Lucian: On the Syrian Goddess

This is the first detailed study of an eyewitness account (attributed to Lucian of Samosata) of the Holy City of Hierapolis in northern Syria. This text, which is presented both in the original Greek and in translation, is one of the most important literary sources for a religion of the Roman Near East in its native setting. The introduction and commentary for the first time combine literary-historical, philological, textual, and archaeological approaches.