Historical fictions and Hellenistic Jewish identity : Third Maccabees in its cultural context / Sara Raup Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Sara Raup, 1966-

Series:

Hellenistic culture and society ; 43.

Hellenistic culture and society ; 43

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Third Book of Maccabees--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Third Book of Maccabees.

Jews--History--586 B.C.-70 A.D.

Jews.

Jews--Identity--History--To 1500.

Historical fiction--History and criticism.

Historical fiction.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (277 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The idea of a family level society, discussed and disputed by anthropologists for nearly half a century, assumes moving, breathing form in Families of the Forest. According to Allen Johnson's deft ethnography, the Matsigenka people of southeastern Peru cannot be understood or appreciated except as a family level society; the family level of sociocultural integration is for them a lived reality. Under ordinary circumstances, the largest social units are individual households or small extended-family hamlets. In the absence of such "tribal" features as villages, territorial defense and warfare, local or regional leaders, and public ceremonials, these people put a premium on economic self-reliance, control of aggression within intimate family settings, and freedom to believe and act in their own perceived self-interest. Johnson shows how the Matsigenka, whose home is the Amazon rainforest, are able to meet virtually all their material needs with the skills and labor available to the individual household. They try to raise their children to be independent and self-reliant, yet in control of their emotional, impulsive natures, so that they can get along in intimate, cooperative living groups. Their belief that self-centered impulsiveness is dangerous and self-control is fulfilling anchors their moral framework, which is expressed in abundant stories and myths. Although, as Johnson points out, such people are often described in negative terms as lacking in features of social and cultural complexity, he finds their small-community lifestyle efficient, rewarding, and very well adapted to their environment.

Contents:

Historical fictions and Jewish self-fashioning. Introduction

Jews at court

Josephus

Artapanus

Joseph and Aseneth

Conclusion

Third Maccabees, a case study. Introduction

Chapter 1:5 : date of composition

Chapter 2:6 : Third Maccabees in its literary context

Chapter 3:7 : authorship, audience and Jewish identity

Chapter 4:8 : historicity and historical ambivalence.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612762598

9781282762596

1282762591

9781597346115

159734611X

9780520936294

0520936299

OCLC:

475930230