Hellenism and Hybridity
Hellenism and Hybridity
Did the Jews Learn How to Be Jewish from the Greeks?
This chapter examines the theory advanced by the American scholar Shaye Cohen stating that the Greeks played a role in the formation of Judaism, and that Hellenization is the process that created the Jews. In his 1999 book The Beginnings of Jewishness, Cohen argues that it was the Judeans' imitation of Greek culture during the Hellenistic Age that transformed their culture into Judaism. Essential to the idea of the Hellenistic Age as conceived by scholars is the notion of hybridity, symbiosis, or melting together. The chapter considers Cohen's theory as another option for understanding Jewish origins as well as the role of foreigners in the origin stories that scholars tell about the Jews. It also compares Cohen's theory with that of Daniel Boyarin, who claims that Judaism developed into an ethno-religion under the influence of Christianity.
Keywords: hybridity, Shaye Cohen, Greeks, Judaism, Hellenization, Jews, The Beginnings of Jewishness, Hellenistic Age, Jewish origins, Daniel Boyarin
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