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- Title
A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse: Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean. By Yaron Z. Eliav.: Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023. Pp. 368. $45.00. ISBN: 9780691243436.
- Authors
Taylor, Michael J.
- Abstract
"A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse: Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean" by Yaron Z. Eliav explores the role of the bathhouse as a site of cultural interaction between Jews and Gentiles during the Roman Empire. Contrary to previous scholarship suggesting that Jews avoided Roman-style bathhouses, Eliav uses rabbinic texts to demonstrate that Jews actively participated in Roman bathing culture while navigating the challenges posed by nudity, eroticism, and paganism. The book examines the history of Jewish bathing, the halakhic guidelines surrounding bathhouse visits, and the complexities of nudity in the baths. It also explores how the bathhouse brought together people from different ethnicities, social classes, occupations, and faiths. Eliav argues that Jews embraced Roman bathing practices without compromising their cultural identity, using the metaphor of "filtered absorption" to describe this dynamic. The book provides valuable insights for scholars of ancient history and Judaic studies, shedding light on the concept of Romanization and the social life of uncloistered Jews in multiethnic communities.
- Subjects
JEW in the Roman Bathhouse: Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean, A (Book); PRINCETON University; JEWS; ROMANS; SOCIAL classes; DEVIANT behavior; INTERIOR decoration; ARCHAEOLOGICAL dating; MEDITERRANEAN diet
- Publication
Jewish History, 2024, Vol 37, Issue 3/4, p357
- ISSN
0334-701X
- Publication type
Book Review
- DOI
10.1007/s10835-023-09457-7