Ancient Israel as part of the Near East encountered the Greek and Roman cultures in their various phases and both assimilated and rejected them through a long-lasting interaction. The main issue proposed in this session is the presentation of several aspects of such an interaction commonly termed as ‘Hellenization’ and ‘Romanization’ as reflected by archaeological, epigraphic and artistic material which has been revealed by the archaeological research carried out in Israel during the last decades. The papers included in the session will cover the transition from ‘Orientalism’ to ‘Hellenism’, the Jewish-Roman conflict seen through the Second Jewish War against the Romans (Bar-Kokhba War), followed by the epigraphic material presenting the use of Greek and Latin in the area as part of the cultural impact and interaction and concluded by the Hellenic/Hellenistic cultural heritage of Byzantine Palestine as reflected by the mosaic pavements.

1. Moshe Fischer (Tel Aviv University)

Greece and Rome in the Near East: General Aspects, Problematic and State of Research of Ancient Israel – Introductory Paper

2. Oren Tal (Tel Aviv University)

Palestine in Transition from Orientalism to Hellenism

3. Werner Eck (Universität zu Köln)

Griechisch und Latein: Die Bedeutung der beiden Herrschaftssprachen in Palaestina von Alexander bis zum Ende der römischen Herrschaft

4. Boaz Zissu and Amos Kloner  (Bar-Ilan University, Israel)

The Archaeology of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome (The Bar Kokhba Revolt): New Insights

5. Rina Talgam (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Hellenism in Byzantine Palaestina and Arabia: Mosaic Art as a Test Case

6. Moshe Fischer (Tel Aviv University)

Concluding Session: Hellenization and Romanization of Ancient Israel With or Without Quotation Marks: Theories vis-à-vis Archaeological and Literary Evidence