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The Idea and the Reality of the City in the Thought of Philo of Alexandria

The Idea and the Reality of the City in the Thought of Philo of Alexandria The theme of my paper is the conception of the city as a social and cultural phenomenon held by the Jewish exegete and philosopher (15 BC to 50 AD). There can be no doubt that the city occupied a central position in his own life. As an inhabitant of Alexandria he was thoroughly immersed in a highly urbanized form of life. From a more theoretical angle the city has an important place in his thought because of what it represents: of all physical products of human activity the city is the largest and most complex (here there is in fact little difference between Philo and us, although there is an obvious difference in scale). It is not my aim to examine Philo's political philosophy, i.e., his views on how the city should be governed, nor his views on the actual political administration of the Roman Empire in his time. These subjects have already been treated with sufficient competence by others.1 I will argue that, though as an Alexandrian Philo was very much a homo urbanus, he nevertheless reveals a significant ambivalence towards the city. This attitude is related to his dual ideological background (Jewish and Greek), and anticipates http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of the History of Ideas University of Pennsylvania Press

The Idea and the Reality of the City in the Thought of Philo of Alexandria

Journal of the History of Ideas , Volume 61 (3) – Jul 1, 2000

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Publisher
University of Pennsylvania Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 The Journal of the History of Ideas, Inc.
ISSN
1086-3222
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The theme of my paper is the conception of the city as a social and cultural phenomenon held by the Jewish exegete and philosopher (15 BC to 50 AD). There can be no doubt that the city occupied a central position in his own life. As an inhabitant of Alexandria he was thoroughly immersed in a highly urbanized form of life. From a more theoretical angle the city has an important place in his thought because of what it represents: of all physical products of human activity the city is the largest and most complex (here there is in fact little difference between Philo and us, although there is an obvious difference in scale). It is not my aim to examine Philo's political philosophy, i.e., his views on how the city should be governed, nor his views on the actual political administration of the Roman Empire in his time. These subjects have already been treated with sufficient competence by others.1 I will argue that, though as an Alexandrian Philo was very much a homo urbanus, he nevertheless reveals a significant ambivalence towards the city. This attitude is related to his dual ideological background (Jewish and Greek), and anticipates

Journal

Journal of the History of IdeasUniversity of Pennsylvania Press

Published: Jul 1, 2000

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