Hellenism ISA Notes

[2025-12-08 Mon]

1. Notes

Earlier Egyptian cities were built inland along the Nile.
Alexander founded a new city bearing his name, placed outward toward the Mediterranean, facing his Greek homeland.
He believed he was visited by Homer the bard who pointed him to the island of Pharos.
Alexander planned to link Pharos to the mainland, creating an artificial harbor that later became the busiest port on Earth.
Alexander sought knowledge; the ambition was to make Alexandria one of the most expansive intellectual centers in the world.

Alexandria wasn’t an ordinary city growing out of Bronze or Classical Age traditions. It was a deliberate creation, the vision of a highly educated man taught by Aristotle. Knowledge was built into its blueprint.
Universities were established in Alexandria, where provocative and experimental ideas were openly discussed.

Alexandria fostered a buzzing environment where different cultures met and mingled. It was designed for connection.
It became a gathering place for great thinkers, the largest storehouse of knowledge the world had ever seen.
Its ancient libraries have long since vanished.
A new library now stands in Alexandria.
The original library was vast in scope: everything was meant to be stored there. works from across the world, all handwritten on papyrus.
Scribes were sent to other cities to copy texts so Alexandria could house them.
They invented the earliest version of the modern catalog system: listing author, title, genre, type of work, and the number of lines. Scribes were paid per line.
Scholars also commented on existing works and added new ones.
Access to this immense information base allowed Alexandrian thinkers to revolutionize scientific thought.

Hellenistic rule increased the scattering of Jewish communities throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean.
Many Jews were drawn to Egypt by Alexandria’s success and economic opportunities; it was not a place of exile for them.
Jews living outside Israel were more vulnerable to Hellenistic influence than the more conservative Judean Jews.
Jews in Judah and Jews in the diaspora responded differently to Hellenization.
Alexandria served as the cultural and intellectual center of the Hellenistic world.
Jews in Alexandria had access to the scholarship and learning of the Library of Alexandria.
Jews actively contributed to Alexandrian life.
To integrate into Egyptian society, Jews adopted elements of Hellenistic culture. They translated the Torah into Greek and incorporated Greek philosophical ideas into Jewish thought.
Balancing Jewish traditions with Greek cultural practices helped them establish a stable community in a place where local resentment could exist.
Despite Hellenization, Jews remained connected to their Jewish identity.

Alexandria was founded in 331 BCE.
Jews had settled in Alexandria by the early 3rd century BCE.
They formed an organized community with recognized leadership.
Alexandria had a Jewish ethnarch who oversaw Jewish affairs and handled internal legal matters.
Jewish residents did not abandon their religion or adopt polytheistic Hellenistic practices.
Alexandrian Jewish philosophers attempted to spread monotheism and encourage respect for Jewish values.
The Septuagint became the foundation of Jewish-Hellenistic literature.

Alexandria had a “Great Synagogue,” described as a richly adorned basilica-like structure.
It functioned as a gathering place for the city’s diverse Jewish groups.
Seventy-one seats were designated for the seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin.
A wooden bimah stood in the center.
Seating was organized by profession, helping newcomers or poorer Jews identify fellow craftsmen and find work through them.

In the 2nd century BCE, some Jews moved to Alexandria because it was safer than regions pressured by Antiochus IV’s forced Hellenization.
By the mid-1st century CE, the Jewish population in the city had grown to around 200,000.
Seventy-two scholars were traditionally said to have completed the translation of the Hebrew Bible independently.
A common tradition claims Ptolemy II requested the translation to enrich his library. In practice, it was also needed because Egyptian Jews were more fluent in Greek than Hebrew.

The Torah (Old Testament) was translated into Greek. The king of Alexandria sought permission from the Cohen Gadol to carry out the translation and invited seventy-two Jewish sages to complete it in parallel.
All seventy-two versions reportedly matched, giving it the name “Septuagint” (“of the seventy”).
The translation allowed non-Jews to read the Bible, spreading knowledge of Judean history and religious ideas.
As a result, many non-Jews adopted Jewish customs.

Notes that link to this note (AKA backlinks).