nicator founded another great city in Syria, where there had previously been a village called Pharnace, and he named it after his daughter Apama. After building a wall around it, and performing a sacrifice, Seleucus changed the name of the city to Apameia. He also called it by the name of Pella, because the fortune of the city of Apameia had that name; Seleucus himself came from Pella, a city in Macedonia. He sacrificed a bull and a goat; and again an eagle came down and seized the heads of the bull and the goat, and Seleucus marked out the walls [of the city] with the blood [of the animals].
Seleucus founded many other cities in the other provinces and in the region of Persia. The learned chronicler Pausanias relates that in total there were 75 of the cities, [204] which Seleucus named as he wished after the names of himself and his children. The learned Pausanias relates that Seleucus named Antioch the great after the name of his father, because his father was called Antiochus; but no-one would name a city after a dead man - that would be silly - and instead they name them after someone who is alive and well. Seleucus named the city, as was said before, after the name of his son Antiochus. The learned Pausanias has related many other things in a poetical fashion.
Seleucus planted cypress trees near the temple of Apollo in the city which was previously called Heracleis, but is now called Daphne; some cypress trees had already been planted there by the priest Heracles, who founded Daphne and called it Heracleis after his own name. He established the city outside the sacred grove, by the temple of Athene; but the temple of Apollo was in the middle of the sacred grove, and was called "Daphnaean". This Heracles was the first to practice the sport of wrestling.
Afterwards Seleucus died by the Hellespont, at the age of 72 years, and he was buried at Seleuceia in Syria.