Zeev Weiss | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (original) (raw)

Papers by Zeev Weiss

Sepphoris 3: The Temple and the Eastern Church in the Lower City, 2024

The city of Sepphoris is situated in the heart of the Galilee region of ancient Palestine. Among ... more The city of Sepphoris is situated in the heart of the Galilee region of ancient Palestine. Among the extensive remains of public and private architecture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s excavations at the site have uncovered significant cultic buildings, including a temple, a synagogue, and two churches. These buildings, constructed and used by the pagan, Jewish, and Christian communities of the city, illustrate its
religious diversities and evolutions.
The focus of this volume is the result of the excavations in the insula southeast of the intersection of the city’s two colonnaded streets, where six construction phases were revealed, dating from the first through the early eighth centuries CE. Key findings include a Roman temple, a large church, a residential quarter, and shops. The studies of the architectural phases, decorative elements, and material culture presented in this volume provide significant insights into the city’s socio-cultural and economic characteristics. The findings underscore Sepphoris’s role as a significant urban center, reflecting its historical transformations and the complex interplay of religious and cultural identities. Beyond Sepphoris,
the results of this study bear implications for broader understandings of changing religious landscapes, offering new perspectives on the nature and processes through which religious architecture and social structures are transformed.

Temples, Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques: Sacred Architecture in Palestine from the Bronze Age to Medieval Times, 2023

This companion volume to Ancient Synagogues Revealed, published in 1981, apprises the reader of t... more This companion volume to Ancient Synagogues Revealed, published in 1981, apprises the reader of the latest archaeological and historical data culled from the excavations of ancient synagogues since that date. The articles, written by the excavators of these sites, reveal a plethora of synagogue buildings, artistic remains, inscriptions, and small finds that shed light on many aspects of this ancient institution and increase the number and range of scholarly interpretations and theories regarding the synagogue in the first millennium of its existence. Diverse aspects of the ancient synagogue-archaeology, history, art, epigraphy, language, and literature-allow for new and creative interpretations of these intriguing archaeological finds. FRONT COVER Tower of Babel mosaic panel, Ḥuqoq synagogue (photo: Jim Haberman; courtesy of Jodi Magness) BACK COVER Close-up of the reconstructed aedicula of the Torah shrine, Umm el-Qanatir (photo: Yehoshua Dray and Ilana Gonen, Restoration of Ancient Technology)

Journal of Jewish Studies, 2011

DESCRIZIONE The fifth century CE represents a turning point in ancient history. Before 400 the Ro... more DESCRIZIONE The fifth century CE represents a turning point in ancient history. Before 400 the Roman Empire stood largely intact and coherent, a massive and powerful testament to traditions of state power stretching back for the previous 600 years. By 500 the empire had fragmented as state power retreated rapidly and the political and social forces that would usher in the Middle Ages be-came cemented into place. This volume explores this crucial period in the six broad areas of natural science, archaeology and material culture, barbarian and Roman relations, law and power, religious authority, and literary constructions. Assembling the papers of the twelfth biennial Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity Conference, The Fifth Century: Age of Transformation offers a comprehensive overview of recent research on this pivotal century in all of its ramifications. Nella storia dell’antichità il quinto secolo d.C. rappresenta un punto di svolta. Prima dell’anno 400 l’impero romano si ergeva complessivamente integro e unito: una testimonianza massiccia e impressionante delle tradizioni di un potere statuale risalenti a seicento anni prima. Nell’anno 500 l’impero era già diviso in seguito al rapido indebolimento del potere statale e all’azione congiunta di fattori politici e sociali che avrebbero condotto al Medio Evo. Il volume analizza questo periodo cruciale, prendendo in esame sei settori generali: scienze naturali, archeologia e cultura materiale, relazioni romano-barbariche, stato e diritto, potere religioso, produzione letteraria. Riunendo i contributi presentati al XII convegno biennale di “Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity”, The Fifth Century: Age of Transformation offre una vasta panoramica degli studi più recenti su questo secolo decisivo. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Jan Willem Drijvers and Noel Lenski, Introduction NATURAL SCIENCE Kyle Harper, The Climate of the Fifth Century Cam Grey, Climate Change and Agrarian Change between the Fourth and Sixth Centuries: Questions of Scale, Coincidence, and Causality Dominic Solly, A Spanish Bonanza? A Reexamination of Roman Gold Mining Technology ARCHAEOLOGY AND MATERIAL CULTURE Anna Flückiger, Blind Dating: Towards a Chronology of Fifth-Century Material Culture in Augusta Raurica John Hermann and Annewies van den Hoek, The Vandals and the End of Elite North African Ceramics: Relief Decoration on African Red Slip Ware Marco Cavalieri, Gloriana Pace, Sara Lenzi, Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (San Gimignano, Siena): A Roman Villa in Central Italy during Late Antiquity Zeev Weiss, Defining Limits in Times of Shifting Borders: Jewish Life in Fifth-Century Palestine Young Richard Kim, The Little Island That Could: Cyprus in the Fifth Century BARBARIAN AND ROMAN IN THE FIFTH-CENTURY WEST Ralph W. Mathisen, The End of the Western Roman Empire in the Fifth Century CE: Barbarian Auxiliaries, Independent Military Contractors, and Civil Wars Merle Eisenberg, A New Name for a New State: The Construction of the Burgundian Regio Veronika Egetenmeyr, «Barbarians» Transformed: The Construction of Identity in the Epistles of Sidonius Apollinaris LAW AND POWER Kevin Feeney, The Emperor is Dead, Long Live the Emperor: Imperial Interregna in the Fifth Century Meaghan McEvoy, Leo II, Zeno and the Transfer of Roman Imperial Rule from a Son to his Father in 474 CE Felix K. Maier, Active Rulership Unrealized: Claudian’s Panegyric on Honorius Marie Roux, Administrative Transitions in Gaul during the Second Half of the Fifth Century. The Example of the Visigothic Kingdom through the Breviary of Alaric RELIGION AND AUTHORITY Maijastina Kahlos, Shifting Sacrifices? Fifth-Century Developments in Ritual Life Aaron P. Johnson, The Fifth-Century Transformation of Apologetics in Cyril and Theodoret E. Tiggy McLaughlin, Ordinary Christians and the Fifth-Century Reform of the Church in Gaul Bronwen Neil, Pope Gelasius’s Theory of Law and its Implementation at the End of the Fifth Century LITERARY CONSTRUCTIONS AND CULTURAL MEMORY Edward Watts, Hypatia in the Letter Collection of Synesius Hajnalka Tamas, From Persecutor to Arbitrator of Orthodoxy: The Changing Face of Sextus Petronius Probus between the Fourth and the Fifth Century Jason Moralee, Commemorating Defeat: Cultural Memory and the Vandal Sack of Rome in 455

The zodiac appears in the mosaic carpets of several ancient synagogues : Helios' chariot draw... more The zodiac appears in the mosaic carpets of several ancient synagogues : Helios' chariot drawn by four horses is portrayed in the inner circle of the zodiac; the twelve signs are depicted in the outer circle; and the four seasons are placed in the four corners of the square surrounding the outer circle. Despite stylistic changes over time, the subject and basic composition in Jewish art has not changed. An analysis of the zodiac indicates that it is a double-layered depiction containing two intertwining dimensions. One layer represents daily reality on earth and the blessing found in the divine order of Creation. The other layer symbolizes the power and action of God as the cosmokrator, the sole ruler of the universe and of Creation. Accordingly, the zodiac links the other parts of the mosaic and emphasizes the unified theme that underlies the scenes.

Journal of Ancient Judaism, 2017

The paper discusses the opposition of the rabbis in late antique Palestine to Roman public specta... more The paper discusses the opposition of the rabbis in late antique Palestine to Roman public spectacles and their intentional incorporation of references to the theater, hippodrome, and amphitheater, and their performances, into their sermons. By speaking about these very same issues in their sermons, the rabbis essentially, and perhaps deliberately, became actors in their own communal theater – the synagogue. Based on a careful reading of the literary sources, it is argued that with the ironic use of the same tools and props employed in the theater the rabbis not only sought to condemn public entertainment, including theatrical performances, but also urged their communities to shun this leisure activity in favor of other “spectacles” more conducive and appropriate to the religious realm.

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2020

Stone vessels were used in Judaea and the Galilee from the second half of the 1st century b.c.e. ... more Stone vessels were used in Judaea and the Galilee from the second half of the 1st century b.c.e. until the 2nd century c.e., when it is widely accepted that they were phased out. This study focuses on the major types of chalkstone vessels uncovered in Roman Sepphoris, identifies the unique forms in the assemblage, and discusses the technological issues pertaining to their production. The findings presented in this study suggest that the stone vessels in the Galilee, unlike those in Judaea, did not disappear immediately but were found in layers associated with the Late Roman period (mid-2nd to 4th centuries), thus indicating their continual use. In tracing the sources of the chalkstone vessels, the geochemical analysis employed in this study shows that large numbers of vessels used by Sepphoreans were evidently produced in local quarries of the Lower Galilee.

Trbys, 2000

The area surrounding ancient Bet Shean (Scythopolis) is described in a halakhic inscription incor... more The area surrounding ancient Bet Shean (Scythopolis) is described in a halakhic inscription incorporated into the mosaic floor discovered in the narthex of the synagogue at Rehov, lying ca. 5 km south of the city. The inscription enumerates sabbatical year and tithe laws in the cities and enclaves beyond the boundaries of Jewish settlement throughout Palestine, and largely repeats textual variants appearing in the Palestinian (Jerusalem) Talmud. The first part of the inscription is devoted to Bet Shean owing to its author's express concern with this region. It first lists the fruits forbidden in the sabbatical year in the district of Bet Shean and goes on to describe at length the city's boundaries while incorporating many diverse topographical details. The mosaic and its inscription belong to the third phase of the Rehov synagogue, which is dated to the end of the Byzantine period (sixth-seventh centuries CE). It appears, however, that the topographical reality of Bet Shean emerging from this inscription may in all probability be founded on an earlier, perhaps Roman, setting. The scholars who examined the Rehov inscription, as well as the archaeologists who recently unearthed Bet Shean's ruins, have studied the names of the gates mentioned in the inscription in an attempt to place some of them in the city plan. The remains discovered in the excavations of the last few years shed new light on the Rehov inscription, enabling us to identify, albeit with a large measure of caution, 'the Gate of Campon', as well as the structure given this name that marks the city's southern boundary. Naming the gate of a city after a nearby building, a road leading from it, or a settlement that could be reached from that direction was known in antiquity. It is in this spirit that one should understand 'the Gate of Campon', which was probably named as such after a specific building. The city's hippodrome, called Campon in rabbinic literature, was built in Bet Shean next to the street o

Ḳatedrah Be Toldot Erets Yiśraʾel Ṿe Yishuvah, 2001

Was 70 CE a Watershed in Jewish History?, 2012

A Companion to Josephus, 2015

Near Eastern Archaeology, 2014

Herod the Great was the first king to introduce games and spectacles into the Roman East. His bui... more Herod the Great was the first king to introduce games and spectacles into the Roman East. His building projects to house these activities were a grandiose expression of the king's desire to maintain a positive rapport with Rome and to integrate Roman cultural patterns into his realm — an ambitious agenda that ultimately revolutionized the leisure habits of the indigenous populations in ancient Palestine. This paper discusses theaters and hippo-stadia — buildings for mass entertainment constructed by Herod the Great in Jerusalem, Samaria, and Caesarea, as well as near his palaces in Jerichoand Herodium. It traces the architectural models that Herod used to shape the buildings in his realm and demonstrates that they, like his other monumental projects, were also characterized by creativity, daring, and innovation, exhibiting local yet eclectic features that combined a variety of Greco-Roman traditions.

Byzantina Symmeikta, 2021

Book Review:Asaf Friedman, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Byzantine Palaestina, Cambrid... more Book Review:Asaf Friedman, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Byzantine Palaestina, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019

The Elder Will Serve the Younger: Myths and Symbols in Dialogue between Judaism and Christianity, A Tribute to Israel Jacob Yuval, 2022

Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine, 2014

Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine" introduces readers to the panoply of ... more Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine" introduces readers to the panoply of public entertainment that flourished in Palestine from the first century BCE to the sixth century CE. Drawing on a trove of original archaeological and textual evidence, Zeev Weiss reconstructs an ancient world where Romans, Jews, and Christians intermixed amid a heady brew of shouts, roars, and applause to watch a variety of typically pagan spectacles.Ancient Roman society reveled in many such spectacles--dramatic performances, chariot races, athletic competitions, and gladiatorial combats--that required elaborate public venues, often maintained at great expense. Wishing to ingratiate himself with Rome, Herod the Great built theaters, amphitheaters, and hippodromes to bring these forms of entertainment to Palestine. Weiss explores how the indigenous Jewish and Christian populations responded, as both spectators and performers, to these cultural imports. Perhaps predictably, the reactions of rabbinic and clerical elites did not differ greatly. But their dire warnings to shun pagan entertainment did little to dampen the popularity of these events.Herod's ambitious building projects left a lasting imprint on the region. His dream of transforming Palestine into a Roman enclave succeeded far beyond his rule, with games and spectacles continuing into the fifth century CE. By then, however, public entertainment in Palestine had become a cultural institution in decline, ultimately disappearing during Justinian's reign in the sixth century.

Z. Weiss, “The Mosaics of the En-Gedi Synagogue,” in Y. Porath, The Synagogue at Ein-Gedi, Qedem 64, (Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University, 2021), 2021

Sepphoris 3: The Temple and the Eastern Church in the Lower City, 2024

The city of Sepphoris is situated in the heart of the Galilee region of ancient Palestine. Among ... more The city of Sepphoris is situated in the heart of the Galilee region of ancient Palestine. Among the extensive remains of public and private architecture, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s excavations at the site have uncovered significant cultic buildings, including a temple, a synagogue, and two churches. These buildings, constructed and used by the pagan, Jewish, and Christian communities of the city, illustrate its
religious diversities and evolutions.
The focus of this volume is the result of the excavations in the insula southeast of the intersection of the city’s two colonnaded streets, where six construction phases were revealed, dating from the first through the early eighth centuries CE. Key findings include a Roman temple, a large church, a residential quarter, and shops. The studies of the architectural phases, decorative elements, and material culture presented in this volume provide significant insights into the city’s socio-cultural and economic characteristics. The findings underscore Sepphoris’s role as a significant urban center, reflecting its historical transformations and the complex interplay of religious and cultural identities. Beyond Sepphoris,
the results of this study bear implications for broader understandings of changing religious landscapes, offering new perspectives on the nature and processes through which religious architecture and social structures are transformed.

Temples, Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques: Sacred Architecture in Palestine from the Bronze Age to Medieval Times, 2023

This companion volume to Ancient Synagogues Revealed, published in 1981, apprises the reader of t... more This companion volume to Ancient Synagogues Revealed, published in 1981, apprises the reader of the latest archaeological and historical data culled from the excavations of ancient synagogues since that date. The articles, written by the excavators of these sites, reveal a plethora of synagogue buildings, artistic remains, inscriptions, and small finds that shed light on many aspects of this ancient institution and increase the number and range of scholarly interpretations and theories regarding the synagogue in the first millennium of its existence. Diverse aspects of the ancient synagogue-archaeology, history, art, epigraphy, language, and literature-allow for new and creative interpretations of these intriguing archaeological finds. FRONT COVER Tower of Babel mosaic panel, Ḥuqoq synagogue (photo: Jim Haberman; courtesy of Jodi Magness) BACK COVER Close-up of the reconstructed aedicula of the Torah shrine, Umm el-Qanatir (photo: Yehoshua Dray and Ilana Gonen, Restoration of Ancient Technology)

Journal of Jewish Studies, 2011

DESCRIZIONE The fifth century CE represents a turning point in ancient history. Before 400 the Ro... more DESCRIZIONE The fifth century CE represents a turning point in ancient history. Before 400 the Roman Empire stood largely intact and coherent, a massive and powerful testament to traditions of state power stretching back for the previous 600 years. By 500 the empire had fragmented as state power retreated rapidly and the political and social forces that would usher in the Middle Ages be-came cemented into place. This volume explores this crucial period in the six broad areas of natural science, archaeology and material culture, barbarian and Roman relations, law and power, religious authority, and literary constructions. Assembling the papers of the twelfth biennial Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity Conference, The Fifth Century: Age of Transformation offers a comprehensive overview of recent research on this pivotal century in all of its ramifications. Nella storia dell’antichità il quinto secolo d.C. rappresenta un punto di svolta. Prima dell’anno 400 l’impero romano si ergeva complessivamente integro e unito: una testimonianza massiccia e impressionante delle tradizioni di un potere statuale risalenti a seicento anni prima. Nell’anno 500 l’impero era già diviso in seguito al rapido indebolimento del potere statale e all’azione congiunta di fattori politici e sociali che avrebbero condotto al Medio Evo. Il volume analizza questo periodo cruciale, prendendo in esame sei settori generali: scienze naturali, archeologia e cultura materiale, relazioni romano-barbariche, stato e diritto, potere religioso, produzione letteraria. Riunendo i contributi presentati al XII convegno biennale di “Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity”, The Fifth Century: Age of Transformation offre una vasta panoramica degli studi più recenti su questo secolo decisivo. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Jan Willem Drijvers and Noel Lenski, Introduction NATURAL SCIENCE Kyle Harper, The Climate of the Fifth Century Cam Grey, Climate Change and Agrarian Change between the Fourth and Sixth Centuries: Questions of Scale, Coincidence, and Causality Dominic Solly, A Spanish Bonanza? A Reexamination of Roman Gold Mining Technology ARCHAEOLOGY AND MATERIAL CULTURE Anna Flückiger, Blind Dating: Towards a Chronology of Fifth-Century Material Culture in Augusta Raurica John Hermann and Annewies van den Hoek, The Vandals and the End of Elite North African Ceramics: Relief Decoration on African Red Slip Ware Marco Cavalieri, Gloriana Pace, Sara Lenzi, Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (San Gimignano, Siena): A Roman Villa in Central Italy during Late Antiquity Zeev Weiss, Defining Limits in Times of Shifting Borders: Jewish Life in Fifth-Century Palestine Young Richard Kim, The Little Island That Could: Cyprus in the Fifth Century BARBARIAN AND ROMAN IN THE FIFTH-CENTURY WEST Ralph W. Mathisen, The End of the Western Roman Empire in the Fifth Century CE: Barbarian Auxiliaries, Independent Military Contractors, and Civil Wars Merle Eisenberg, A New Name for a New State: The Construction of the Burgundian Regio Veronika Egetenmeyr, «Barbarians» Transformed: The Construction of Identity in the Epistles of Sidonius Apollinaris LAW AND POWER Kevin Feeney, The Emperor is Dead, Long Live the Emperor: Imperial Interregna in the Fifth Century Meaghan McEvoy, Leo II, Zeno and the Transfer of Roman Imperial Rule from a Son to his Father in 474 CE Felix K. Maier, Active Rulership Unrealized: Claudian’s Panegyric on Honorius Marie Roux, Administrative Transitions in Gaul during the Second Half of the Fifth Century. The Example of the Visigothic Kingdom through the Breviary of Alaric RELIGION AND AUTHORITY Maijastina Kahlos, Shifting Sacrifices? Fifth-Century Developments in Ritual Life Aaron P. Johnson, The Fifth-Century Transformation of Apologetics in Cyril and Theodoret E. Tiggy McLaughlin, Ordinary Christians and the Fifth-Century Reform of the Church in Gaul Bronwen Neil, Pope Gelasius’s Theory of Law and its Implementation at the End of the Fifth Century LITERARY CONSTRUCTIONS AND CULTURAL MEMORY Edward Watts, Hypatia in the Letter Collection of Synesius Hajnalka Tamas, From Persecutor to Arbitrator of Orthodoxy: The Changing Face of Sextus Petronius Probus between the Fourth and the Fifth Century Jason Moralee, Commemorating Defeat: Cultural Memory and the Vandal Sack of Rome in 455

The zodiac appears in the mosaic carpets of several ancient synagogues : Helios' chariot draw... more The zodiac appears in the mosaic carpets of several ancient synagogues : Helios' chariot drawn by four horses is portrayed in the inner circle of the zodiac; the twelve signs are depicted in the outer circle; and the four seasons are placed in the four corners of the square surrounding the outer circle. Despite stylistic changes over time, the subject and basic composition in Jewish art has not changed. An analysis of the zodiac indicates that it is a double-layered depiction containing two intertwining dimensions. One layer represents daily reality on earth and the blessing found in the divine order of Creation. The other layer symbolizes the power and action of God as the cosmokrator, the sole ruler of the universe and of Creation. Accordingly, the zodiac links the other parts of the mosaic and emphasizes the unified theme that underlies the scenes.

Journal of Ancient Judaism, 2017

The paper discusses the opposition of the rabbis in late antique Palestine to Roman public specta... more The paper discusses the opposition of the rabbis in late antique Palestine to Roman public spectacles and their intentional incorporation of references to the theater, hippodrome, and amphitheater, and their performances, into their sermons. By speaking about these very same issues in their sermons, the rabbis essentially, and perhaps deliberately, became actors in their own communal theater – the synagogue. Based on a careful reading of the literary sources, it is argued that with the ironic use of the same tools and props employed in the theater the rabbis not only sought to condemn public entertainment, including theatrical performances, but also urged their communities to shun this leisure activity in favor of other “spectacles” more conducive and appropriate to the religious realm.

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2020

Stone vessels were used in Judaea and the Galilee from the second half of the 1st century b.c.e. ... more Stone vessels were used in Judaea and the Galilee from the second half of the 1st century b.c.e. until the 2nd century c.e., when it is widely accepted that they were phased out. This study focuses on the major types of chalkstone vessels uncovered in Roman Sepphoris, identifies the unique forms in the assemblage, and discusses the technological issues pertaining to their production. The findings presented in this study suggest that the stone vessels in the Galilee, unlike those in Judaea, did not disappear immediately but were found in layers associated with the Late Roman period (mid-2nd to 4th centuries), thus indicating their continual use. In tracing the sources of the chalkstone vessels, the geochemical analysis employed in this study shows that large numbers of vessels used by Sepphoreans were evidently produced in local quarries of the Lower Galilee.

Trbys, 2000

The area surrounding ancient Bet Shean (Scythopolis) is described in a halakhic inscription incor... more The area surrounding ancient Bet Shean (Scythopolis) is described in a halakhic inscription incorporated into the mosaic floor discovered in the narthex of the synagogue at Rehov, lying ca. 5 km south of the city. The inscription enumerates sabbatical year and tithe laws in the cities and enclaves beyond the boundaries of Jewish settlement throughout Palestine, and largely repeats textual variants appearing in the Palestinian (Jerusalem) Talmud. The first part of the inscription is devoted to Bet Shean owing to its author's express concern with this region. It first lists the fruits forbidden in the sabbatical year in the district of Bet Shean and goes on to describe at length the city's boundaries while incorporating many diverse topographical details. The mosaic and its inscription belong to the third phase of the Rehov synagogue, which is dated to the end of the Byzantine period (sixth-seventh centuries CE). It appears, however, that the topographical reality of Bet Shean emerging from this inscription may in all probability be founded on an earlier, perhaps Roman, setting. The scholars who examined the Rehov inscription, as well as the archaeologists who recently unearthed Bet Shean's ruins, have studied the names of the gates mentioned in the inscription in an attempt to place some of them in the city plan. The remains discovered in the excavations of the last few years shed new light on the Rehov inscription, enabling us to identify, albeit with a large measure of caution, 'the Gate of Campon', as well as the structure given this name that marks the city's southern boundary. Naming the gate of a city after a nearby building, a road leading from it, or a settlement that could be reached from that direction was known in antiquity. It is in this spirit that one should understand 'the Gate of Campon', which was probably named as such after a specific building. The city's hippodrome, called Campon in rabbinic literature, was built in Bet Shean next to the street o

Ḳatedrah Be Toldot Erets Yiśraʾel Ṿe Yishuvah, 2001

Was 70 CE a Watershed in Jewish History?, 2012

A Companion to Josephus, 2015

Near Eastern Archaeology, 2014

Herod the Great was the first king to introduce games and spectacles into the Roman East. His bui... more Herod the Great was the first king to introduce games and spectacles into the Roman East. His building projects to house these activities were a grandiose expression of the king's desire to maintain a positive rapport with Rome and to integrate Roman cultural patterns into his realm — an ambitious agenda that ultimately revolutionized the leisure habits of the indigenous populations in ancient Palestine. This paper discusses theaters and hippo-stadia — buildings for mass entertainment constructed by Herod the Great in Jerusalem, Samaria, and Caesarea, as well as near his palaces in Jerichoand Herodium. It traces the architectural models that Herod used to shape the buildings in his realm and demonstrates that they, like his other monumental projects, were also characterized by creativity, daring, and innovation, exhibiting local yet eclectic features that combined a variety of Greco-Roman traditions.

Byzantina Symmeikta, 2021

Book Review:Asaf Friedman, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Byzantine Palaestina, Cambrid... more Book Review:Asaf Friedman, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Byzantine Palaestina, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019

The Elder Will Serve the Younger: Myths and Symbols in Dialogue between Judaism and Christianity, A Tribute to Israel Jacob Yuval, 2022

Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine, 2014

Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine" introduces readers to the panoply of ... more Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine" introduces readers to the panoply of public entertainment that flourished in Palestine from the first century BCE to the sixth century CE. Drawing on a trove of original archaeological and textual evidence, Zeev Weiss reconstructs an ancient world where Romans, Jews, and Christians intermixed amid a heady brew of shouts, roars, and applause to watch a variety of typically pagan spectacles.Ancient Roman society reveled in many such spectacles--dramatic performances, chariot races, athletic competitions, and gladiatorial combats--that required elaborate public venues, often maintained at great expense. Wishing to ingratiate himself with Rome, Herod the Great built theaters, amphitheaters, and hippodromes to bring these forms of entertainment to Palestine. Weiss explores how the indigenous Jewish and Christian populations responded, as both spectators and performers, to these cultural imports. Perhaps predictably, the reactions of rabbinic and clerical elites did not differ greatly. But their dire warnings to shun pagan entertainment did little to dampen the popularity of these events.Herod's ambitious building projects left a lasting imprint on the region. His dream of transforming Palestine into a Roman enclave succeeded far beyond his rule, with games and spectacles continuing into the fifth century CE. By then, however, public entertainment in Palestine had become a cultural institution in decline, ultimately disappearing during Justinian's reign in the sixth century.

Z. Weiss, “The Mosaics of the En-Gedi Synagogue,” in Y. Porath, The Synagogue at Ein-Gedi, Qedem 64, (Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University, 2021), 2021

Sepphoris: A Mosaic of Cultures (Hebrew), 2021

In the heart of the Lower Galilee, 5 kilometers west of Nazareth, lie the remains of Sepphoris, l... more In the heart of the Lower Galilee, 5 kilometers west of Nazareth, lie the remains of Sepphoris, longtime capital of the Galilee in antiquity. Hellenistic Sepphoris had a rural appearance. Its newly acquired status as a polis, replete with typical Roman-style civic buildings and institutions, changed the face of this Galilean city after the Great Revolt against Rome and later. Owing to its newfound wealth and prosperous economy, Sepphoris grew significantly, with a population that peaked at 15 to 20 thousand inhabitants. By the end of the first or early second century, the city expanded its boundaries and boasted public buildings and private dwellings that followed Roman guidelines. Sepphoris retained this layout throughout late antiquity, however in the course of the seventh century, when its magnificent buildings were destroyed and abandoned and its population waned, the city dwindled to a small town or large village.

The wealth of evidence emerging from Sepphoris, one of the major Galilean settlements that nurtured the creation of part of the rabbinic literary corpus, illustrates the glorious past of this large and prosperous city that housed a mosaic of cultures. The wide spectrum of its architectural features, artistic expressions, and small finds, combined with the information culled from epigraphic and literary sources, afford abundant insights into the relationship between Jewish society and Graeco-Roman culture and how the local population conducted its affairs in a period of transition and change—from Rome to Byzantium and from paganism to Christianity. Consequently, major concerns raised only a decade or two ago regarding the nature of the Galilean city have now given way to in-depth discussions not only about Sepphoris and its population, but also about urbanism, art, and architecture in ancient Palestine.

Israel Exploration Journal 69/1, 2019

This article describes the findings from a recent excavation in a rock-cut tomb at Naḥal Aviv, wh... more This article describes the findings from a recent excavation in a rock-cut tomb at Naḥal Aviv, where scholars previously suggested a border line between Jewish and pagan (Tyrian) populations. The finds from the tomb indicate two distinct burial phases, dated to the late first-early second century CE and to the fourth-sixth centuries CE. While the second burial phase can be easily ascribed to a Christian community lived in the vicinity of the tomb, its original phase demonstrates a more complex case for ethnic identification of deceased. The article is followed by two appendices, presenting significant finds: a 'holy rider' amulet by Nancy Benovitz and an MB scarab by Baruch Brandl.

Open acces publication: https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.552 Panel 8.6: Archaeology and Econo... more Open acces publication: https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.552

Panel 8.6: Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World – Proceedings of the 19. International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018