According to Biblical tradition, a young Jewish woman named Esther became Queen of Persia during the reign of Xerxes the Great and saved her people, the Jews, from a terrible massacre. But how did she become queen anyway, and how...
Rome—just the name conjures images of strength, might, and architectural marvels.
But among its most iconic structures, the Colosseum, a true monument of ancient engineering, hides a story that goes far deeper than gladiator fights, Christian martyrs, and imperial spectacles....
The Bible contains a story of how a young Jewish woman named Esther became the Queen of Persia and saved the Jews from an intended massacre. This is the background to the Festival of Purim, which the Jews still...
Philo of Alexandria (Φίλων ο Αλεξανδρεύς), a philosopher contemporary of Jesus, was one of the most important intellectual figures of the ancient world, influencing Christians and Jews with the ideas of Hellenism.
Philo (c. 20 BC–50 AD), a Hellenistic Jewish...
The concept of the Messiah is something that pervades the ancient holy writings of the Jews. The Messiah was a foretold savior of mankind, and Christians identify him with Jesus. However, before Jesus, the Bible reveals that there was...
The first interaction between the Jews and the Persians (the ancient Iranians) was a profoundly important and beneficial one. This initial interaction between the two nations was not a battle. Rather, the Persians freed the Jews from captivity in...
Heinz Kounio, the last remaining survivor of the first "death train" from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz, has passed away at the age of 98.
His departure marks the end of a living chapter for the Jewish community of Thessaloniki. In March...
After the Bar Kokhba revolt, a failed uprising against the Roman Empire that would later help set the stage for figures like the Moses of Crete, most messianic movements within Judaism largely disappeared. However, religious hope endured.
Across the Jewish...
The Bible does not provide us with any detailed physical description of Jesus. Yet, many people understandably wonder what he looked like. Given the limited amount of evidence available, what can be reasonably deduced about how tall Jesus was?
Why...
In a pivotal move to preserve a lesser-known chapter of the Holocaust in Greece, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture has assumed control of the railway station and surrounding grounds of Karia (also spelled as Karya) in Fthiotida, Central Greece.
The...
