Epic Poetry and Drama
Epic poetry is represented by Philo the Epic Poet and Theodotus. Other
poetic texts belong to different categories. TheSibylline Oracles,for in-
stance, represent a specific type oforacular poetry. Finally, we have one
Jewish tragedy on the exodus, written by an Egyptian Jew named Ezekiel
who wrote in Alexandria in the middle of the second centuryb.c.e.He
wrote his play in iambic trimeters, the standard meter used in Greek
drama. He relied on the Septuagint but introduced several interesting hag-
gadic embellishments. The most famous and debated scene has Moses re-
port a dream that he had in which he was enthroned in heaven. His drama
was certainly performed for a Jewish audience, perhaps in a synagogue.The Influence and Reshaping of Greek Ideas
In most cases, the Jewish authors writing in Greek show a great familiarity
with Greek literary themes and ideas, not only from the classical period
but also from the Hellenistic age. Thisis especially true of the poetic texts.
Theodotus uses Homeric expressions in a very skillful way, so that the fight
of Simeon and Levi against Shechem and Hamor is reminiscent of Ho-
meric battle scenes. In particular, the image of Shechem on his knees,
clutching at the knees of Levi, recalls the image of Lycaon clutching the
knees of Achilles, who slays him (Iliad21.65). But Theodotus also uses
non-Homeric terms that occur in Hellenistic epicpoetry. Philo the Epic
Poet’s language is notably obscure, and his style has been characterized as
pretentious, but it is actually quite typical of this form of Hellenistic epic.
Pseudo-Phocylides was clever enough for his dactylic hexameters written
in the old Ionic dialect to be considered authentic for many centuries.
Not only were Jewish authors writing in Greek able to imitate the
styles and literary models of well-known Greek poets and tragedians, but
they were also very familiar with Greek mythology, historiography, and
philosophy. The Jewish “historians” were able to connect biblical figures to
Greek, Babylonian, and Egyptian divine or heroic figures. For instance,
Pseudo-Eupolemus identifies Bel with Cronos and presents him as the
grandfather of Canaan, whom he considers the ancestor of the Phoeni-
cians. He also equates Atlas with Enoch. In theDe Praemiis et Poenis(23),
Philo of Alexandria writes that Noah and Deucalion are the same person.
At the beginning of hisJewish Antiquities,Josephus allusively establishes a238katell berthelotEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:05 PM