After Alexander the Macedonian, Philip’s son, who came from the land of Kittim [Greece], had defeated Darius, king of the Persians and Medes, he became king in his place, having first ruled in Greece. –I Maccabees 1

Alexander the Great changed the fortunes of the Jews forever. For centuries a quiet province at the edge of the Persian Empire, Judah quickly found itself caught between two rival Greek kingdoms in Syria and Egypt at the geographical center of a vast Mediterranean empire. The great challenge for the Jews of the Hellenistic age was maintaining their Jewish identity in the face of a culture that claimed superiority and, too many, seemed superior.

Quickly integrating into the Hellenistic world, Jews, more than other nations, developed internal boundaries to distinguish themselves from the Greeks. The centrality of the Jerusalem Temple, the Biblical commandments, the one God’s unique relationship with his Chosen People, Biblical food laws, the Sabbath, disdain for idolatry, and particularly circumcision were all fortified as cultural markers. Jews took these markers of identity with them as they emigrated near and far throughout the breadth of the Hellenistic world, translated Scripture into Greek so that they might continue to study God’s word in their adopted language, and established major centers of settlement in Alexandria in Egypt and in Asia Minor.

Overview

1. Hellenism 332-167, Teddy Kollek and Moshe Pearlman, Jerusalem- Sacred City of Mankind, Steimatzky Ltd., Jerusalem, 1991.
2. Overview- Jews and Judaism from Alexander to the Maccabees (332-63 BCE)
3. Biblical History- From Alexander the Great to the Roman Conquest, 332-37 BCE, Steven Feldman, COJS.

Artifacts

1. 1. Bust of Alexander the Great, 340-330 BCE
   2. Alexander the Great Coin, 340-323 BCE
   3. Alexander Mosaic, 333 BCE
   4. Gold Earring, 332-37 BCE
   5. Silver Tetradrachma Coins from Ashkelon, 4th century BCE
   6. Clay Tablet, 331 BCE
   7. Death of Alexander the Great, 323 BCE
   8. Silver Drachma Coin, 323 BCE
   9. Ptolemy I Soter, 323-283 BCE
   10. Aristotle, 384-322 BCE
   11. Coin of Seleucus I, 305-281 BCE
   12. First Royal Portrait, 305 BCE
   13. Hoard of Coins, 300 BCE
   14. Egyptian Coin, 300 BCE
   15. The Library of Alexandria, 3rd century BCE
   16. Letter of Zenon, 3rd century BCE
   17. Silver Tetradrachmas from Dor, 3rd century BCE
   18. Jerusalem Stamped Handles, 3rd-2nd century BCE
   19. Kiryat Sefer Coins, 3rd-2nd century BCE
   20. Dan Inscription, 2nd-3rd century BCE
   21. Berenice Coin, 288-246 BCE
   22. The Septuagint, 285-246 BCE
   23. The Lighthouse of Alexandria, 285-247 BCE
   24. Coins of Antiochus I, 280-261 BCE
   25. Zenon Papyrus, 259 BCE
   26. Letter from Tobias, 257 BCE
   27. Samaritan Synagogue Inscriptions, 250-50 BCE
   28. Hannibal, 247-183 BCE
   29. Ptolemy IV Philopater, 222-204 BCE
   30. Coin of Ptolemy V, 204-180 BCE
   31. Rosetta Stone, 196 BCE
   32. The Oldest Marriage Contract, 176 BCE
   33. Coin of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, c. 169/8-164 BCE
   34. Silver Tetradrachm of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, 164 BCE
   35. Papyrus Faud 266, 2nd-1st century BCE
   36. Hellenistic Bullae
   37. Hellenistic Oil Lamp
   38. Pharos Beaker
   39. Seal Impression on a Jug Handle
   40. Zeus of Carmel Statue Fragment
   41. Terracotta Statuette of Aphrodite