Josephus and Greek Historiography

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

In this upper-level Greek language course, we will read selected passages from the Jewish War (Bellum Judaicum) written by Flavius Josephus. Before Josephus was a Roman citizen and a Greek historian, he was Yosef ben Mattityahu: a member of the priestly upper class in Jerusalem and a general during the Jewish Revolt against Roman rule (66–70 CE) that ended with the destruction of the city and the Jewish diaspora. Josephus straddled multiple worlds and sometimes contradictory roles: Jewish, Greek, Roman; elite local insider, traitor, imperial confidant; provincial subject, Roman citizen; Jewish scion, Greek scholar. These facets of his identity lend extra weight to his decision to write, among other works, a history of the momentous events in which he took part. In addition to selected Greek passages, we will read the entire Jewish War in English and will dip into Josephus’ other works at various points. We will consider the historical, social, and intellectual context in which Josephus produced his history. This includes the world of the Roman empire and its provinces in the first century CE, Judaism and the emergence of Christianity, and the status of Greek as the language of culture in the eastern Mediterranean during the “long” Hellenistic period. The course is designed to help students improve their skills in reading Greek prose while expanding the usual horizons of what is considered Greek literature and the Greco-Roman world.