Sarah Pearce – författare

This volume gathers sixteen essays on monarchy and power in the Hellenistic period and charts a new approach to Hellenistic history by focusing attention on biblical and Jewish evidence and reading that evidence in new ways. The essays consider the kings, queens, and power figures of the Hellenistic dynasties, as well as ancient Israelite kings, the Babylonian and Persian rulers of the Bible, Parthians, and Romans. The volume also represents a new kind of interpretation of the Greek Bible (Septuagint) and of the Jewish literature of the period, setting them in the context of Hellenistic political thought and practice.

Against the commonly held opinion that ancient Judaism was an artless culture, this sumptuously illustrated book offers new ways of looking at art in Jewish antiquity. Leading experts (P. Alexander, H.G.M. Williamson, J. Heath, S. Pearce, M.H. Williams, T. Rajak, S. Stern, Z. Weiss, L. Clenman) skillfuly explore different functions of images in relation to their prohibition by the second of the Ten Commandments. This book is aimed at the both the scholarly world and all readers interested in religion and art.

This volume of essays explores the broad theme of the relationship between Jewish identity and patriotism in the period between the destruction of the First Temple and late antiquity, with special attention to the Graeco-Roman period. The authors focus on Jewish local identification with particular lands, including the Land of Israel, and the existence of local forms of patriotism. The approaches represented are interdisciplinary in nature and draw on a wide range of sources, including archaeological remains, literary material, and inscriptions. These essays share a comparative perspective on the diverse social and historical contexts in which the Jews of antiquity lived.