Private Associations and Jewish Communities in the Hellenistic and Roman Cities. Edited by Benedikt Eckhardt
This volume is a welcome addition to the discussion of ancient associations. It makes clear that a better understanding of Jewish communities requires a knowledge of association cultures in the Mediterranean. Edited by Benedikt Eckhardt, it contains nine chapters by seven authors. One recurring them...
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| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2020
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2020, Volume: 71, Issue: 2, Pages: 842-845 |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This volume is a welcome addition to the discussion of ancient associations. It makes clear that a better understanding of Jewish communities requires a knowledge of association cultures in the Mediterranean. Edited by Benedikt Eckhardt, it contains nine chapters by seven authors. One recurring theme throughout the chapters is the discussion of associations vis-à-vis Jewish groups, either on a more general level or through intriguing case studies (such as chapters 5 and 6, and the insightful microstudies of Jewish communities in chapter 8). Additionally, the complex nature of Greco-Roman associations and the challenges inherent to comparative studies are debated on multiple occasions. In the second chapter, Eckhardt discusses the usage of the term ‘Greco-Roman’, and whether it should even be used at all. He points out that association cultures differed in many ways throughout the ancient world, and classifying something as Greco-Roman is unavoidably a huge generalization. On the other hand, Eckhardt—like other researchers focusing on associations—inevitably runs into difficulties when trying to formulate a categorization for associations. Can we speak of a Greek association culture or a Roman association culture, and were these different? One of the biggest difficulties in categorizing associations is that, even within a single city, there were a wide range of different associations, each with their own customs and regulations. Therefore, Eckhardt comes to the conclusion that the classifying term Greco-Roman can be used, depending on the questions one wants to ask. He notes that, when it comes to associations, one defining feature is their lack of overall organizational structures. On the local level, an association devoted to, for instance, Dionysos may have had some networks connecting it to other similar associations, but we have very little actual evidence of any translocal links between associations. The relevant question, as pointed out by Eckhardt, is whether or not the groups (associations, Jewish communities, or Christ-groups) viewed themselves as belonging to larger organizational networks. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flaa110 |