Photo Credits
(in order of appearance; bolded names also in photo section)
Alexander the Great mosaic: Carole Raddato (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detail_of_the_Alexander_Mosaic_depicting_the_Battle_of_Issus_between_Alexander_the_Great_%26_Darius_III_of_Persia,_from_the_House_of_the_Faun_in_Pompeii,_Naples_Archaeological_Museum_(14859288847).jpg)
Map: Ben Bromberg Gaber
Ostia Antica synagogue: Burton Visotzky
Catacomb inscription with Menorah: Burton Visotzky
Map: Ben Bromberg Gaber
Sardis synagogue: Burton Visotzky
Beit Alpha synagogue mosaic: J. Schweig
Berlin Brandenburg Gate: JoJan (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berlin.Brandenburger_Tor_006.jpg)
Dura synagogue, long wall: Sodabottle (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dara_Europos_replica.jpg)
Alexander the Great mosaic: Carole Raddato (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detail_of_the_Alexander_Mosaic_depicting_the_Battle_of_Issus_between_Alexander_the_Great_%26_Darius_III_of_Persia,_from_the_House_of_the_Faun_in_Pompeii,_Naples_Archaeological_Museum_(14859288847).jpg)
Arch of Titus: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spoils_from_Jerusalem_-_Arch_of_Titus_-_Rome_2008.jpg)
Hadrian equestrian statue: Burton Visotzky
Student bearing letter: Burton Visotzky
Equestrian Marcus Antoninus: Burton Visotzky
Mosaic Aphrodite in Sepphoris: © Dea Achivio J. Lange/Getty Images
Crates the Philosopher: Museo della Terme, Rome (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crates_of_Thebes_Villa_Farnesina.jpg)
Remnants of Robinson’s arch with detail of trimmed Herodian stone: Brian Jeffrey Beggerly (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_remains_of_Robinson%27s_Arch_on_the_western_side_of_the_Temple_Mount.jpg)
Basilica of St. Ambrose, Milan: Burton Visotzky
Aqueduct, Caesarea Maritima: Carole Raddato: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_high_level_aqueduct_of_Caesarea_built_by_Herod_(37BC_to_4BC),_Caesarea_Maritima,_Israel_(15154565604).jpg)
Pantheon, Rome: Marcus Obal (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_Pantheon_Dome.JPG)
Sardis synagogue stone table: Burton Visotzky
Sardis synagogue entryways: Burton Visotzky
Dura-Europos synagogue, Torah shrine or Seat of Moses: Marsyas (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dura_Synagogue_ciborium.jpg)
Tetrapylon of Aphrodisias: Burton Visotzky
Vigna Randanini catacomb fig. 1: Robin Jensen
Vigna Randanini catacomb fig. 2: Burton Visotzky
Sarcophagus—Capitoline Museums, Rome: Burton Visotzky
“Leda and Swan” sarcophagus—Heraclion Museum Jebulon (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leda_and_the_Swan_archmus_Heraklion.jpg)
Herculaneum: Wolfgang Rieger (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herculaneum_-_Casa_di_Nettuno_ed_Anfitrite_-_Mosaic.jpg)
Beit Alpha synagogue mosaic: J. Schweig
Sol Invictus—Capitoline Museums, Rome: Burton Visotzky
Arch of Titus: Sailko (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arch_of_titus_-_imperial_cortege.jpg)
Marcus Aurelius—Capitoline Museums, Rome: Burton Visotzky
Catacomb fig. 1—Vigna Randanini, Rome: Burton Visotzky
Catacomb fig. 2—Vigna Randanini, Rome: Burton Visotzky
Catacomb fig. 3—Vigna Randanini, Rome: Burton Visotzky
Oil lamp fragment with menorah—Milan Archeological Museum: Burton Visotzky
Beit Alpha synagogue: J. Schweig
Madaba Map, Jordan: Jean Housen (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20100924_madaba57a.jpg)
Jewish catacombs fig. 1 at Vigna Randanini, Rome: Robin Jensen
Jewish catacombs fig. 2: Burton Visotzky
Jewish catacombs fig. 3: Burton Visotzky
Ahashverosh and Esther in Dura synagogue: Yale University Art Gallery, Dura Europos Archives
Dura Synagogue, long wall: Sodabottle (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dara_Europos_replica.jpg)
Moses at Dura: Dura Europos (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moses_Dura_Europos.jpg)
Map: Ben Bromberg Gaber
From a colossus of the emperor Constantine—Capitoline Museums, Rome: Burton Visotzky
For Further Reading
Fine, Steven, Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World: Towards a New Jewish Archaeology, New York: Cambridge University Press (2005, revised 2010)
Fischel, Henry, Essays in Graeco-Roman and Related Talmudic Literature, New York: Ktav Publishing House (1977)
Hengel, Martin, Judaism and Hellenism: Studies in their Encounter in Palestine during the Early Hellenistic Period (English translation), Philadelphia: Fortress Press (1974)
Hezser, Catherine, ed., Rabbinic Law in its Roman and Near Eastern Context, Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck (2003)
Hezser, Catherine, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine, Oxford: Oxford University Press (2010)
Hopkins, Clark, The Discovery of Dura-Europos, New Haven: Yale University Press (1979)
Leon, Harry, The Jews of Ancient Rome, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America (1960)
Levine, Lee, ed., Ancient Synagogues Revealed, Jerusalem: Exploration Society (1981)
Levine, Lee, The Ancient Synagogue, New Haven: Yale University Press (2000)
Levine, Lee, Visual Judaism in Late Antiquity: Historical Contexts of Jewish Art, New Haven: Yale University Press (2012)
Rutgers, Leonard, The Jews in Late Ancient Rome: Evidence of Cultural Interaction in the Roman Diaspora, Leiden; New York: E. J. Brill (1995)
Rutgers, Leonard, The Hidden Heritage of Diaspora Judaism, Leuven: Peeters (1998)
Shanks, Herschel, Judaism in Stone: The Archaeology of Ancient Synagogues, New York: Harper & Row (1979)
Sperber, Daniel, Greek in Talmudic Palestine, Tel Aviv: Bar Ilan University Press (2012).
Weiss, Zev and E. Netzer, Promise and Redemption: A Synagogue Mosaic from Sepphoris, Jerusalem: Israel Museum (1996)
Index
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
a fortiori, 101
Aesop’s fables, 15, 21, 106–7. See also fables
afikomen, 97–8
agapé, 128–9
Ahashverosh, 211, 212
Alexander the Great, 4, 5, 29, 60–3, 63, 64, 91–2, 227
Alexandria, 3, 29–32, 34, 99–100, 104, 145, 162
allegory, 100
American Judaism, 20–1, 222–4
Antioch, 42–3, 45, 90–1, 109, 125, 175
Antoninus, Roman Emperor, 80–4, 109–10, 143–4
equestrian statue, 110
Aphrodisias, 42, 45, 83–4, 182, 183
Aphrodite, 125–30, 181, 190, 194, 196, 212, 215
mosaic, 127
See also mythology and gods, Greco-Roman
Appian Way, 1
Arcadius, Roman Emperor, 152
Archeology (Josephus’Antiquities), 34
architecture, 161–88
Aqueduct, Caesarea Maritima, 169
Basilica of St. Ambrose, Milan, 167
Pantheon, Rome, 169
See also synagogues; temples
Aristotle, 4, 90, 92, 227
Ark of the Covenant, 208
asimat homerou (s
ongs of Homer), 119–20
Athenaeus, 97
atsamot hamor (bones of an ass), 119–20
augustali (most august), 108, 115
Augustus, Roman Emperor, 161–2, 168, 179
avon gilayon, 120
Babatha, 148–9
Babylonia, 3, 9–10, 18, 28, 51, 53, 98, 150, 193, 210, 214, 228
Bar Kokhba rebellion (132–135 CE), 11, 46–7, 55, 74, 78, 84–5, 89, 228
basileus, 121
basilica, 166–7
BCE (Before the Common Era), 3, passim
beresheet (in the beginning), 103–4
Beth Shearim, 48–9
Bible
canon of, 13–14
Deuteronomy, 16–17, 28, 71, 99–100, 102, 124–6, 154, 168
Ecclesiastes, 141, 217–18
Exodus, 31, 44, 73, 82–3, 99, 101–2, 126, 142–3, 150, 193–4, 200, 212
Ezekiel, 65
Genesis, 24, 45–6, 56–8, 75, 79, 103, 106–8, 122–3, 131, 145, 148, 150, 172, 194, 202–3, 209–10, 221
Judges, 73, 193, 203
Leviticus, 5, 7, 23, 80, 142, 147, 153, 200
Numbers, 46, 58, 106, 127, 130, 142, 200, 212
Psalms, 44, 60–1, 63–4, 71, 106
Song of Songs, 56, 74
Biryoni, 36
bouleteria (city council chambers), 166
Brandenburg Gate (Berlin), 50, 50
Caesarea Maritima, 115, 169, 179–83, 190,
Cahill, Tom, 13
Calendar, Jewish, 132–4, 193
Caracalla, Roman Emperor, 56
cardo (main street that divides town), 182
Cartagena, 61–2, 64
Carthage, 61
catacombs
Beth She’arim, 184, 205–6
Christian, 1, 184, 206
inscriptions in, 32–3
Jewish, 1, 32, 184–6, 200–1, 205–8
and menorahs, 2, 4, 8, 32, 33, 48, 200–1, 205
pagan, 186–8, 206
Vigna Randanini, 184, 185, 186, 200, 201, 202, 206–7, 208
Villa Torlonia, 1–4, 192
Cave of Letters, 148, 173
caveat lector (read with care), 21
chreia (anecdotes/pronouncement stories), 77, 91–6, 99, 142, 146, 162
Claudius, Roman Emperor, 32
Cohen, Shaye J. D., 150
Commodus, Roman Emperor, 157
common-Judaism, 8, 221
Constantine, Roman Emperor, 4, 225, 228
Crates the Philosopher, 135, 136
curia (privy council rooms), 166
Damascus Museum, 51, 52
Daphne, 43–5
David, King, 106, 191
Dayyenu (it would have been enough), 101
Dead Sea Scrolls, 34–5, 173
decumanus (east-west divide), 182
Diaspora, Jewish, 3, 9, 20, 37, 47, 168, 174–7, 181–2, 227
War of the Diaspora, 30, 88, 227
dice games, 31, 124–5
Diocletian, Roman Emperor, 80
Diogenes Laertius, 92–3, 135, 146
diplostaton (double-columned), 30
Dura-Europos, 51–2, 52, 53, 171–2, 173, 176–7, 208–12, 212–13, 213–14, 230–1
ecclesiasteria (citizenry), 166
elders, 9. See also rabbis and elders
Elephantine papyri, 28–9
Epictetus, 137, 140–2
Epicurus and Epicureans, 138–42, 144
epikurus (Epicurean), 140
epitropos (legal guardian), 151
Esau, 24–5, 57–9, 71, 85, 162, 221
Essenes, 34, 37
Esther, Queen, 211, 212, 231
etrog (citron), 32, 33, 179, 180, 191, 200, 201
eugenestatos (very well-born), 155
evangelium, 120
fables, 111
Aesop’s fables, 15, 21, 106–7
fox fables, 15–17, 19, 21, 23–5, 106, 220
See also parables
Fischel, Henry, 93–4
Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor, 32
geometria, 103
Germany, 19, 50, 89, 214, 224
gezera shavah (an equation of equals), 101
Goldin, Judah, 139–40
Gradum, 158
gynae (women), 62
Hadrian, Roman Emperor, 74–8, 80, 89, 122, 168, 228
equestrian statue, 77
hagios topos (sacred space), 178
Harries, Jill, 152
Hemingway, Ernest: The Old Man and the Sea, 100
Heracleides of Tarentum, 97–8
Herculaneum, 191, 192, 209
Herod I, 161–3, 179
Herod Agrippa I, 73
Herod Agrippa II, 73
Herodian synagogue, 7, 165–6
hippodrome, 125
ho kalos (the good), 108, 114–16, 225
ho lamprotatos (most illustrious), 108–9, 115, 122–3
Holocaust, 19–20, 224
Homer, 11, 14, 91, 97, 99, 104–106, 119–20, 122, 144, 218
Iliad, 99, 104
Odyssey, 99, 104
Hopkins, Clark, 176, 211
horror vacui (avoidance of blank spaces), 210
horse racing, 124–5
Iraq (Babylonia), 9, 28, 51, 228
Irenaeus, St., 38
Isaac, Binding of, 172, 181, 202–3, 204, 212
istrata (street), 182
Jacob, 24–5, 52, 57–8, 85, 221
Jacob of Nevorayah, 45–6
Jerusalem
rebellion against Rome (66–70 CE), 11, 29, 34, 36–7, 55, 165, 204, 227
refounded as Aelia Capitolina, 47, 75
siege of (70 CE), 7–10, 20, 29, 36–7, 55, 64, 100, 137, 153, 215, 217, 227
Jesus of Nazareth
and Golden Rule, 95
and Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, 100
Jonah as prefiguration of, 206
ministry and death, 227
New Testament lineage, 139
and Pharisees, 36
as rabbi, 10
trial of, 153
John Chrysostom, 43
Josephus, 29, 34–7, 66–7, 150, 165
Julian, Roman Emperor, 197, 200, 228
karpos, 97
karta (city), 61
kartella (figs), 122
kayruks (town crier), 153
keleunin (command), 122
kohanim (hereditary priests), 7
kosmocrator (ruler of the cosmos), 121
kyrie poly brekson, 116
La Strada (Fellini), 182
language
Aramaic, 3, 23–4, 34, 47, 51–2. 61, 69, 77, 104, 110, 114, 120–5, 148, 165, 175, 180–1, 211, 213–14
Greek, 37, 23–5, 28–30, 33–7, 41–4, 47–8, 56, 69, 74–8, 80, 88–90, 113–24, 129, 178–80, 202–4, 213–14
Hebrew, 2–3, 24–5, 28–9, 34–5, 48, 56–8, 69, 71, 98–109, 114–24, 129–30, 148, 180–1, 189–93, 195, 202–3, 218–219
Latin, 2–5, 24, 33, 56, 65, 67, 90, 101, 108, 114, 121–2, 129, 148, 156, 175, 179, 189, 196–7
Lao Tzu, 124
law, Jewish, 45, 88, 96, 99, 102, 126, 131, 147–60
legionot (Roman legions), 117
Leon, Harry, 207
Levine, Lee, 166, 229
Libanius, 43, 90–2, 99, 101–2
Lieberman, Saul, 99, 108, 157, 230
Linder, Amnon, 152
linga franca (common language), 5, 85
lulav (palm frond), 32, 33, 179, 191, 200
Lykos (ravenous wolf), 73
Macrobius, 96–7
Madaba map, 204, 205
Map of ancient Jewish world, 6, 40, 223
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Roman Emperor, 80–1, 109, 110, 137–8, 144, 198, 199
marriage contracts, 123, 146, 148–50
pherne (financial package), 148
repudium (wife repudiation of husband), 148
Martha bat Boethius, 149
martyrdom, 17–19, 75
matrilineal descent, 46, 150
Matrona, 43–5
menorahs
in catacombs, 2, 4, 8, 32, 33, 48, 200–1, 201, 202, 203, 205
in synagogues, 32, 33, 41, 47, 74, 84, 165, 172, 178–81, 200–1
Mesopotamia, 51. See also Babylonia
Mezuzah, 168
Midrash, 18, 23–4, 52, 56, 61, 74–5, 94, 99–100, 106–9, 114, 125, 140, 147–8, 155, 157, 170, 182, 210, 228
Migdal/Magdala, 165, 176
Mishnah
compilation and spread of, 24, 50–1, 81, 88, 181, 218, 228
on Greek language, 88–90
and Homer, 104–6, 119
on idol worship, 125–6
and Jewish law, 131, 133, 136–8, 150, 153
on Passover, 98
rabbi in, 10
and rhetorical elevation of teacher, 92
Moses, 10, 28, 38, 135, 136, 138–9, 142, 200, 211–212, 213, 219, 226
at Dura, 214
Five Books of Moses, 3, 11, 100 (see also Torah)
seat of Moses, 51, 52, 171, 173, 211, 212, 213
Mussolini, Benito, 1
mythology, Greco-Roman
Amphitrite, 191–2, 192
Aphrodite, 125–30, 127, 181, 190, 194, 196, 212, 215
Athena, 22
Helios, 49, 49–50, 117–20, 129, 180–1, 193–7, 200, 203
Leda, 48, 187
Nike, 48, 207
Poseidon, 191–2, 192
Sol Invictus, 194–8, 198, 200
Venus, 22
Zeus, 22, 48–50, 180–1, 187, 190, 205, 210
Zeus-Helios, 49, 49–50, 194–7, 200