Session 10 | Turning West – The Hellenistic Period
#42-45
#42. Introduction
The Hellenistic period (from the Greek word hellas meaning Greece) began in Israel/Palestine when the Greek king Alexander the Great conquered this region in 332 BCE. The new civilization, embracing both Greek and local Near Eastern traits, that emerged in the Mediterranean as a result of Alexander’s conquest is known as Hellenism. The following sources illustrate various aspects of this new era in the history of the Land.
#43. Maresha/Marissa
Here are photographs of one of the burial chambers in a Sidonian (a person from the coastal city of Sidon, see map below) tomb near the city of Marissa (approx. 40 miles south-west of Jerusalem, cf. map), which was used from the late 3rd century BCE up to the 1st BCE as a family burial site (J. Murphy-O’Connor, The Holy Land, Oxford 1998, p. 186). The entrance to the innermost tomb chamber shown in the pictures is a wall painting. Carefully examine the details of this painting and compare them to the data in the illustrations from ancient Greece.
http://johnmeister.com/BIBLE/maps/ALL.html. Red circles indicate Sidon (north), Jerusalem (center), and Maresha (south).
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=26637
http://www.frankship.com/Lahav/592Cave%20of%20Apollophanes.jpg
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=26637
Picture and description derived from: http://people.clemson.edu/~elizab/athdaily.htm
http://www.fischerarthistory.com/uploads/1/2/0/7/12071711/5067772_orig.jpg?566
Question
Identify three elements in the Marissa tomb painting that indicate a Greek influence upon the burial customs within Palestine?
#44. Apollophanes
The burial inscription of Apollophanes, which was written in Greek, conveys a great deal of information about Apollophanes, his people, and the pervasiveness of Hellenistic culture in the Near East. It was written above the entrance to the burial chamber to the right of the doorway shown in the earlier photograph from Marissa (NEAEHL, Vol. 3, ed. by E. Stern, Jerusalem 1993, p. 955). The inscription reads as follows:
TRANSLATION
Apollophanes, son of Sesmaios, thirty-three years chief of the Sidonians at Marise, reputed the best and most kin-loving of all those of his time; he died, having lived seventy-four years.
Question
What three things can you conclude about the residents of Marissa based upon this text? One of your conclusions should relate directly to the issue of Hellenism.
#45. Seth Schwartz
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Palestine, as well as many other regions in the Near East, was fought over by two of Alexander’s generals – Ptolemy and Seleucus – and their descendents. In this next reading, Schwartz examines the extent to which the inhabitants of Judea were granted the freedom of self-governance while under the dominion of the Hellenistic kingdoms. Be sure to note the data discussed by Schwartz that are indicative of the spread of Hellenism in the region of Judah.