ABSTRACT
The presence of Greeks on Near Eastern and Egyptian soil can be documented clearly from the second half of the seventh century BCE through Greek epigraphic and literary sources. This chapter offers some thoughts on 'images' and motifs in Greek philosophical texts, in particular those of the so-called Presocratics, whose content and meaning become clearer in the light of Near Eastern texts. Mesopotamian astronomy, which was studied within a religious frame of reference up to a late date, is generally accepted as having been the initial basis and model for astronomy in Greece and elsewhere. The Mesopotamian and Egyptian scribal tradition included writings in the most diverse fields, copied and handed down by the scribe caste. Such texts were preserved in the precinct of the temples, in special buildings called 'house of books' in Egypt and 'house of tablets' in Mesopotamia. The Persian rulers encouraged intercultural relations between the various regions of the empire and a certain degree of syncretism.
