Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds....but were all welcome there?
Using the Roman bathhouse - a place suffused with nudity, sex, and magic - as a social laboratory, Professor Yaron Eliav reveals how Jews (and Christians) interacted with Greco-Roman culture... resulting in a cross-cultural engagement that shaped Western civilization as we know it.
Enjoy this provocative discussion with Yaron Eliav and Anya Leonard and discover Jews of antiquity and their relationships in the Classical World.
Yaron Z. Eliav is associate professor of rabbinic literature and Jewish history of late antiquity at the University of Michigan. He is the author of God’s Mountain: The Temple Mount in Time, Place, and Memory and the producer of the documentary Paul in Athens.
Yaron's newest book, A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse, challenges us to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Graeco-Roman society, shedding new light on how cross-cultural engagement shaped Western civilization.
You can learn more about "A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse" HERE:
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691243436/a-jew-in-the-roman-bathhouse
This discussion was hosted by Classical Wisdom. To learn more about Classical Wisdom and to subscribe to our free newsletter, please go to:
https://classicalwisdom.substack.com/
*** Please note, this was recorded in June 2023***