What is it about?
The influence of Hellenism in the Ancient Near East -- specifically Judea and Babylonia -- was much less than currently believed. Although Greek was spoken, there is little textual evidence of penetration of Greek philosophy or thought into the curriculum. The surviving Greek fragments of the Babylonian chronographer Berossos are most likely to be translations from Aramaic or Akkadian.
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Why is it important?
Hellenistic influence after Alexander's conquest has been consistently exaggerated. Comparisons with Alexandria in Egypt are misplaced, since there are no similar centres of Greek culture from either Judea or Babylonia. The dominance of Aramaic, Hebrew and Akkadian as languages of scholarship and ritual was not affected by Greek officialdom.
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This page is a summary of: Co-authorship in the Hellenistic Near East?, December 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004748156_007.
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