Note 21 — Chapter II · Ancient Historical Legends

The Greek period from which this legend dates began with the defeat of the Armenian king Vahy, who was overcome by Alexander the Great somewhere about 328 B.C.21 The Greeks chose their own representative to rule over the province, who at the time of Alexander’s death was Seleucus. Historians have taken the name of this governor to indicate the dynasty of Greek supremacy which followed; i.e., the Seleucid dynasty. This method of the Greeks of selecting their own man to govern a subject people, which was of course in pursuance of their policy of superimposing their own culture upon all subject nations, was contrary to the policy of the Parthians, Romans, and Persians, who allowed the Armenians to maintain their national independence provided they permitted the use of their armies and duly paid their taxes. And it is this policy of the Greeks that accounts for the fact that large portions of Greek mythology and religion were taken over by the Armenians.