Overview of the Greco-Roman Period               Robert A. Kraft 
Using the "PERSIA" mnemonic formula


POLITICAL Survey:

Rise of Alexander the Great (d. 323 bce)
"Hellenism" as a phenomenon (esp. urban)
Divisions of Alexander's World Empire
Seleukids -- Antioch in Western Syria (vulnerable)
Ptolemys -- Alexandria in Nile Delta (defensible)

Unrest in the East: Parthia, Palestine
Roman Expansion towards the East
Hasmonean/Maccabean Revolt against Seleukids (168 bce)
Treaty Negotiations with Rome

Independent Jewish Kingdom in Israel (165-63 bce)
Judah "the Maccabee" and his brothers
John Hyrcan (135-104 bce): a highpoint
Squabbles and Dissention
Pompey Intervenes for Rome (63 bce)
Ptolemaic Kingdom swallowed up by Rome (25 bce)
Parthia remains as eastern limit of Roman world

Jewish Client State under Rome: 
Herod the Great (d. 4 bce)
Fragmentation: 
  Judea under Archaelaus, then under direct Roman rule (6 ce- )
  Galilee-Perea under Herod Antipas (4 bce - 39 ce) 
  Trachonitis under Herod Philip (4 bce - 34 ce)
The "First Revolt" against Rome, fall of Jerusalem (66-70 ce)
The "Second Revolt" against Rome, expulsion (132-135 ce)

Jewish Situations Elsewhere:
  Under Parthian rule, apparent prosperity (little is known)
  In Egypt and Alexandria, mostly flourishing
  Asia Minor, Western Syria, Greece, Rome, etc. (little known)


ECONOMIC Notes:

Prosperity at some levels --
The Herodian house
Alexander the "Alabarch" of Alexandria (brother of Philo)


RELIGIOUS Considerations:

Role of the Jerusalem Temple and its Leaders
Attitudes to "ancestral customs" in Greco-Roman World
Role of the "synagogue" and emergence of Christian "church"
What is going on in Parthia/Babylon??


SOCIAL Issues:

"Ancestral Customs" (e.g. circumcision) and Greek Education
Levels of "assimilation" in Syro-Palestine and elsewhere


INTELLECTUAL Accomplishments:

Philo & Alexandrian Jewish Elite
Josephus & Jewish PR in Rome
Literacy among early Christians -- Paul, Jesus traditions, etc.


AESTHETIC/ARTS:

Tendency to resist or avoid much involvement
Herodian Architectural Projects
Synagogue Mosaics, Architecture (mostly later)

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