Kingship Ideology: A Neglected Element in Aristeas’ Charter Myth for Alexandrian Judaism (original) (raw)
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38. "Epistolarity, Exhortation, and Apologetics in the Epistle of Aristeas,"
Early Christianity 6.2, 2015
Long recognized as a literary fiction, the Epistle of Aristeas has variously been dated from the 3rd cent. BCE to the 1st cent. CE. As a result, its epistolary features, and especially those in which the putative author, Aristeas, addresses his brother and correspondent, Philocrates, have largely been ignored. At the same time, the ostensible occasion of the work, an account of the translation of the Jewish scriptures into Greek at the behest of Ptolemy II and Diogenes of Phalerum, has been treated as its sole import, even though the story of the translation itself is only a small part of the text. In light of more recent scholarship on epistolary literature in the Greco-Roman world, however, this paper will argue that, though fictional, a highly stylized epistolarity is central to the form, purpose, and setting of the work. It will argue further that the ideals of Hellenistic moral philosophy, delivered through epistolary exhortation as well as sympotic discourse, function as an apologetic for both Jewish tradition and the Septuagint translation as instantiations of the Mosaic Law.
Th is paper explores how the complex notion of hybridity, as developed by Homi K. Bhabha, can shed light on the Letter of Aristeas. Th roughout the narrative of this ancient Jewish tale one fi nds a risky attempt on the part of the author to incorporate the best aspects of the two cultures and modes of thinking-Judaism and Hellenism-within which his community were living in Alexandria. In order to understand the dynamics of the hybrid condition of Aristeas in its ambivalence, this paper argues that the multiple agencies in place to foster a certain version of Jewish identity in this diasporic social location are best captured in the forms of calculated negotiations, prudent affi liations, and idealized memory.
Between the temple and the library : the judeo-hellenistic philosopher Aristobulus of Alexandria
2019
Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Humanas, Departamento de História, 2019.Esta investigação se debruça sobre Aristóbulo, um pouco conhecido filósofo judeohelenístico que provavelmente viveu durante o segundo século a. C. na capital multicultural do Egito ptolomaico, Alexandria. Aristóbulo foi pioneiro em apontar semelhanças entre as concepções religiosas judaicas e as filosofias gregas na literatura, propondo uma abordagem alegórica e sintética à Bíblia, que pré-figura aquela do mais conhecido Fílon de Alexandria, quase duzentos anos depois. O estudo visa primariamente fornecer uma discussão histórico-biográfica de Aristóbulo, buscando entender quem era essa figura tão pouco documentada, mas também e mais importante, conectá-la a um contexto histórico adequado, entendendo o filósofo em seu próprio ambiente social e cultural. Como muitos estudiosos tradicionais do século XIX duvidaram da própria existência de Aristóbulo, alegan...