A Research On The Identity Of Egyptian Jewish In The Hellenistic Period

The Hellenistic period usually refers to the period from 323 BC to 30 BC.It had a strong hellenistic flavor from the death of Alexander to the fall of the ptolemaic dynasty by Rome.Alexander established the Alexander empire across three continents,which laid the foundation for the great communication and integration between different civilizations,thus opening the prolusion of Hellenization.Although this empire was a flash in the pan,it was divided into three hellenistic kingdoms.The rulers of each country continued to pursue the hellenistic policy,which made the cultural communication in the hellenistic period enter the climax stage.Three kingdom of Hellenization,mainly included kingdom of Egypt Ptolemy,Asian seleucus kingdom and Greek Macedonia.Among them,the ptolemaic Egypt is the longest time,and the degree of Hellenization is more thoroughly.What's more,the capital city,Alexandria,which was the economic,political and cultural center assembled nation from all over the world and attracted a large number of the jewish to gather here.Therefore,this paper mainly studies the jewish identity in ptolemaic Egypt during the hellenistic period.Jewish identity generally includes two aspects: one is blood identity,the other is religious identity.Due to limited energy,this thesis focuses on the religious identity of the jewish nation.The jewish who lived in ptolemaic Egypt still insisted on their jewish identity,their religious beliefs and national tradition under the siege of Greek culture.How did the jewish of Egypt remain jewish and not be assimilated? What are the Greek factors that influence jewish identity? What problems did the jewish people encounter in the process of identification? This paper elaborates these problems through four chapters.The first chapter is about the basis of Egyptian jewish identity.Ptolemy's tolerant policy provided a favorable political environment,and the establishment of Alexandria jewish community played an important role.The second chapter describes the religious identity of Egyptian jewish.Although they are scattered in Egypt,they still stick to the common national memory,the monotheistic belief of Judaism,and the jewish festivals.The third chapter is the influence of Greek culture on jewish identity,including the popularity of Greek sports,the usage of Greek names and the nationwide promotion of Greek.The rulers of the ptolemaic dynasty vigorously carried out the hellenistic policy,which had a certain impact on the jewish identity.In the last chapter,there are two major problems faced by the jewish people in the process of identification,which are reflected in the jews' struggle for urban citizenship in politics and the anti-semitism and exclusion of the jewish people in Greece.