Abstract
For many authors writing in the Hellenistic period and the early Roman Empire, age offered a topic of significant interest. This chapter explores how Philo of Alexandria, an exegete, philosopher, and politician from the first century CE, perceives age and employs age-related terminology rhetorically in his treatise Legatio ad Gaium. This treatise describes how, in the wake of riots in Alexandria in 38 CE, Philo journeyed to Rome as part of a Jewish embassy to defend the rights of the Alexandrian Jews. Through his use of age-related terminology, Philo characterizes the protagonists in his narrative, yielding a picture of the emperor Gaius as a young and reckless individual and of both the Jewish nation and the previous emperors Augustus and Tiberius as aged, wise, and virtuous individuals.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Old Age in Ancient Judaism, Early Christianity, and Their Contexts |
| Subtitle of host publication | Senescence and Its Significations |
| Editors | Albertina Oegema, Seth A. Bledsoe |
| Publisher | Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |
| Pages | 11-30 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-1-032-66503-0 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-032-66504-7, 978-1-032-66502-3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Aug 2025 |