Title: La Lettre d'Aristée et le mythe des âges du monde
Description: "Who could write the history of Hellenistic Judaism without taking heed of the Letter to Aristeas? The text has been read since the 17th century as the work of a poor historian. It is now considered as a late apology, built on an older legendary tradition., according to which the Jewish law was translated in Greek under King Ptolemy II Philadelphus. This hypothesis may account for the apparent carelessness of the narration and the many historical errrors of the Letter, but the existence of the legend it is built upon cannot be proved. With the help of what Josephus, Justin Martyr, Anatolius of Laodicea and Epiphanius of Salamis wrote on the birth of the Greek Bible, an alternative interpretation may be developed, based on the Platonician myth of the ages of the world. The reign of Ptolemy and the pontificate of Eleazar are to be considered a golden age, hiding an age of iron, which is its exact opposite. This age of iron matches what is known from independent sources of the reign of Ptolemy VIII Physcon and the pontificate of John Hycarnus. It transforms the Letter of Aristeas into a political pamphlet urging the fall of the Hasmonean dynasty, weakened by the bold attempt of Alexander Jannaeus against Ptolemais. This new hyporthesis gives sense to the too many elements of the Letter which had been considered to this date as mere digressions or errors."--English summary.
Subjects: Historiography, Letter of Aristeas, Judaism, Jews, Golden age (Mythology) in literature, History, Judaism, history, post-exilic period, 586 b.c.-210 a.d., Jews, history, 586 b.c.-70 a.d., Egypt, history, Versions, Bible
Places: Egypt
People: Oswyn Murray, Hecataeus of Abdera
Time periods: Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-210 A.D., 332-30 B.C., 586 B.C.-70 A.D.