ANTHEDON

ANTHEDON, Hellenistic city in the vicinity of Gaza. Anthedon in Greek means "Flower City." It is first mentioned as a daughter city of Gaza, captured by Alexander Yannai (Jos., Ant., 8:357). Pompey "freed" it but the actual work of rebuilding was left to his successor Gabinius (ibid., 14:88; Wars, 1:166). Together with the entire coastal area it passed to Cleopatra, and later Augustus presented it to Herod (Ant., 15:217; Wars, 1:396). Herod embellished the town and named it Agrippias in honor of M. Vipsanius Agrippa, Augustus' general and sonin-law. During the Jewish War (66–70 C.E.) Anthedon was attacked by the Zealots but the attack was repulsed and it remained a hellenized city. Paganism was deeply rooted in Anthedon, flourishing there until the fifth century (Sozomenus, Eccl. Hist., 5:9), when it became a Christian Episcopal see. The site has been identified with Tell Iblakhiye, on the sea shore 1½ mi. (2 km.) north of the port of Gaza; a hill farther north is still called Teda (= Anthedon). The Arab geographer el-Idrisi (12th century) called the harbor of Gaza "Tida." -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Gatt, in: ZDPV, 7 (1884), 5ff.; Pythian-Adams, in: PEFQS (1923), 14ff.; Schuerer, Gesch, 2 (19074), 118ff.; Avi-Yonah, Land, index, S.V. Agrippas. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Y. Tsafrir, L. Di Segni, and J. Green, Tabula Imperii Romani. Iudaea – Palaestina. Maps and Gazetteer. (1994), 63. (Michael Avi-Yonah)