Self-Proclaimed Philhellene to Discuss Alexandria Jews and the Bible

Photo Submitted

Woodcut by Nikos Stavroulakis, from The Book of Jeremiah: A New Translation, with introduction by Bernard J. Bamberger. 1973: Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Daniel Levine will present a lecture titled “Assimilation in Alexandria: Why Jews Made the First Greek Bible” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education.

Levine, professor of classical studies in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, will discuss reasons for the Alexandrian Jews’ creation of a myth about the translation of their holy books. He will also consider some of the problems of translation.

Levine has guided many study tours in Greece. These tours often include visits to the Jewish Museum in Athens and to the reconstructed synagogue Etz Hayyim in Chania, Crete, whose project director shares the history of the Jews of Greece students.

In a few weeks he will lead the University of Arkansas Study Tour in Greece and Turkey with classics instructor George Paulson. Students learn about Greek and Turkish culture, literature, language, history, art, archaeology and topography during this four-week summer program, which is available to students every other year.

“We consider ourselves Philhellenes; we love Greece,” said Levine. “We have been there 30 times between us.”

Levine’s lecture is part of the “Beyond the Holocaust” series, which began in the fall of 2012 and will continue through the spring of 2013. The programs are made possible by the Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project, directed by the Association for Jewish Studies. Support for the Legacy Heritage Jewish studies Project is provided by the Legacy Heritage Fund Limited.

Jennifer M. Hoyer, assistant professor of German, received a Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies project grant to produce the series, which includes art, music, films and lecturers. To learn more about the series and its individual events, go to the Beyond the Holocaust Series page.

The Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education is located on the fourth floor of the Arkansas Union.