Jews and Greeks in the Eastern Mediterranean Diaspora
A Problem of Sources
We have far better information concerning the relations between Jews and
Greeks in the eastern Mediterranean Diaspora. The problem is that our
sources—afewpapyriandinscriptions, quoted fragments of several
Greek and Roman documents, and literary records — always concentrate
on a given place at a given time and fail to provide a comprehensive histor-
ical context. Moreover, we often get the impression that our literary
sources — mainly the narratives of Philo and Josephus — omit as much as
they include, so that we have to read between the lines. Great caution is re-
quired when drawing general conclusions from our scraps of evidence.
Nevertheless, all of our sources clearly point both to the integration of
Jews in society and to controversies between Jews and Greeks.Social and Economic Integration
Josephus tells us that in Cyrene there were three thousand well-to-do Jews
(J.W.7.445). The numbers are certainly exaggerated, but the existence of a
high Jewish society is confirmed by the epigraphic material, which attests
the presence of Jews among the ephebes of Cyrene, in the highest rank of
the administration (CJZC6 [late first centuryb.c.e.] and 7 [3/4c.e.]). A
Jew named Eleazar son of Jason is found in the list of the “guardians of the
law”(nomophylakes)(CJZC8 [60/61c.e.]), a position that entailed consid-
erable responsibility and required education, experience, and the confi-
dence of the civic leaders. At Teucheira, among the names scratched on the
walls of the gymnasium are some that are probably Jewish (CJZC41), and
an inscription attests the rise of individual Jews into positions of civic re-
sponsibility (CJZC36). Josephus mentions that wealthy Jews in Asia Minor
were required to perform liturgical duties (Ant.16.28), a role that suggests
a high degree of civic responsibility. At Iasos there was at least one and
probably several Jewish ephebes, and an inscription from Hypaepa indi-
cates the existence of an association of Jewish youths, apparently ephebes,
who had graduated from the gymnasium while retaining their Jewish
identity (CIJ755).
In Alexandria, Egyptian Jews actively participated in the economic life
of the city. Philo mentions Jewish shipowners, merchants, and money-376miriam pucci ben zeevEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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