1. Whereas Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great (356–323 b.c.), Antioch belonged to the age of his successors (Hellenism). Seleucus I Nicator, ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 305 to 280 b.c., founded Antioch in honor of his father, Antiochus, around 300 b.c. on the Orontes River, 22 km. (14 mi.) from the Mediterranean. He adorned it with colonnades and fine buildings and made it the capital of Syria. Meeting point of many important roads and close to the port of Seleucia, Antioch soon became a great center of trade. After a short pe…