The Emergence of a New Jewish Art in Late Antiquity

Abstract

It is widely recognized that Jewish art in the pre-70 era, whatever its variety and levels of sophistication, was severely limited. By late antiquity, however, the nature and content of Jewish art had changed dramatically as Jews began to use figural representations of animals, humans, and even pagan mythological characters, biblical scenes, and a variety of religious symbols in their synagogues and cemeteries. The series of religious and cultural developments that occurred throughout the Empire, though primarily in the East, during the first three centuries CE, explains the reinvention of Jewish artistic expression in dramatically new ways in the third century. Rome, Palestine and the eastern frontiers of the Roman Empire were influenced by a different cultural context. The chapter indicates the unique cultural context that contributed to the singularity of these sites, and then turns to the finds from the sites themselves. Keywords:Jewish art; Palestine; Roman empire; urban religious context