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Riti strani tra avversione e fascino. I divieti alimentari ebraici agli occhi dei Greci e dei Romani

  • Anna Angelini

This essay explores the various attitudes which Greek and Latin authors assumed toward the Jewish food prohibitions, in the Greek and especially Roman context between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Such attitudes vary from simple curiosity, to mockery, to strong critique, without excluding some fascination toward what was perceived as one of the most representative features of the Jewish religion. The analysis examines the primary historical, social, and cultural contexts in which a discourse on Jewish Food Prohibitions emerged in classical literature and the responses to such discourse offered by Jewish-Hellenistic authors. The interpretation goes beyond the traditional political or identitarian readings of these passages. It highlights the potential of discourses regarding animals (and animal consumption) to foster intellectual and intercultural engagement in ancient religions and philosophies.

  • Keywords:
  • food prohibitions,
  • identity,
  • ancient Judaism,
  • ancient Greece,
  • ancient Rome,
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Anna Angelini

University of Siena, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-2031-0412

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  • Publication Year: 2025
  • Pages: 61-79
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
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  • Publication Year: 2025
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Riti strani tra avversione e fascino. I divieti alimentari ebraici agli occhi dei Greci e dei Romani

Authors

Anna Angelini

Language

Italian

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0767-6.07

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2025

Copyright Information

© 2025 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Piccole ‘curiosità’ delle religioni antiche. Un approccio antropologico

Book Subtitle

Atti delle giornate di studio - Siena, 4 e 5 aprile 2024

Editors

Ginevra Benedetti, Francesca Prescendi

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

124

Publication Year

2025

Copyright Information

© 2025 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY-SA 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press, USiena Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0767-6

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0766-9

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0767-6

eISBN (epub)

979-12-215-0768-3

Series Title

Studi di Antichistica

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