Macedonian and Parthian Rule

A Macedonian Greek of the Seleucid Empire around 300 BCE founded Dura-Europos, sometime after Alexander the Great’s death. The initial city planning was laid out in a Hellenistic design with a central agora and marketplace. By the end of the second century BCE, Dura-Europos was in the hands of the Parthian Empire. Both the Macedonians and Parthian were tolerant of other religions and cultures, allowing for early hybridization of many different traditions, cultures, and art. Over a hundred parchment and papyrus fragments and many inscriptions dated to the period have revealed texts in Greek Palmyrenean, Hebrew, Hatrian, Safaitic, and Pahlavi. Some the religious buildings of this period exemplify the blending of cultures with Greek deities assuming more Semitic or Eastern representation.

Limestone cult relief of two godesses