[The Hellenized Jewish philosopher] Philo of Alexandria [25BC–50AD] wrote books of serious philosophy … even if no Jew in first-century Jerusalem is attested as having developed either such philosophical expertise or, indeed, such philosophical interests … If Jews in Jerusalem [though possibly versed in Greek] attended public readings of epic poetry or public performances of tragic plays, even with such impeccably Jewish themes, there is no surviving evidence of it.
Rome and Jerusalem, p. 298 – one of our two, along with Josephus, 1st century Jewish historians, evidence of separation of Jewish and Pagan cultures
– one of our two, along with Josephus, 1st century Jewish historians, evidence of separation of Jewish and Pagan cultures
If Julian’s attempt in 361-3 had come to fruition, the marginalization of the Jews in the Roman world which had begun in 70 CE, nearly three hundred years before, would have come to an end. But Julian died and was succeeded by Christian rulers, the rebuilding was abandoned, the site of the Temple was left in ruins, and Jews throughout the empire had to learn to live within an increasingly Christian society, their status as outsiders in the Mediterranean world fixed for many centuries.
Rome and Jerusalem (14), p. 549