hellenism of alexandria and its effects on judaism
... Ptolemy ruled in Egypt with Alexandria as its capital. Alexandria became the cultural and scientific center of the Hellenistic world. ... Being comparatively new, its characteristics: inhabitants, public life, art and literature arose out of a combination of all that had been of the ancient world. The population of Alexandria was about a million. ... Alexandria was known as the city were three worlds met: Europe, Asia and Africa; each brought or received their treasures from the city. Above all things Alexandria was a commercial city. ... However, it was in Alexandria that Judaism and the Diaspora flourished. ... The synagogue also was home to the seventy Jewish elders who formed the eldership of Alexandria. ... The first extreme was the Hellenistic values that were prevalent in Alexandria. ... Hellenism had integrated into most aspects of the culture and was not easy to escape its influence. ... Accusation of Hellenism’s mannerisms for everyday living became an economic necessity for common Jews. Hellenism although embraced strongest by the wealthier Jews had spread across the social stratum. ... In Alexandria a Literary School had developed. ... The transcendence of the Literary School of Alexandria reflected the array of thoughts that flourished in Hellenic Alexandria. In Alexandria eastern mysticism and the Greek philosophies of Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Zeno fused creating a unique Alexandrian literary school. ... The process of assimilation among the Jews in Alexandria was a result of pressure from the Greeks and the Jews own attractions to hellenization. ... “Alexandria- A Historical Outline. ... “Alexandria and Rome-The Jewish Communities in the Capitals of Western Civilization. ... “Hellenism and the Jewish Afterlife. ... “Alexandria and Hellenistic Judaism.