Although the concept of the Palestine region and its geographical extent has varied throughout history, it is now considered to be composed by the modern State of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. General use of the term "Palestine" or related terms to the area at the southeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea beside Syria has historically been taking place since the times of Ancient Greece, with Herodotus being the first historian writing in the 5th century BC in ''The Histories'' of a "district of Syria, called Palaistine" in which Phoenicians interacted with other maritime peoples. The term "Palestine" (in Latin, ''Palæstina'') is thought to have been a term coined by the Ancient Greeks for the area of land occupied by the Philistines, although there are other explanations.