Diaspora Jews amidst Greeks and Romans Author:Erich S. Gruen What was life like for Jews settled throughout the Mediterranean world of Classical antiquity—and what place did Jewish communities have in the diverse civilization dominated by Greeks and Romans? In a probing account of the Jewish diaspora in the four centuries from Alexander the Great's conquest of the Near East to the Roman ... more »destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 c.e., Erich Gruen reaches often surprising conclusions. "Gruen's fine book is obviously the labor of a lifetime." —Erich Segal, Times Literary Supplement "Eloquently, learnedly, persuasively, Gruen invites the reader of his new book to consider familiar evidence from the Jewish past from a new … perspective. His point is simple, but its historical implications are profound." —Paula Fredriksen, New Republic "Gruen convincingly demolishes whatever remains of the polarized picture of Jews either faithful to their traditions and longing for Jerusalem or swallowed up in a hostile, alien culture … [A] learned and lively presentation of the evidence as well as the theme." —Jonathan J. Price, Religious Studies Review« less