Acting Gods, Playing Heroes, and the Interaction between Judaism, Christianity, and Greek Drama in the Early Common Era

While many ancient Jewish and Christian leaders voiced opposition to Greek and Roman theater, this volume demonstrates that by the time the public performance of classical drama ceased at the end of antiquity the ideals of Jews and Christians had already been shaped by it in profound and lasting ways.

Readers are invited to explore how gods and heroes famous from Greek drama animated the imaginations of ancient individuals and communities as they articulated and reinvented their religious visions for a new era. In this study, Friesen demonstrates that Greek theater?s influence is evident within Jewish and Christian intellectual formulations, narrative constructions, and practices of ritual and liturgy. Through a series of interrelated case studies, the book examines how particular plays, through texts and performances, scenes, images, and heroic personae, retained appeal for Jewish and Christian communities across antiquity. The volume takes an interdisciplinary approach involving classical, Jewish, and Christian studies, and brings together these separate avenues of scholarship to produce fresh insights and a reevaluation of theatrical drama in relation to ancient Judaism and Christianity.

Acting Gods, Playing Heroes, and the Interaction between Judaism, Christianity, and Greek Drama in the Early Common Era allows students and scholars of the diverse and evolving religious landscapes of antiquity to gain fresh perspectives on the interplay between the gods and heroes?both human and divine?of Greeks and Romans, Jews and Christians as they were staged in drama and depicted in literature.

"Friesen has very ably and convincingly illustrated a crucial component in the critical engagement of Judaism and Christianity with Hellenic culture. His book significantly contributes, furthermore, to a much larger ongoing scholarly conversation over the extent to which Jewish and Christian interpreters recognized dramatic elements even within scriptural revelation itself, such that the mimesis of drama depended not solely on exploiting the classical pagan masters but also imitating the biblical authors as they conveyed tragic and comic features in sacred history." - Journal of Theological Studies

"[...] the book illustrates the more varied relationship between Jews, Christians, and the ancient stage. This is both a welcome scholarly contribution and a necessary foundation for further work into the implications of this complex and multifaceted relationship." ? Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"In this welcome sequence of essays, Friesen explores Jewish and Christian engagement with Greek drama during the early Common Era. [... He] not only shows the surprising variety of their engagements but also how the dramatic concept ultimately facilitated the articulation and performance of their own faith." - Journal for the Study of the New Testament