Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

XXVI THE SELEUCID EMPIRE 325
equally addicted to drinking-bouts. Above all, the love
of war and booty was a ruling passion in Macedonian and
Persian noble alike. The high ideals of the Persian
religion as regards speaking the truth, and other matters
also, was recognized by the Greeks, and Alexander regarded
them as a race worthy of all
respect, and even of intermarriage.
In this he set the example by marrying Roxana,
who became the mother of his heir. He also married
Statira, daughter of Darius ; and these two Oriental women
were his only legal wives. Seleucus, too, whose family
afterwards ruled Persia, married Apama, daughter of
Spitamenes, and her descendants occupied
the throne.
This fusion of race necessarily reacted powerfully on the
general attitude of the house of Seleucus, which must have
been rather Graeco-Iranian than purely Greek in its ideals.
Consequently, it is by no means surprising that many
satraps were Persians or Medes, and that Persian troops
were employed and fully trusted. We have few details
to go upon, but there is little doubt that the policy of
Alexander the Great was, to some extent, maintained, that
the Persians of the upper classes were, on the whole,
content with their position, and that intermarriage and the
fusion of races continued. Had it been otherwise, we
should surely have heard of many revolts, whereas in fact
there were extremely few.
The position of the lower classes was little affected by
the Greek conquest except near the great centres and the
Greek cities. There was probably considerable freedom
for those whose life was nomadic, and oppression of those
who dwelt in It
villages.
has been my invariable experience
that under an Oriental Government nomads are bound to
be free owing to the difficulty of effective control. On the
other hand, villagers being tied to one place and unable to
move off at an hour's notice, have always been more easily
oppressed ;
and oppression has ever marked the rule of the
strong in Asia, and indeed in Europe too until quite
recently.
To what degree Iran was hellenized, we are unaware.
We know, however, from various Greek writers that many
Greek cities were founded in the west of Persia, among