Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Classical Period
- 1 Antisemitism in the Pagan World
- 2 New Testament Origins of Christian Anti-Judaism
- 3 Anti-Judaism in Early Christian Writings
- 4 Church Fathers and Antisemitism from the 2nd Century through Augustine (end of 450 CE)
- 5 Christians, Jews, and Judaism in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, c. 150–400 CE
- 6 Christianizing the Roman Empire
- 7 Antisemitism in Byzantium, 4th–7th Centuries
- Part II Medieval Times
- Part III The Modern Era
- Appendix The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: Working Definition of Antisemitism
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- References
1 - Antisemitism in the Pagan World
from Part I - The Classical Period
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2022
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Classical Period
- 1 Antisemitism in the Pagan World
- 2 New Testament Origins of Christian Anti-Judaism
- 3 Anti-Judaism in Early Christian Writings
- 4 Church Fathers and Antisemitism from the 2nd Century through Augustine (end of 450 CE)
- 5 Christians, Jews, and Judaism in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, c. 150–400 CE
- 6 Christianizing the Roman Empire
- 7 Antisemitism in Byzantium, 4th–7th Centuries
- Part II Medieval Times
- Part III The Modern Era
- Appendix The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: Working Definition of Antisemitism
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- References
Summary
In what sense and to what extent did antisemitism (or anti-Judaism) exist in the pre-Christian world? The attitudes of numerous pagan writers and various episodes of oppression are explored in order to ascertain whether Jews encountered hostility on ethnic, religious, ideological, or political grounds, and whether any of these experiences amounted to antisemitism.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism , pp. 25 - 41Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
References
Further Reading
Chazan, R., From Anti-Judaism to Anti-Semitism: Ancient and Medieval Christian Constructions of Jewish History (Cambridge, 2016). Confines itself largely to early Christian and medieval attitudes toward Jews but makes a useful distinction between anti-Judaism and antisemitism.Google Scholar
Feldman, L. H., Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World (Princeton, NJ, 1993). A broad-gauged survey of Jews’ relations with non-Jews from the Hellenistic period through late antiquity.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gager, J. G., The Origins of Anti-Semitism (Oxford, 1985). A balanced and intelligent presentation of opinions about Jews by pagans, ancient Christians, and modern scholars.Google Scholar
Gruen, E. S., Diaspora: Jews amidst Greeks and Romans (Cambridge, MA, 2002). Treats the Jewish experience in ancient Alexandria, Asia Minor, and Rome.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gruen, E. S., Rethinking the Other in Antiquity (Princeton, NJ, 2011). Discusses Greek and Roman attitudes toward a wide variety of peoples, including Jews.Google Scholar
Isaac, B., The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity (Princeton, NJ, 2004). A wide-ranging study of “proto-racism” in antiquity, with an important long chapter on the Jews.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nirenberg, D., Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition (New York, 2013). Traces the concept of anti-Judaism from antiquity to the Holocaust and finds its roots in ancient Egyptian attitudes.Google Scholar
Schäfer, P. Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World (Cambridge, MA, 1997). Makes a strong argument for widespread hostility toward Jews, stemming from Egypt and spreading throughout.Google Scholar
Sevenster, J. N. The Roots of Pagan Anti-Semitism in the Ancient World (Leiden, 1975). An extended argument tracing antisemitism to the perception of Jews as separatists and xenophobes.CrossRefGoogle Scholar