School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses

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Start date: 2003 × End date: 2003 × Type: Masters Research thesis × Subject: Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) ×

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    The hellenisation of the Syro-Levant: a critical analysis of the diffusion of mortuary practices
    Boulet, Jana ( 2003)
    This study investigates one instance of the cultural process of diffusion, more specifically, `hellenisation,' occasioned by the spread of Greco-Macedonian (material) culture in the Syro-Levant after Alexander's conquest. The empirical dimension of the diffusion process is analysed by applying it to the material remains of burial practices in Syria and the Levant. In order to determine instances of Hellenistic diffusion, the study compares the various burial methods in that area with those in other contemporary `Greco-Macedonian' sites. In turn, so as to assess the influence of the traditions of the local Syro-Palestinian population on the burial traditions of the Greco-Macedonian colonists, an analysis of the earlier Achaemenid/Persian burials has been undertaken, providing an indication of the level and extent of revolutionary and/or lasting changes in one aspect of cultural practices brought about by the influence of the region's new inhabitants. The first chapter creates a conceptual framework, which develops a program for the further investigation of diffusion and how to understand it. The framework includes aspects of diffusion theory itself, of colonisation and centre-periphery relationships; it examines the reciprocal influences between the colonial situation and the diffusion of (material) culture. The broad issue of diffusion is thus conceived of as a reciprocal process, locating the study in an examination of Hellenistic diffusion in the Syro-Levantine region, specifically through an analysis and comparison of mortuary customs. Chapter Two explains the logic of the method used to apply the process of diffusion to the spatio/temporal context, including a discussion of the technicalities of mortuary analysis and the sampling procedures used in the comparative analysis. The Third Chapter investigates the Achaemenid period in conjunction with a broad overview of the establishment and evolution of the Seleucid Empire and relates some of the current debates about the nature of Seleucid histories and policies. Chapter Four summarises and compares the results of an overview of selected variables gleaned from excavation reports on the various cemetery sites. The final chapter concludes by suggesting a variety of possible explanations for the differences and similarities encountered and leads to a general conclusion that hellenisation did occur, but unevenly across the sites. The study's tentative findings confirm that `Hellenistic purity' should never be assumed — or, indeed, be expected to be a characteristic of material (and by extension, of other cultural) remainders of the diffusion process of hellenisation. As in most processes of diffusion, existing cultural practices are never entirely obliterated; rather, a hybrid culture emerges, with traces of both cultures. It can be said, though, that the Greek influence has been more pronounced in some areas as compared to others, where continuity with previous cultural practices appeared more prevalent.