Lecture 9

       The sources of the Hellenistic period were Apocrypha and Josephus (Roman historian). The area of Israel/Judah began to be called “Palestine” during this time. Palestine was the Greek translation of Hebrew “philistine” and applied to the territory by the Romans. Alexander the great had conquered known world of the time (336-323 BCE) including Palestine in 332 BCE. There is evidence of his existence from stamped coins with his face on them. Alexander the great defeated Persia’s King Darius at the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE. Once he had died in 323, the kingdom was divided into Ptolemies (Egyptians- captured Jerusalem in 320) and Seleucids (Syrians- Antiochus III defeats Ptolemies and annexes Jerusalem and Palestine). The Ptolemies invented coins, controlled Palestine, and had the power to choose their own high priest. Under the Seleucids, Antiochus III defeated Ptolemy V in 198 BCE and annexed Jerusalem and Palestine. He began to rule in Jerusalem and to aggressively Hellenize Jews. Seleucids wanted to turn Jerusalem into a “polis,” city that is the center of Greek life. The Greeks regarded the polis as the highest and most natural civil institution. Some of the essential characteristics of the polis are supply of food, skills and crafts, military supplies, commerce, religion, and a system of justice. EVERY aspect of Jewish life was Hellenized by Greeks. Even the Kindron Valley Tombs (tombs of Hezir and Zechariah) looked like Greek tombs. Also, some Jewish burial inscriptions were written in Greek. There were zodiacs in places of worship such as the Beth Alpha mosaic. The Hebrew bible was translated into Greek, and it was the most widely used bible. Then Antiochus III “The Great” took control of Palestine from Ptolemies. Antiochus IV thoroughly Hellenized Palestine and Jerusalem. He suppressed Jewish resistance by attacksing Egypt, conquering Jerusalem, looting the temple treasury, outlawing Jewish religious practices, sacrificing a pig on the temple altar, and converting the temple into the temple of Zeus. In reaction to this hellenization, some welcomed it and other resisted. Some Jewish priests cooperated in promoting Hellenism, some Jews abandoned circumcision, some Jewish infighting became intense, and some revolted.