Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-l4dxg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-10T21:33:22.875Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

30 - The Hellenistic–Roman Diaspora ce 70–ce 235: the archaeological evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

By
L. I. Levine
Edited by
William Horbury ,
W. D. Davies  and
John Sturdy
L. I. Levine
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
William Horbury
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
W. D. Davies
Affiliation:
Duke University, North Carolina
Get access

Summary

The importance of archaeological finds in enhancing our knowledge of the past is never more clearly demonstrated than in the late Hellenistic and Roman periods. The information from literary sources relating to this period is limited, and while the archaeological material is likewise far from abundant, it nevertheless contributes significantly to our understanding of specific Jewish communities.

The archaeological data from this period are diverse and include synagogue and funerary remains, as well as inscriptions, artistic representations, and small finds (glass, pottery, lamps, coins, medallions and amulets). The geography of these finds is equally diverse; material has been uncovered from the eastern frontiers of the Empire (Dura Europos) to the Bosporan kingdom, Delos, Asia Minor, Italy, North Africa and Egypt. Most remains from this period relate to the synagogue or proseuche (lit., house of prayer). A number of ancient Diaspora communities, particularly those of Alexandria and Egypt, have provided us with a significant amount of material regarding this Hellenistic and early Roman institution. Epigraphical evidence hails from as early as the third century bce, papyrological and archaeological data from the second century bce on-ward, and literary sources from the first century ce. Together they afford an intriguing, if only partial, picture of the role and status of this institution throughout the Hellenistic–Roman Diaspora.

The external appearance and internal organization of the synagogue bore some significant differences in various regions. The names by which communities referred to the synagogue may well reflect diverse perceptions of the institution and its place in society.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of Judaism , pp. 991 - 1024
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Applebaum, S.Jews and Christians in Ancient Cyrene, Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity 28 (Leiden 1979).
Bickerman, E. J.The Jews in the Greek Age (Cambridge MA and London 1988).
Bickerman, E. ‘Symbolism in the Dura Synagogue: A Review Article’, Harvard Theological Review 58 (1965).Google Scholar
Bickerman, E.The Jews in the Greek Age (Cambridge 1988).
Bruneau, P. ‘“Les Israélites de Délos” et la juiverie délienne’, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 106 (1982).Google Scholar
Bruneau, P.Recherches sur les cultes de Délos à l'époque hellénistique et à l'époque impériale (Paris 1970).
Delcor, M. ‘Le temple d'Onias en Egypte’, Revue biblique 75 (1968).Google Scholar
Dion, P. E. ‘Synagogues et temples dans l'Egypte hellénistique’, Science et Esprit 29 (1977).Google Scholar
Fortis, U.Jews and Synagogues (Venice 1973).
Frey, J. B.Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaicarum (2 vols. Rome 1936 (reprinted with a prolegomenon by Lifshitz, B., New York 1975) and 1952).
Frey, J.-B.Corpus Inscriptionum Judaicarum (Frey, J. B. (ed.), Corpus Inscriptionum Judaicarum, 2 vols. Rome 1936–1952; II; reprint New York 1975).
Goodenough, E. R. ‘Bosphorus Inscriptions and the Most High God’, Jewish Quarterly Review 47 (1957).Google Scholar
Goodenough, E. R.Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, Bollingen Series, 37; 13 vols. (New York 1953– 1968).
Gutmann, J. ‘Early Synagogue and Jewish Catacomb Art and Its Relation to Christian Art’ in Temporini, H. and Haase, W. (eds.) Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II, 21.2, (Berlin and New York 1984).Google Scholar
Hayward, R. ‘The Jewish Temple at Leontopolis: A Reconsideration’, Journal of Jewish Studies 33 (1982).Google Scholar
Hirschberg, H. Z.A History of the Jews in North Africa, 2 vols. (Leiden 1974–1981).
Horbury, W. and Noy, D., Jewish Inscriptions of Greco-Roman Egypt (Cambridge 1992).
Horbury, William, and David, Noy, Jewish Inscriptions from Graeco-Roman Egypt, with an index of the Jewish inscriptions of Egypt and Cyrenaica (Cambridge 1992).
Horsley, G. H. R.New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity, 7 vols. (North Ryde, NSW 1981–1994).
Kasher, A. ‘Three Jewish Communities of Lower Egypt in the Ptolemaic Period’, Scripta Classica Israelica 2 (1975).Google Scholar
Konikoff, A.Sarcophagi from the Jewish Catacombs of Ancient Rome: A Catalogue Raisonné (Stuttgart 1986).
Kraabel, A. T. ‘Synagoga Caeca. Systematic Distortion in Gentile Interpretations of Evidence for Judaism in the Early Christian Period’ in Neusner, J. and Frerichs, E. (eds.) To See Ourselves As Others See Us: Christians, Jews, ‘Others’ in Late Antiquity (Chico 1985).Google Scholar
Kraabel, A. T. ‘New Evidence of the Samaritan Diaspora has been Found on Delos’, Biblical Archaeologist 47 (1984).Google Scholar
Kraabel, A. T. ‘The Diaspora Synagogue: Archaeological and Epigraphic Evidence since Sukenik’ in Temporini, H. and Haase, W. (eds.) Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II, 19.1 (Berlin and New York 1979).Google Scholar
Kraeling, C. H.The Excavations at Dura-Europos, VIII, part I: The Synagogue (New Haven 1956; reprint New York 1979).
Kraeling, Carl H.The Excavations at Dura-Europos. The Synagogue. Final Report, VIII, Part I (New Haven 1956).
Lüderitz, G.Corpus jüdischer Zeugnisse aus der Cyrenaika, Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, Reihe B, Nr. 53 (Wiesbaden 1983).
Levick, B. M.Roman Colonies in Southern Asia Minor (Oxford 1967).
Levine, L. I. ‘The Synagogue at Dura Europos’ in Levine, L. I. (ed.) Ancient Synagogues Revealed (Jerusalem 1981).Google Scholar
Levine, L. I.The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years (New Haven forthcoming).
Levinskaya, I. A. and Tokhtas'yev, S. R., ‘Jews and Jewish Names in the Bosporan Kingdom’ in Isaac, B. and Oppenheimer, A. (eds.) Studies on the Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, Te'uda 12 (Tel-Aviv 1996).Google Scholar
Levinskaya, I. A.The Book of Acts in Its Diaspora Setting (Grand Rapids 1996).
Levinskaya, I.The Book of Acts in Its Diaspora Setting, The Book of Acts in its First Century Setting, volume 5 (Carlisle 1996).
Levinskaya, Irina, The Book of Acts in its First Century Setting, vol. 5, Diaspora Setting (Carlisle 1996).
Lieberman, S.Hellenism in Jewish Palestine, reprint (New York 1962).
Lifshitz, B. ‘Prolegomenon’ in Frey, J.-B., Corpus Inscriptionum Judaicarum, I (New York 1975).Google Scholar
Lifshitz, B.Donateurs et fondateurs dans les synagogues juives, Cahiers de la Revue Biblique 7 (Paris 1967).
Mélèze-Modrzejewski, J., The Jews of Egypt: From Ramses II to Emperor Hadrian (Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society 1995).
MacLennan, R. S. ‘In Search of the Jewish Diaspora’, Biblical Archaeology Review 22/2 (1996).Google Scholar
Mann, V. B., Gardens and Ghettoes: The Art of Jewish Life in Italy (Berkeley 1989).
Noy, D. ‘The Jewish Communities of Leontopolis and Venosa’ in Henten, J. W. and Horst, P. W. (eds.) Studies in Early Jewish Epigraphy (Leiden 1994).Google Scholar
Noy, D.Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe, 2 vols. (Cambridge 1993 and 1995).
Noy, D.Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe, 2 vols. (D. Noy, The Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe: volume 1, Italy (excluding Rome), Spain and Gaul; volume 2, The City of Rome (Cambridge 1993, 1995)) (Cambridge 1993–1935).
Reynolds, J. M. and Tannenbaum, R.Jews and God-Fearers at Aphrodisias. Greek Inscriptions with Commentary, Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society, Supplementary volume 12 (Cambridge 1987).
Reynolds, J. ‘Inscriptions’, Excavations at Sidi Khrebish Benghazi (Berenice), I, ed. Lloyd, J. A. (Tripoli 1977).Google Scholar
Reynolds, J. and Tannenbaum, R., Jews and God-Fearers at Aphrodisias (Cambridge 1987).
Roberts, C. et al. ‘The Gild of Zeus Hypsistos’, Harvard Theological Review 29 (1936).Google Scholar
Roux, G. and , J. ‘Un décret du Politeuma des Juifs de Bérénikè en Cyrénaïque’, Revue des Etudes Grecques 62 (1949).Google Scholar
Rutgers, L. V. ‘Überlegungen zu den jüdischen Katakomben Roms’, Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 33 (1990).Google Scholar
Rutgers, L. V. ‘Archeological Evidence for the Interaction of Jews and non-Jews in Late Antiquity’, American Journal of Archaeology 96 (1992).Google Scholar
Rutgers, L. V.The Jews in Late Ancient Rome: Evidence of Cultural Interaction in the Roman Diaspora (Leiden 1995).
Schürer, E. (revd.) The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 BC–AD 135), 3 vols. (Edinburgh 1973–1987).
Schürer, E.E. Schürer, History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ.
Scheiber, A.Jewish Inscriptions in Hungary from the 3rd Century to 1686 (Leiden 1983).
Simon, M. ‘Theos Hypsistos’ in Ex Orbe Religionum, eds. Bergman, J. et al. (Leiden 1972).Google Scholar
Solin, H. ‘Juden und Syrer im westlichen Teil der römischen Welt’, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II, 29.2 (Berlin and New York 1983).Google Scholar
Squarciapino, M. F.The Synagogue of Ostia (Rome 1964).
Tcherikover, V. A. and Fuks, A., Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum, vol. 1 (Cambridge 1957).
Tcherikover, V. et al., Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum (Tcherikover, V. and Fuks, A. (eds.), Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum), 3 vols. (Cambridge 1957–1964).
Trebilco, P. R.Jewish Communities in Asia Minor (Cambridge 1991).
Trebilco, P.Jewish Communities in Asia Minor (Cambridge 1991).
van Henten, J. W. and Horst, P. W. (eds.), Studies in Early Jewish Epigraphy (Leiden, 1994).
Wharton, A. J. ‘Good and Bad Images from the Synagogue of Dura Europos: Contexts, Subtexts, Intertexts’, Art History 17 (1994).Google Scholar
Wharton, A. J.Refiguring the Post-Classical City: Dura Europos, Jerash, Jerusalem and Ravenna (Cambridge 1995).
White, L. M. ‘The Delos Synagogue Revisited. Recent Fieldwork in the Graeco-Roman Diaspora’, Harvard Theological Review 80 (1987).Google Scholar
White, L. M.Building God's House in the Roman World: Architectural Adaptation among Pagans, Jews, and Christians (Baltimore 1990).
White, L. Michael, ‘The Delos Synagogue Revisited: Recent Fieldwork in the Graeco-Roman Diaspora’, Harvard Theological Review 80 (1987).Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×