Aphrodite and the Rabbis

This “highly accessible” history ”tells a story of the deep influence of Roman culture on the Judaism of Talmudic times” after the destruction of Jerusalem ( Commentary ). Surprising but true: - The Passover Seder is a Greco-Roman symposium banquet - The Talmud rabbis presented themselves as Stoic philosophers - Synagogue buildings were Roman basilicas - Hellenistic rhetoric professors educated sons of well-to-do Jews - Zeus-Helios is depicted in synagogue mosaics across ancient Israel - The Jew