ple, the Jews in 3 Maccabees and the Christians in Hebrews and Hermas,
but in other instances this was not the case. Usually only two of the major
players are in view—when Jews shift to paganism or Christianity, or Chris-
tians to Judaism or paganism—but in at least one instance (Pionius) we see
all three groups interacting at the same time. We also have some evidence
(Timocrates and the Zeus association) that encourages us to broaden our
concept of religious rivalry to include competition within the larger enti-
ties that we typically take as our points of comparison.
Mostly, there is little hint of missionary activity, though Justin’s refer-
ence to Christian defectors may imply such activity on the part of the syn-
agogue. As expected, the pull of social and family networks had a
considerable effect, as can be seen in the warnings against intermarriage
in Philo and Josephus, in Philo’s depiction of the solicitations of family
and friends to join in pagan worship, and in the dilemma faced by wealthy
Christians in Hermas. In some cases, the attraction is clearly a previous
form of religious life, as with Josephus’s proselyte defectors and the Chris-
tians in Hebrews. In addition, it is worth noting that a few of our examples
appear to be people on a highly individual quest: Peregrinus with his switch-
ing from one thing to another, and Tiberius Alexander following his intel-
lectual doubts and his advancing career.
The reasons given for defection are quite varied, ranging through hos-
tile pressure, career advancement, social attachments, prior religious expe-
rience, and intellectual doubt: a rich enough array to alert us to the manifold
circumstances and motives that could prompt people to change their reli-
gious allegiance. This warns us never to ignore the complexity of the phe-
nomena we study. The answer to the questions of how religious and
quasi-religious groups interacted and why some of them eventually gained
the upper hand will have to be as complex and as nuanced as the explana-
tions we can offer for defections. And since the reasons for defection, given
in ancient and modern sources, are, as some have noted, often a mirror
image of the reasons for the attraction and retention of converts, studying
the one may be an indirect way of studying the other.
Rivalry and Defection 71