Year: 2017
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The Jewish people living within Hellenistic Greece experienced great freedoms, and many assimilated into the non-Jewish societies around them. Yet, under the Seleucid King Antiochus IV in the 2nd century BCE, the Jewish people experienced oppression and persecution, which has been chronicled in the books 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. At a glance, these books appear opposed to the blending of Hellenistic culture and society into surrounding Jewish communities, but a deeper analysis of both texts reveals that the authors depended on Hellenistic constructs to effectively tell their story. This paper explores the degree to which the authors of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees were influenced by Hellenism, specifically focusing on how they incorporated Hellenistic styles of literature and language into their works.
Author: Dimitra S. Fellman
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2617304815