ings and the tendentioustestimoniaof later Christians. The one exception
is his role in the embassy to Gaius following the pogrom of 38c.e.
Philo was born into a family with multiple citizenships: he was a citi-
zen of the Jewishpoliteumaof Alexandria, the Greek city of Alexandria,
and Rome. At least his brother and nephew must have held these citizen-
ships, and it is likely that they were hereditary. His world was therefore
complex. The complexities began with education. Philo received a thor-
ough Jewish education, as his intimate familiarity with the LXX attests. It
does not appear that he knew Hebrew or Aramaic; his Jewish education
was apparently in Greek, as would have been true for most Diaspora Jews.
It may have taken place in his home or perhaps in a house of prayer, al-
though firm evidence for the latter is from a later period. He would also
have received a standard Greek education. He would have attended a gym-
nasium for his primary training in grammar, mathematics, and music
(Congr.74–76). When he was thirteen, he would have officially enrolled in
the gymnasium for the ephebate, a Greek cultural tradition carried over
from the days when Greek city-states required it as preparation for mili-
tary service. Its later Hellenistic form required training in literature and
athletics, the latter as a remnant of its former function. It served as the
right of entry to citizenship in Alexandria. Later in Philo’s life, Claudius
shut the door on Jewish claims to Alexandrian citizenship, a decision that
closed the ephebate to them as well (CPJ153 lines 83-95).
Philo’s Jewish and Greek educations are reflected in his lifestyle. He was
unambiguously committed to Jewishhalakot.He criticized fellow Jews who
thought that the underlying meaning of Jewish rituals negated the necessity
of their observance. Philo argued that they were essential markers of com-
munity identity (Migr.89–93). In particular, he emphasized the importance
of circumcision (Spec.1.1-12), Sabbath observance (Somn.2.123), the cele-
bration of Yom Kippur (Spec.1.186), dietary regulations (Spec.4.100), and
endogenous marriage (Spec.3.29) as essential markers of Jewish identity.
On one occasion he made a pilgrimage to the Jerusalem Temple (Prov.
2.64). At the same time, he did not think that Jewishhalakotprevented him
from enjoying Hellenistic culture. He appears to have enjoyed a lifelong
love of athletics, first as a participant while in the gymnasium and then as
an observer (Spec.2.230 andAgr.113–15;Prob.26, 110;Prov.2.58). He com-
mented on what he saw at the theater on at least two occasions (Ebr.177;
Prob.141). While plays such as Ezekiel’sExagZg 3 may suggest that there was
a Jewish theater in Alexandria, Philo explicitly commented on a Euripidean
play, which indicates that he attended either a Greek theater or Jewish pro-254sterling, runia, niehoff, and van den hoekEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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