Judeophobia by Steven Stark-Riemer taught via Zoom.

Were Jews in the ancient world just one of many minority groups against whom the dominant majority expressed xenophobia?  Or were they singled out because of their unique beliefs and practices in a polytheistic society?  From the first recorded demonstration of anti-Jewish violence on Elephantine island in southern Egypt in 410 BCE, through antiquity’s most violent eruption in 38 CE at Alexandria in northern Egypt, to the 380 CE declaration of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, our discussion will be informed by evidence from archaeology, ancient papyri, and the writings of Hellenistic, Roman and early Christian authors.  We will consider whether early Church leaders understood as a threat to Christian identity the behavior of Gentile believers who also observed Jewish practices, thereby giving rise to Early Christianity’s antipathy toward Judaism.

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