as an ephebein the appropriate athletic contests. And as Barclay himself points
out, Philo’s “familiarity with theatrical and sporting events (chariot races, boxing,
wrestling and pancratist contests) indicates that he enjoyed the regular entertain-
ments of Alexandrian citizens” (Barclay 1996: 114; see esp. Philo, Providence
2.58, Freedom (Probus) 26; see also L. Feldman 1993: 58 – 67). Yet Philo’s theological
monotheism is unimpeachable, as is his expressed loyalty to what he understands to
be the norms of the Law of Moses. And the Jewish community of first-century ce
Cyrenaica supported and had dedicatory inscriptions placed in the city’s amphithe-
ater. Thus some Diaspora Jews, as individuals and as communities, seem to have
been able to make the distinction between direct and indirect participation in activ-
ities dedicated to pagan deities, and in so doing bolstered their participation in civic
life and its services.
As much as detractors may have criticized Jews for their non-participation in the
pagan cults of their respective cities, Roman authorities recognized and accepted this
non-participation and regularly provided dispensation from the pagan-cult involve-
ments. Moreover, synagogues were tolerated, even respected, as cultic sites in the
civic landscape of temples and could be located in prime civic space – the synagogue
of Sardis being the most stunning example. Early Christian churches, by contrast,
did not enjoy the same privileges.
However, this does not mean that Greco-Roman Diaspora Jews did not admit of
the existence of other supernatural beings, both malevolent and benevolent. As was
the case for their brethren in the Land of Israel, late antique Jews in the Diaspora
understood their world (heaven and earth) to be populated by myriads of unseen
entities. Some worked evil and brought disease (namely, demons) and others
(angelic or good spirits) could be called upon (or compelled) to help thwart these
evils. Curiously enough, among the names found in lists of angels in Sefer Harazim,
a late antique Jewish text of theurgy (or “white” magic) are the names of some clas-
sical Greek gods, such as Helios, Aphrodite, and Hermes (see Sefer Harazim4:60ff,
1:176ff, ed. Margolioth 1966; see discussions in Barclay 1966: 122, and Lightstone
1984).
The incantations and theurgic rites of Sefer Harazimresemble many collected by
Preisendanz in Papyri Graecae Magicae(PGM) (1973 – 4 [1928–31], 4: 1169–226,
3009– 85, 13: 335– 40, 22a: 17–27, 22b: 1–26, 25: 1– 42; see also Betz 1986), a
number of which have been identified as “Jewish” and many others of which have
been deemed to have been influenced by Jewish practices. “Angelic” beings are called
upon or compelled by incantations, votive rites, potions, and amulets to assure health,
love, and success or to counter the suspected malevolent wishes and spells of others
(see Sefer Harazim1:28ff, ed. Margolioth 1966, for incense offered to angels; see
also Barclay 1996: 119–23; Lightstone 1984; Goodenough 1952– 65: 2. 153–207).
Preisendanz also included in his collection (PGM) a more extended Greco-Roman
Jewish text, the Leiden Papyrus, which can only be characterized as a hermetic-like
cosmological-cosmogenic treatise, “The Eighth Book of Moses,” in which the
Jewish God effects matters in the cosmos through a pantheon of associated super-
natural figures (McBrearty 1986). Finally, Goodenough (1952– 65: vol. 2) has col-
lected many amulets of Jewish origin.
Roman Diaspora Judaism 361