The Specter of the Jews (eBook)

Emperor Julian and the Rhetoric of Ethnicity in Syrian Antioch

Ari Finkelstein (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018
235 Seiten
University of California Press (Verlag)
978-0-520-97077-9 (ISBN)

Infos

In the generation after Constantine the Great elevated Christianity to a dominant position in the Roman Empire, his nephew, the Emperor Julian, sought to reinstate the old gods to their former place of prominence—in the face of intense opposition from the newly powerful Christian church. In early 363 c.e., while living in Syrian Antioch, Julian redoubled his efforts to hellenize the Roman Empire by turning to an unlikely source: the Jews. With a war against Persia on the horizon, Julian thought it crucial that all Romans propitiate the true gods and gain their favor through proper practice. To convince his people, he drew on Jews, whom he characterized as Judeans, using their scriptures, institutions, practices, and heroes sometimes as sources for his program and often as models to emulate. In The Specter of the Jews, Ari Finkelstein examines Julian’s writings and views on Jews as Judeans, a venerable group whose religious practices and values would help delegitimize Christianity and, surprisingly, shape a new imperial Hellenic pagan identity.

Inhalt

Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Emperor Julian’s Jewish Gambit
1. Julian’s Hellenizing Program and the Jews
2. Setting the Stage: Hellenes, Christians, and Jews in Cosmopolitan Antioch
3. Hebrews, Jews, and Judeans: Julian’s Ethnographic Arguments and His Hellenizing Campaign
4. Propitiating the Gods, Saving the Empire: The Place of Jewish Sacrifice in Emperor Julian’s Hellenizing Program
5. A Priestly Nation: Th e Jewish Priesthood as a Model for Julian’s Priestly Program
6. Th e God of Jerusalem and His Temple: Fixing the Jewish God in Julian’s Cosmos
7. Creating and Maintaining Hellenic Places in Antioch
Conclusions: Antioch in the Aftermath of Julian

Appendix: The Letter to the Community of the Jews
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 6.11.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Altertum / Antike
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Religionsgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Judentum
• Schlagworte: Christian Church • Christianity • Constantine the Great • delegitimize christianity • emperor julian • gain the gods favor • hellenize • Heroes • Institutions • Jewish people • Jews • Judeans • Old Gods • Pagan • Persia • Practices • proper practice • Religious Practices • Roman Empire • scriptures • Syrian Antioch • true gods • Values • venerable group • war • Worship
• ISBN-10: 0-520-97077-2 / 0520970772
• ISBN-13: 978-0-520-97077-9 / 9780520970779