Diaspora: Jews amidst Greeks and Romans

by Erich S. Gruen

What was life like for Jews settled throughout the Mediterranean world of Classical antiquity--and what place did Jewish communities have in the diverse civilization dominated by Greeks and Romans? In a probing account of the Jewish diaspora in the four centuries from Alexander the Great's conquest of the Near East to the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 C.E., Erich Gruen reaches often surprising conclusions. By the first century of our era, Jews living abroad far outnumbered those living in Palestine and had done so for generations. Substantial Jewish communities were found throughout the Greek mainland and Aegean islands, Asia Minor, the Tigris-Euphrates valley, Egypt, and Italy. Focusing especially on Alexandria, Greek cities in Asia Minor, and Rome, Gruen explores the lives of these the obstacles they encountered, the institutions they established, and their strategies for adjustment. He also delves into Jewish writing in this period, teasing out how Jews in the diaspora saw themselves. There emerges a picture of a Jewish minority that was at home in Greco-Roman subject to only sporadic harassment; its intellectuals immersed in Greco-Roman culture while refashioning it for their own purposes; exhibiting little sign of insecurity in an alien society; and demonstrating both a respect for the Holy Land and a commitment to the local community and Gentile government. Gruen's innovative analysis of the historical and literary record alters our understanding of the way this vibrant minority culture engaged with the dominant Classical civilization. (Web)

Genres: History, Roman History, Ancient History, Jewish, Classics

400 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2002

Reviews

[Sanjuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit difficult to score. Gruen certainly accomplishes his task. In charting Jewish moods and beliefs about their diasporic condition, he leaves no stone unturned, describing well the situations of Jews as they found themselves situated in Greek and Roman cities. Gruen examines all of the most relevant diasporic texts and offers measured speculations where the evidence is unclear. At times Gruen maybe goes too far in absolving the ancient Greek and Roman worlds of targeting Jews, but he offers these absolutions not without reasons.

I think, for me, the difficulty with the book is twofold: first, Gruen does not do much to theorize the cultural implications of the examined texts beyond what is stated explicitly by them. I often found myself asking how Gruen's conclusions might contribute to a grander reconstruction of Jewish identity and self-perception. Second, Gruen says almost nothing about diasporic circumstances that contributed to the eventual "parting of the ways" between Jews and Christ-believing Jewish groups. The Christ-followers among diaspora Jews in the mid to late first century are fascinating, and aside from writers such as Barclay, Smith, and Charles, very little has been written about how diaspora specifically influenced the writings of Paul, Matthew, Luke, etc.

A good book, full of excellent examinations of important ancient Jewish texts, but maybe a tad short of the sorts of explorations of which I would have been the most interested.

[Ted Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting background on Jewish identity during classical antiquity, this work indicates the diversity of Jewish lives and cultures over a considerable interval. This divested me of a considerable number of assumptions and prejudices. The writing is not boringly academic but engaging.