Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource, ny
IN THE BEGINNING. With the conquests of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C.E., the populations of the Near East, including the Jews of Judea, began a thousand-year fascination with Greek culture. Although this fascination was often tempered by the political and military forays of Alexander’s successors (including the Romans), Jews from all walks of life readily embraced aspects of Greek culture.