Specter of the Jews - Emperor Julian and the Rhetoric of Ethnicity in Syrian Antioch

Informationen zum Autor Ari Finkelstein is Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Cincinnati! where he works as a historian of Jews and Judaism in the antique and late antique Greco-Roman world.  Klappentext "In this important new book! Ari Finkelstein argues that Jews were not simply for Julian a cudgel with which to batter Christians nor were they mere scriptural relics used to 'think with.' Finkelstein demonstrates with care and thoughtfulness that Julian took Jews and Judaism seriously as a venerable ethnos whose religious practices and values fit into and even modeled Julian's idealized Hellenic world."—Andrew S. Jacobs! author of Epiphanius of Cyprus: A Cultural Biography of Late Antiquity "This book is an innovative contribution to scholarship on the rhetorical contestation of religious! cultural! and ethnic identities in late antiquity.  The Emperor Julian’s imagination of Jews and Judaism has long been the subject of footnotes and brief comments in scholarly literature. Finkelstein provides the focused study the field has long needed."—Jeremy Schott! Associate Professor of Religious Studies! Indiana University   Zusammenfassung 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. Inhaltsverzeichnis 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 ...

Détails du produit

• Auteurs: Ari Finkelstein
• Edition: University Of California Press
• Langues: Anglais
• Format d'édition: Livre Relié
• Sortie: 31.10.2018
• EAN: 9780520298729
• ISBN: 978-0-520-29872-9
• Pages: 235
• Catégories: Sciences humaines, art, musique > Religion, théologie > Judaïsme; HISTORY / Ancient / Rome, RELIGION / Judaism / History, History of Religion, Judaism, Ancient Rome, Classical history / classical civilisation, European history: the Romans