Going and Coming Home in Diasporan Pilgrimage

The Case of Philo’s Ἱεροπομποί and Diaspora-Homeland Relations in Alexandrian Jewish Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID10906490
AuthorsJonathan Trotter (Chicago, IL USA), Jonathan R Trotter (corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume50
Issue1
Pages26-51
Publication date2019-02-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Study of Judaism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2212 • E-ISSN: 1570-0631
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15700631-12494230
OpenAlexW2889406371
LanguageEN
References cited48

This article focuses on how community-sanctioned pilgrimage to Jerusalem could be employed to establish both the homeland and the diaspora as places of belonging. As a case study, I will analyze Philo’s portrayal of the ἱεροπομποί—a term unique to Philo used to describe those chosen to carry offerings, especially the annual half-shekels—from the diaspora to the Jerusalem temple. I will argue that, according to Philo, the ἱεροπομποί (1) were elected community leaders who functioned as representatives of their communities, (2) enabled those who did not travel to Jerusalem to participate vicariously in sacrifice and pilgrimage, and (3) established both the homeland and the diaspora as places of belonging for their community through providing a context for participating in and perpetuating the collective memory of the Jewish nation, in general, and the Alexandrian Jewish community, in particular

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology · Diaspora · Ethnology · Homeland · Jewish studies · Judaism · Media studies · Perspective (graphical · Pilgrimage · Political science · Politics · Sacrifice · Sociology · Visual arts · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies

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