Why Did Jewish Art Flourish in Late Antiquity?

Tuesday, November 21, 2017
7:30 PM EST - 9:30 PM EST

The study of ancient Jewish art is a relatively new field fueled by ongoing archaeological discoveries. Only in Late Antiquity (third to seventh centuries CE) did Jewish art begin to flourish in a dramatic fashion. By the Byzantine era (fourth to seventh centuries CE), religious symbols, biblical motifs, and even clearly pagan mythological motifs—especially the zodiac signs and the image of Helios—graced many synagogue mosaic floors in ancient Palestine. This lecture will focus on the political, social, and religious reasons for such a dramatic change, and will likewise address the variety of ways Jewish communities, which were wholly autonomous and diverse, grappled with such developments.

Lee Levine received his doctorate from Columbia University. Since his aliyah to Israel in 1971, he has been on the faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Departments of Jewish History and Archaeology and is now Professor Emeritus. Prof. Levine has written some 215 articles and thirteen books, including his most recent volume, Visual Judaism in Late Antiquity: Historical Contexts of Jewish Art, which was published by Yale University Press in 2012.

Join us for a light dessert reception afterwards!

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Event Location

Ohr Kodesh Congregation
8300 Meadowbrook Lane
Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Ohr Kodesh Congregation

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The Foundation for Jewish Studies established in 1984, is dedicated to adult Jewish learning in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The Foundation's goal is to build a community of educated and committed Jews. To this end, the Foundation collaborates across denominational lines with other Jewish and secular communal organizations in programs and courses of Jewish scholarship. These programs, open to people of all faiths, highlight the spirituality, thought, and ethics of Judaism and the historical experience of the Jewish people.