Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Two details in the description of Hellenism (Ἑλληνισμός) in 2 Maccabees 4:10–15 have close parallels in Roman texts discussing Greek citizen training in the gymnasium. The article argues that these overlaps are not coincidental: 2 Maccabees engages with a Roman discourse that identifies the gymnasium as the source of the cultural and military decline of Greece. This observation may have ramifications for the date of 2 Maccabees, but more importantly it changes our understanding of the book’s presentation of the Hellenistic reform in Jerusalem.
Source: Journal of Jewish Studies
Author: BENEDIKT ECKHARDT
Institution: University of Edinburgh
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221803255
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