in classical greek usage, "syria" and "assyria" were used almost interchangeably. herodotus's distinctions between the two in the 5th century bc were a notable early exception, randolph helm emphasizes that herodotus "never" applied the term syria to mesopotamia, which he always called "assyria", and used "syria" to refer to inhabitants of the coastal levant. while himself maintaining a distinction, herodotus also claimed that "those called "syrians" by the hellenes (greeks) are called "assyrians" by the barbarians (non-greeks).