Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World

By Peter Schäfer

Book Overview

Aiming to take a fresh look at what the Greeks and Romans thought about the Jews, this book firmly locates the origins of anti-semitism in the ancient world. Hellenistic Egypt is established as the generating source, with roots extending back into Egypt's pre-Hellenistic past. A pattern of ingrained hostility to an alien culture emerges from Greek and Roman writing, when a whole spectrum of comments on Jews and their religion are surveyed. The writings focus on the topics most interesting to the pagan classical world: the Exodus, or expulsion from Egypt as they interpreted it, the nature of the Jewish god, food restrictions, laws relating to the sabbath, and so on.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067448777X
• ISBN13: 9780674487772
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.3" x 6.5"