<Tr> <Th> Excavation dates </Th> <Td> 1932--1939 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Condition </Th> <Td> Mostly buried </Td> </Tr> <P> Antioch on the Orontes (/ ˈæntiˌɒk /; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, translit . Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou; also Syrian Antioch) was an ancient Greek city on the eastern side of the Orontes River . Its ruins lie near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey, and lends the modern city its name . </P> <P> Antioch was founded near the end of the fourth century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals . The city's geographical, military, and economic location benefited its occupants, particularly such features as the spice trade, the Silk Road, and the Royal Road . It eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the Near East . It was also the main center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period . Most of the urban development of Antioch was done during the Roman Empire, when the city was one of the most important in the eastern Mediterranean area of Rome's dominions . </P>

Where is the ancient city of antioch located today