¹ The preface (1.1-5), considerably briefer than that of War and Antiquities, contains the bare essentials: the occasion of the work (1.1-2), its purposes (1.3), and its methods (1.4-5). In form and generic content it matches the prefaces of technical or “scientific” works (Alexander 1993); despite some rhetorical coloring, it does not present Apion as a work of rhetoric, nor of history in any of its classic modes. The explicit reference back to Antiquities might suggest that Apion continues the agenda of the previous work, though it is in fact self-standing (see Introduction, § 2). As in Antiquities, Josephus offers no self-introduction (for the implications regarding his audience, see Introduction, § 7). The rhetorical tone is that of a teacher slightly irritated by unnecessary questions. The polemical front is not clearly defined, but the four-fold mention of “Greek” (1.1, 2, 4, 5), the only non-Judean ethnicon mentioned in the preface, suggests a dialogue with the “Greek” tradition that will be of rhetorical significance throughout Apion.