continuum of Jewish identities from the most Hellenized to the most
ardently anti-Hellenistic.
Upon his arrival in the Land of Israel, Alexander found a country with a sta-
ble polity and economy, governed by three rival elites in Jerusalem: a coterie of
affluent Jewish patricians, the priesthood, and a group of scribes known as the
gerousia (council of elders). Alexander, self-modeled in the image of the
Persian emperors, emulated the Persian policy regarding conquered indige-
nous people: he allowed the Jews to govern themselves largely undisturbed, as
long as they paid tribute and swore loyalty. Thus, the Temple and priesthood
remained intact, and the patricians and gerousia continued to share in local
administration. Upon his death in 323, Alexander instructed that his empire
be given to the strongest of his entourage. This led to a brief but decisive
struggle between his leading generals, and the division of his empire into three
parts. The eastern regions, including Egypt and the Land of Israel, were
grabbed by Ptolemy, or Ptolemaeus; the central regions by Seleucus. The Land
of Israel, situated on the border of the newly created Ptolemaic and Seleucid
empires, became a point of contention between them. By 301, Ptolomaeus had
conquered the Land of Israel, and would hold on to it until 198.
Ptolemaeus, like Alexander, ruled as an eastern-style sovereign and main-
tained Alexander’s policy of allowing indigenous peoples to govern
themselves. He stationed military garrisons in the Land of Israel, and began
construction on a few Greek poleis, but otherwise left Jewish life alone.
Nonetheless, Hellenism made its way in, partly via the garrisons and Greek
cities; but also as Jews, without the need for coercion, voluntarily embraced
the new and alluring culture. By the end of the third century B.C.E., there was
a conspicuous presence of Hellenized Jews in the Land of Israel.
The Jewish attitude toward Hellenism remained unchanged as Judea and
the other parts of the Land of Israel came under the rule of the Seleucid
Kingdom in 198. After King Antiochus III conquered the Land of Israel in
198 with the help of a supportive Jewish constituency, he expressed his grat-
itude by recognizing the existing policy of minimal outside interference. He
also exempted the priests and gerousia from paying taxes, protected the peo-
ple from the excesses of his soldiers, and declared the Temple in Jerusalem to
be sacred space – off limits to foreigners and unclean animals.
The hands-off policy of Ptolemaeus and Antiochus III coincided with a
growing internal dispute within the priesthood between two rival families,
the Oniads and the Tobiads. In retrospect, this was a struggle not only
between two families for priestly hegemony, but also between two attitudes
toward the boundary between religious and non-religious dimensions of
Hellenistic civilization. The high priest in 198 was an Oniad priest, Simon II,
whose father, Onias II, had been vanquished by Joseph ben Tobias. As high
priest from 220 to 190, Simon II regained some of the family influence that
had been taken by the Tobiads. He was minimally affected by Hellenistic
culture. In 200, several of the Tobiads had allied with the Seleucids, breaking
The challenge of Hellenism 27