Philo Judaeus Article

Philo Judaeus summary

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Philo Judaeus.

Philo Judaeus , or Philo of Alexandria, (born 10–15 bc, Alexandria—died ad 45–50, Alexandria), Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher. A leader of the Jewish community of Alexandria, he led a delegation to the emperor Caligula c. ad 40 to ask that Jews not be forced to worship him. His writings provide the clearest view of this development of Judaism in the Diaspora. His philosophy was influenced by Plato, Aristotle, the Neo-Pythagoreans, the Cynics, and Stoicism. In his view of God, Philo was original in insisting on an individual Providence able to suspend the laws of nature, in contrast to the prevailing Greek view of a universal Providence which is itself subject to the laws of nature. As the first to attempt to synthesize revealed faith and philosophic reason, he occupies a unique position in the history of philosophy. He is regarded as the most important representative of Hellenistic Judaism and a forerunner of Christian theology.