that part of Asia which, bathed by the Mediterranean on the west,
had to the north Mount Taurus, to the east the Euphrates and a small
portion of Arabia, and to the south Judea, or Palestine. The orientals
called it Aram. The name, which has been transmitted to us by the
Greeks, is a corruption or abridgment of Assyria, which was first
adopted by the Ionians, who frequented these coasts after the Assyrians
of Nineveh had reduced that country to be a province of their empire,
about B. C. 750. By the appellation of Syria is ordinarily meant the
kingdom of Syria, of which, since the reign of the Seleucidæ, Antioch
has been the capital. The government of Syria was for a long time
monarchical; but some of its towns, which formed several states, were
republics. With regard to religion, the Syrians were idolaters. The
central place of their worship was Hieropolis, in which was a
magnificent temple, and near the temple a lake that was reputed sacred.
In this temple was an oracle, the credit of which the priests used every
method to support. The priests were distributed into various classes,
and among them were those who were denominated Galli, and who
voluntarily renounced the power of transmitting the succession in their
own families. The Syrians had bloody sacrifices. Among the religious
ceremonies of the Syrians, one was that any one who undertook a journey
to Hieropolis began with shaving his head and eye-brows. He was not
allowed to bathe, except in cold water, to drink any liquor, nor to lie
on any but a hard bed, before the term of his pilgrimage was finished.
When the pilgrims arrived, they were maintained at the public expense,
and lodged with those who engaged to instruct them in the sacred rites
and ceremonies. All the pilgrims were marked on the neck and wrists. The
youth consecrated to the goddess the first-fruits of their beard and
hair, which was preserved in the temple, in a vessel of gold or silver,
on which was inscribed the name of the person who made the offering. The
sight of a dead person rendered it unfit for any one to enter into the
temple during the whole day. The dynasties of Syria may be distributed
into two classes; those that are made known to us in the sacred
writings, or in the works of Josephus, acknowledged by the orientals;
and the Seleucidan kings, successors of Alexander, with whom we are
acquainted by Greek authors. The monarchy of Syria continued two hundred
and fifty-seven years.
had to the north Mount Taurus, to the east the Euphrates and a small
portion of Arabia, and to the south Judea, or Palestine. The orientals
called it Aram. The name, which has been transmitted to us by the
Greeks, is a corruption or abridgment of Assyria, which was first
adopted by the Ionians, who frequented these coasts after the Assyrians
of Nineveh had reduced that country to be a province of their empire,
about B. C. 750. By the appellation of Syria is ordinarily meant the
kingdom of Syria, of which, since the reign of the Seleucidæ, Antioch
has been the capital. The government of Syria was for a long time
monarchical; but some of its towns, which formed several states, were
republics. With regard to religion, the Syrians were idolaters. The
central place of their worship was Hieropolis, in which was a
magnificent temple, and near the temple a lake that was reputed sacred.
In this temple was an oracle, the credit of which the priests used every
method to support. The priests were distributed into various classes,
and among them were those who were denominated Galli, and who
voluntarily renounced the power of transmitting the succession in their
own families. The Syrians had bloody sacrifices. Among the religious
ceremonies of the Syrians, one was that any one who undertook a journey
to Hieropolis began with shaving his head and eye-brows. He was not
allowed to bathe, except in cold water, to drink any liquor, nor to lie
on any but a hard bed, before the term of his pilgrimage was finished.
When the pilgrims arrived, they were maintained at the public expense,
and lodged with those who engaged to instruct them in the sacred rites
and ceremonies. All the pilgrims were marked on the neck and wrists. The
youth consecrated to the goddess the first-fruits of their beard and
hair, which was preserved in the temple, in a vessel of gold or silver,
on which was inscribed the name of the person who made the offering. The
sight of a dead person rendered it unfit for any one to enter into the
temple during the whole day. The dynasties of Syria may be distributed
into two classes; those that are made known to us in the sacred
writings, or in the works of Josephus, acknowledged by the orientals;
and the Seleucidan kings, successors of Alexander, with whom we are
acquainted by Greek authors. The monarchy of Syria continued two hundred
and fifty-seven years.