Alexander to Constantine; Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Volume III

by Eric M. Meyers and Mark A. Chancey

• ISBN13: 9780300141795
• ISBN10: 0300141793
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2012-09-25
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Drawing on the most recent, groundbreaking archaeological research, Eric M. Meyers and Mark A. Chancey re-narrate the history of ancient Palestine in this comprehensive and richly illustrated book. Covering the span from the conquest of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE until the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine in the fourth century CE, the authors synthesize archaeological evidence with ancient literary sources, including the Bible, to offer a sustained overview of the tumultuous intellectual and religious changes of the Greco-Roman period. Meyers and Chancey demonstrate how the transformation of the ancient Near East under the influence of the Greeks and then the Romans led to foundational changes in both the material and intellectual worlds of the Levant. Through the archaeological record they reveal how Judaism and Christianity were virtually indistinguishable for centuries, until the rise of imperial Christianity with Emperor Constantine. The only current book to focus on the archaeology of Palestine in this period, Alexander to Constantinesheds powerful new light on the land of the Bible.

Author Biography

Eric M. Meyers, three-time president of the American Schools of Oriental Research, is Bernice and Morton Lerner Professor of Jewish Studies and Archaeology, Duke University. He is editor-in-chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. He lives in Durham, NC. Mark A. Chancey is professor of religious studies, Southern Methodist University, and author of The Myth of a Gentile Galilee and Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus. He lives in Dallas, TX.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
The Persian Period and the Transition to Hellenism	p. 1
The Advent of Hellenism Under the Greek Kingdoms and the Hasmoneans (332-37 B.C.E.)	p. 11
Herod the Great and the Introduction of Roman Architecture	p. 50
Khirbet Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls	p. 83
From Herod to the Great Revolt	p. 113
The Great Revolt and the Bar Kokhba Rebellion	p. 139
The Emergence of Christianity	p. 174
Early Judaism and the Rise of the Synagogue	p. 203
The Archaeology of Paganism	p. 239
The Growth of Greco-Roman Culture and the Case of Sepphoris	p. 260
After Constantine: Beyond the Roman Period	p. 285
List of Abbreviations	p. 295
Notes	p. 297
Bibliography	p. 321
Subject Index	p. 349
Index of Place Names	p. 355
Index of Passages Cited	p. 359
Color plates appear following page	p. 176
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