Judeans in the Greek Cities of the Roman Empire: Rights, Citizenship and Civil Discord

359 Pages·2015·1.681 MB·English

by  Bradley Ritter

Judeans in the Greek Cities of the Roman Empire
Supplements to the
Journal for the Study
of Judaism
Editor
Benjamin G. Wright, III (Department of Religion Studies, Lehigh University)
Associate Editors
Hindy Najman (Department of Religious Studies, Yale University)
Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar (Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven)
Advisory Board
A.M. Berlin – K. Berthelot – R. Bloch – G. Bohak
J.J. Collins – K. Hogan – P.W. van der Horst
O. Irshai – A.K. Petersen – S. Mason – J.H. Newman
M.R. Niehoff – M. Popović – I. Rosen-Zvi
J.T.A.G.M. van Ruiten – M. Segal – J. Sievers
G. Stemberger – L.T. Stuckenbruck – J.C. de Vos
VOLUME 170
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/jsjs
Judeans in the Greek Cities of the
Roman Empire
Rights, Citizenship and Civil Discord
By
Bradley Ritter
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ritter, Bradley, author.
 Judeans in the Greek cities of the Roman Empire : rights, citizenship and civil discord / by Bradley Ritter.
  pages cm — (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism ; 170)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN 978-90-04-28983-3 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-29235-2 (e-book) 1. Jews—History—
168 B.C.–135 A.D. 2. Jews—Judaea (Region)—Politics and government. 3. Jews—Judaea (Region)—Social
conditions. 4. Rome—Politics and government—30 B.C.–284 A.D. 5. Political culture—Judaea (Region)—
History. 6. Group identity—Judaea (Region)—History. 7. Citizenship—Judaea (Region)—History. 8. Cities
and towns, Ancient—Mediterranean Region. I. Title.
 DS121.7.R57 2015
 937’.004924009015—dc23
2015006503
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering
Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities.
For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 1384-2161
isbn 978-90-04-28983-3 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-29235-2 (e-book)
Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Aliciae coniugi meae, amicae carae
⸪

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations xi
1 An Introduction to the Question of Judean Integration in Greek
Lands 1
2 Philo, Josephus and the Acts of the Apostles: Genre, Audience and
Aims 12
3 Moorings: Civic Status and Associations 54
4 Alexandrian Moorings: Citizenship, Synagogues and the Archons of
the Alexandrian Judeans 77
5 Evidence Versus Myth on the Origins and Early History of the Judeans
in Alexandria 113
6 The Stasis in Alexandria in 38 CE and Its Aftermath 132
7 The Judeans of Cyrene under the Julio-Claudians and the
Flavians 184
8 Judeans in Asia Minor and Greece during the Late Republic and the
Early Empire 198
9 The Crisis of Judean Civic Life in the Cities of Syria and Coele-Syria
before and after the Jewish Revolt 241
10 Conclusion 279
Bibliography 299
General Index 322
Index of Literary Sources 328
Index of Documentary Sources 338

Acknowledgements
I have accumulated many debts over the past several years in preparing this
manuscript, and I can at least acknowledge my obligations here, if I cannot
repay them. First, I want to thank Erich Gruen for suggesting the topic for what
was originally my dissertation, an analysis of the legal aspects of Judean life in
Greek cities that took account of citizenship or legal status broadly defined.
Without his direction, I would not have taken on the project. He showed
unparalleled generosity at every stage of the initial writing of my dissertation,
which improved the project immeasurably, and he has since then continued
to encourage the completion of a revision. His scholarship and humanity will
always serve as an ideal on which to judge my own work and life. He is a great
scholar and much more than a scholar.
Second, I am also most grateful to Ben Wright for his tremendous contribu-
tion as editor in revising this book for publication. His work was precise and
always generously given. I also want to thank the two anonymous readers from
Brill Publishers for help in adding key arguments which were lacking, and bet-
ter synthesizing material already present.
There have been other readers whose help I gratefully acknowledge: Ron
Stroud saved me from numerous errors in my use of epigraphic collections
during the writing of my dissertation. If I have missed some, or added others
since that phase of my work, I alone am responsible. Claude Eilers generously
commented on a part of this work and shared several of his own articles with
me on the Acta in Josephus 14 and 16 before their publication. Despite the con-
tributions and advice of generous readers, this remains a work with numerous
shortcomings that are, again, my own.
Moreover, Sandra Gambetti was kind enough to share a copy of her manu-
script on the Alexandrian pogrom before publication. Benjamin Gray was also
most gracious in sharing some of his findings on Hellenistic era staseis, which
encouraged me to develop my thinking on Alexandria in 38 CE as witness to a
latter day stasis.
The director and staff of the Center for Hellenic Studies were kind enough
to allow me to use their library at various stages of writing. Our family will
remember our stay there fondly, especially the graciousness of the Center
administrative staff and librarians.
I am thankful to my own institution, Ave Maria University, and the dean in
particular, Michael Dauphinais, for supporting travel for dedicated periods of
research in the summer of 2007 and 2008.