HISTORY 26

Lecture Twenty-Five:

East and West:Persia and the Greeks

(559 - 323 BC)

HISTORY 26

Lecture Twenty-Five:

East and West:Persia and the Greeks

(559 - 323 BC)

“Sacred Places’ Wordy Walls” The Material of Early Christian

Devotional Graffiti

Ann Marie Yasin Professor of History, USC

Wednesday, December 1st 4:00 p.m.

HMNSS 1500

This paper examines what early Christian graffitican tell us about the lived experience of Christiansacred spaces in the late third to seventh centuries.

Croesus, King of Lydia(560 - 547 BC)

Croesus, King of Lydia(560 - 547 BC)

• The Oracle at Delphi: “If he made war on the Persians, he would destroy a great empire.”

• The Oracle at Delphi: “If he made war on the Persians, he would destroy a great empire.”

Herodotus of Halicarnassus(c. 484 - 425 BC)

Herodotus of Halicarnassus(c. 484 - 425 BC)

• ‘Father of History’, or ‘Father of Lies’

• Morality tales• Persians as

stereotypes• Represented the

opposite of Greek virtues

• ‘Father of History’, or ‘Father of Lies’

• Morality tales• Persians as

stereotypes• Represented the

opposite of Greek virtues

The Lasting Impact ofthe Greek Narrative

The Lasting Impact ofthe Greek Narrative

The Lasting Impact ofthe Greek Narrative

The Lasting Impact ofthe Greek Narrative

The Lasting Impact ofthe Greek Narrative

The Lasting Impact ofthe Greek Narrative

The ImmortalsThe Immortals

Persia, a Multi-cultural Empire

Persia, a Multi-cultural Empire

BabyloniansBabylonians

MedesMedes

BactriansBactrians

ArabsArabs

LydiansLydians

ThraciansThracians

NubiansNubians

Persia, a Multi-cultural Empire

Persia, a Multi-cultural Empire

• The Persian kings were the first to acknowledge the variety of cultures, languages, and political organizations that made up their empire.• Bringers of tribute, not prisoners of war• Adopted the languages, scripts, and

bureaucratic traditions of those they conquered

• But Aramaic was the universal language of administration

• The Persian kings were the first to acknowledge the variety of cultures, languages, and political organizations that made up their empire.• Bringers of tribute, not prisoners of war• Adopted the languages, scripts, and

bureaucratic traditions of those they conquered

• But Aramaic was the universal language of administration

Cyrus the Great(559 - 530 BC)

Cyrus the Great(559 - 530 BC)

• The savior of Babylon, chosen by Marduk to restore order and justice after Nabonidus

• Chosen by the Hebrew God (Yahweh) to restore the temple of Jerusalem

• The savior of Babylon, chosen by Marduk to restore order and justice after Nabonidus

• Chosen by the Hebrew God (Yahweh) to restore the temple of Jerusalem

Cambyses Mesutira(529 - 522 BC)

A local official teaches him how to behave like an Egyptian king

He adopts an Egyptian throne-name, Mesutira (‘offspring of the god Ra’)

Satrapies of the Persian Empire

under Darius I (521 - 486 BC)

Satrapies of the Persian Empire

under Darius I (521 - 486 BC)

Greece during the Persian Wars

of Darius and Xerxes

Greece during the Persian Wars

of Darius and Xerxes

The Conquests of Alexander the Great

The Conquests of Alexander the Great

The Macedonian PhalanxThe Macedonian Phalanx

The Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)

The Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)