Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds—but were all welcome there?
Using the Roman bathhouse —a place suffused with nudity, sex, and magic—as a social laboratory, Professor Yaron Eliav reveals how Jews (and Christians) interacted with Greco-Roman culture, resulting in a cross-cultural engagement that shaped Western civilization as we know it.
Join Yaron Eliav and Anya Leonard for a provocative Live Discussion (with Q&A) on June 15th at Noon EST and discover Jews of antiquity and their relationships in the Classical World.
Yaron Z. Eliav is associate professor of rabbinic literature and Jewish history of late antiquity at the University of Michigan. He is the author of God’s Mountain: The Temple Mount in Time, Place, and Memory and the producer of the documentary Paul in Athens.