A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse

A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse
Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Total Pages : 392
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780691243443
ISBN-13 : 0691243441
Rating : 4/5 (441 Downloads)

Book Synopsis A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse by : Yaron Z. Eliav

Download or read book A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse written by Yaron Z. Eliav and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2023-05-16 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative account of Jewish encounters with the public baths of ancient Rome Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds. They were places suffused with nudity, sex, and magic. A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse reveals how Jews navigated this space with ease and confidence, engaging with Roman bath culture rather than avoiding it. In this landmark interdisciplinary work of cultural history, Yaron Eliav uses the Roman bathhouse as a social laboratory to reexamine how Jews interacted with Graeco-Roman culture. He reconstructs their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the baths and the activities that took place there, documenting their pleasures as well as their anxieties and concerns. Archaeologists have excavated hundreds of bathhouse facilities across the Mediterranean. Graeco-Roman writers mention the bathhouse frequently, and rabbinic literature contains hundreds of references to the baths. Eliav draws on the archaeological and literary record to offer fresh perspectives on the Jews of antiquity, developing a new model for the ways smaller and often weaker groups interact with large, dominant cultures. A compelling and richly evocative work of scholarship, A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse challenges us to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Graeco-Roman society, shedding new light on how cross-cultural engagement shaped Western civilization.


A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse Related Books

A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse
Language: en
Pages: 392
Authors: Yaron Z. Eliav
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2023-05-16 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

GET EBOOK

A provocative account of Jewish encounters with the public baths of ancient Rome Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to scul
A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse
Language: en
Pages: 392
Authors: Yaron Eliav
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2023-05-16 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

GET EBOOK

"This monograph argues that Roman bathhouses were laboratories in which Jews interacted with Graeco-Roman culture. It tells the story of the Jews who frequented
Jews and Entertainment in the Ancient World
Language: en
Pages: 322
Authors: Loren R. Spielman
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-09-15 - Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

GET EBOOK

Countering the traditional belief that Jews in antiquity were predominantly disinterested in the popular entertainments of the Greek and Roman world, Loren R. S
Antiquities of the Jews ; Book - XVIII
Language: en
Pages: 74
Authors: Flavius Josephus
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-12-16 - Publisher: Alpha Edition

GET EBOOK

The book, "" Antiquities of the Jews; Book - XVIII "", has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we h
Josephus, Paul, and the Fate of Early Christianity
Language: en
Pages: 371
Authors: F. B. A. Asiedu
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-03-01 - Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

GET EBOOK

Flavius Josephus, the priest from Jerusalem who was affiliated with the Pharisees, is our most important source for Jewish life in the first century. His notice