As a part of this research project; I will give a historical overview of Hellenism. I am also going to explain what the term Hellenisation is and discuss the effect it had on the birth of Christianity, as well as outline Hellenistic influence on Judaism and the way it has affected the Old and New Testament. However, Although I will briefly mention; I am not going to examine in detail other aspects such as politics, science, medicine and philosophy. It can, nonetheless, be used as a topic for further research.
Historical explanation of Hellenism
Hellenism is the name we give to the manifold achievements of the Greeks in social and political institutions, in the various arts, in science and philosophy, in morals and religion. (Altrogge et al., 2018)1. Historians refer to it as the period from the death of Alexander the Great to the death of Cleopatra. The term also indicates the cultural tradition of the Roman Empire under the influence of the Greek civilisation. The Hellenistic world was created after Alexander the Great’s conquests of the near east in the fourth century B.C. One ought to acknowledge that Alexander had a remarkable Hellenising influence on the world.
Yet while he took with him the forms of Greek culture wherever he went, he had implanted little of its traditional substance: this was the tragedy of the conqueror who, for all of Aristotle's tutelage, had himself learned only its vaneer, and (as his readiness to change himself into an oriental despot showed) had never penetrated his heart.2 (Hale, 1965)
Lastly, Hellenisation indicates the infiltration of Greek culture, language and civilisation into Greco-Macedonian territories. In all the Hellenistic areas, the language of the administration and aristocracy was Greek. The peasants, however, kept the native languages in alive. In Judea, all important literature was in Greek, even though the original writings were in Hebrew and Aramaic. Even though there were changes in various cultural areas such as medicine, art, poetry, philosophy, and science; these did not necessarily affect the middle-class Greek regions. The stronger influence was on religion where continuing conversions of old cults with new accents were visible. Philanthropy, mysteries, purification and other spiritual concepts became increasingly popular. This impact goes beyond scripture and can be clearly seen in other literary forms of Greek traditions such as play writing, poetry, and lyrics – all written in Greek. Even though the majority of these activities were practiced in Alexandria, some of the products may have been written by Jews implementing the Hellenistic literary methods in Palestine.
Research on Hellenism and the study of Greek influence on Judaism has aided in archaeological discoveries. It is a unity of cultures which reflects the remarkable standardisation of the Greek language, wherever there was a Greek community. In the age of Hellenism, it was simple for a Greek-speaking person to travel from country to country, expecting to be accepted and find work. Hellenistic civilisation’s structure was strong, however, the day to day life did not seem safe, as rebellions and wars were not an unusual occurrence. One of the few fields that offered a break from daily concerns and these types of issues, as well as comfort for frustrations was religion. Yet confronted with Greek ideas, some Jews incorporated Greek with Hebrew values. During the Hellenistic ages, the Jewish culture was in constant blend with the Hellenistic culture. The independence of Jewish intellectual and academic life during the Hellenistic ages can be clarified by the fact that they took vast interest in various Greek ideas, while other regions took fairly minimal interest in the Hebrew ideas. Correspondingly, the fact that the Bible was translated into Greek – which is knows as Septuagint – was not an indication that it was necessarily read by the Greeks. In the same way as with other exhibitions of the Hellenistic culture, topic of religion most dramatically separated the Greeks from Hebrews. Priests in the Greek culture possessed literary knowledge and directions for ritual practice but did not rule the people or attempt to fix understandings of symbols in the literature. Some of the Greek intellectual leaders criticised particular priests’ activity, and after Roman influence has occurred, the priests received some power and started using sacred writings to exercise authority comparable to the Jews’.
Hellenism and Christianity
Hellenism had been in power for three centuries before the arrival of Jesus. its influence is shown through the early writings of the Hebrews – Da and Old Testament Apocrypha who’s few books were written in Greek. The Septuagint also came to authority in Palestine where Aramaic has displaced Hebrew and became a dead language. Taken from the Old Testament is New Testament, which contains quotations acquired from the Septuagint through the use of the Old Testament. Although the writers of the New Testament varied in language proficiency, all writings of the New Testaments were written in Greek.
Hellenism was expressed through small and minor details such as Saul changing his name to Paul. Most importantly, Hellenism had both direct and indirect effects on the early Christianity. The relationship between early Judaism and Christianity faces difficulties like complete variety characterising them. Until the fourth century official Judaism did not exist; since then rabbinic movement would form and become a dominant force in Judaism. The writings of the New Testament reveal variety, even if not entirely indicating the variation of diversity characterising Christianity in the first century. Another difficulty was the differences in boundaries between Judaism and Christianity in various situations. There was an overlap scriptural heritage and theological identity between Christians and Jews.
Primitive Christianity originated in Palestine and is independent from Hellenism and did not attempt to work through literature. There was a view that science and philosophy are a part of the pagan world and therefore are ‘powers of darkness’. Christianity was, by the pagan world seen as a barbaric doctrine threatening the already established culture.
Philo, a philosopher from 30 B.C. attempted to connect scripture and Platonic philosophy. Platonic philosophy and Stoic philosophy developed by Zeno around 300 B.C. Both these aspects of the Hellenistic culture had a different impact on Jesus according to different philosophers. While Philo argues differently; Platonic and Stoic philosophy have had influence on several generations of Christians attempting to explain and clarify Jesus’ teaching in the Greek and Roman civilisation. Jesus grew up in period of Herod Antipas – in Galilee – which was at that time under Hellenistic influences. In areas like Sepphoris, Bethshean, and a few other places in Galilee, there is still evidence of Hellenism in form of architecture. The early Christianity absorbed Hellenistic culture and Greek philosophy beginning from the first century onward.
One of the early Christian apologists, Justin Martyr, attempted to explain Christianity to the area of Greco-Roman direction through the use of the native context and thought, as well as trying to explain God’s nature in terms of stoic philosophical theories. Martyr’s belief is that Jesus’ status is that of a mediator and negotiator between the people and God. Over the second and third century, a new representation of God was adopted in the philosophical civilisation. God was viewed as a distant to people – transcendent being. By stating this, it did not make sense to the people of the philosophical environment to perceive Jesus as a God incarnate as it would be ‘impossible’ for someone to conceive from a transcendent being. Christians often argue that traditions of polytheistic practice, present in the Greco-Roman world was immoral. Even though the Greeks appreciated the unity of divine and could accept that there is only one that underlines everything, no second or third century philosopher imagined that this divine being could be born in flesh.
Christianity and Judaism
Although affected by it, historical findings show that early Christianity and Judaism protected their religious beliefs from the Hellenistic culture. When it comes to Judaism, archaeological evidence from Sepphoris reveals that despite the fact that the Hellenistic culture has spread widely in numerous areas of culture, Jews continued a rigorous compliance of the Torah. Regarding early Christianity, the religious influences were not necessarily Hellenistic. The Christian Gospel is simply the fulfilment of the vows made in the Old Testament through the Jewish Messiah. The Jewish viewpoints, rather than paganism, dominate the Gospel. Gregory Dix, regarding the relationship between the Gospel and Hellenisation, concluded:
The central core of the Gospel consists of a “Jewish Monotheism and a Jewish Messianism and a Jewish Eschatology; which is expressed in a particular pattern of worship and morality.”3 (Dix, 1953 p.3)
This statement conflicts with a popular view or Christian origins in the twentieth century, which was believed by scholars called ‘History of Religions School’ who argued that majority of the Christian beliefs derived from Hellenistic cults. The evidence today reveals how Jewish views have been the major influence in founding of early Christianity. Christianity viewed God as both divine and human, part of the Trinity and the Messiah. These perspectives derived from the early Jewish Christians and are recorded in the New Testament.
Christianity ceased to be Jewish, but it did not thereby become Greek. It became itself – Christianity.4 (Dix, 1953 p.29)
A number of elements of the Gospel are visibly opposed to the Hellenistic beliefs. This was demonstrated through various examples. Similarly to the Jewish belief, the Christian Gospel states that God is the maker of all things and that he created everything ‘from nothing’. This contradicts the Greek viewpoint on eternal matters. Judaism and Christianity understand general matter, since God created all as ‘very good. (Gen 1:31). Hellenism, however, viewed matter as questionable and temporary. Greeks believed that the body is a tomb in which the spirit is trapped in until death, after which it is released. On the other hand, Christianity and Judaism argued that only way one is human is to have a body. This allows for resurrection in the after-life.
Although there are similarities connecting New Testament moral teachings and Greek ethics can be noted, there are significant differences between the two. One identifies particular common aspects such as moral codes and literary styles, yet, there are differences in what is used for motivation and means. Greeks are motivated by evident based reasoning and rely on own ability and wisdom, while Christians’ motivation is God and the invite to become holy and are inspired by the Holy Spirit. The hope of eternal life, compared to the philosophical views of the Greeks, delivers a strong base to endure under moral pressures.
There are statement that teachings of the Trinity are pagan corruptions of Hellenism on early Christianity. These claims fail to address the fact that the New Testament drove early Christians to acknowledge the Trinity. Although detailed biblical defence cannot be made, there is a large number of studies that demonstrate that these teachings derived from the New Testament. Recent research has proven that the early Christian belief has not originated from Hellenism but from Jewish views and beliefs.
When New Testament Christology is read with the Jewish theological context in mind, it becomes clear that, from the earliest post – Easter beginnings of Christology onwards, early Christians included Jesus, precisely and unambiguously, within the unique identity of the one God of Israel… The earliest Christology was already the highest Christology… (Bauckham, 1998).
Conclusion
It is argued by orthodox Christian critics that early Christianity and its beliefs have been corrupted by the influence of Hellenistic paganism. This claim is, however, not supported by the historical and archaeological evidence. More accurately, Christian beliefs and faith, similarly to Judaism, protected its religious identity in the diverse civilisation of the ancient Mediterranean region. Even though the Greek culture influenced various cultural areas such as language, philosophy, art and literature, and even created number of unbiblical cults, the orthodox theology remained unaffected. The Gospel remained untouched by Hellenistic paganism. In the age of early Christianity, Hellenism was used to share and broadcast the message without permitting the culture to alter the context of the message.