Philo Judaeus of Alexandria

[Logos]

Philo Judaeus of Alexandria

I'm a bit skeptical about being able to determine his type, but I am curious about your thoughts on this influential thinker. Philo is a 1st century CE Jewish theologian noteworthy for his attempts (similar to Josephus) to show the compatibility of popular contemporary Greek thought with Judaism. Perhaps what is the most fundamental development (that cannot be understated enough) is the identification of God's ordering and creative principle with the logos. This identification would allow for Jesus to be identified with the logos in the Gospel of John by the early Christian church, which is one of the most subtly important points in early Christian theology (and the later Gnostic movement). But it is also through Philo that we are given non-Roman accounts of the life and behavior of the Roman emperor Caligula, who wanted to erect a temple of himself in the Temple of Jerusalem, which was obviously a serious religious affront to Jews, and their refusal to do so was a serious affront to Caligula.

[Expat]

I've read Philo's Embassy to Gaius, which also contains the only surviving eyewitness account of Caligula's personality.

In that work, what I see is mainly , , ; an awareness of ; not much concern with , and some .

When Philo really "lets go", what he seems to be most proud of is an ability to penetrate beneath the surface of people's actions, to see what they are really up to.

So I think Beta is clear; being more specific, I'd have to say EIE. I don't think LSI; I think a good example of an ancient LSI is Tacitus, and his writings are more and , and less , than Philo's.

[Logos]

I've read Philo's Embassy to Gaius, which also contains the only surviving eyewitness account of Caligula's personality.

In that work, what I see is mainly , , ; an awareness of ; not much concern with , and some .

When Philo really "lets go", what he seems to be most proud of is an ability to penetrate beneath the surface of people's actions, to see what they are really up to.

So I think Beta is clear; being more specific, I'd have to say EIE. I don't think LSI; I think a good example of an ancient LSI is Tacitus, and his writings are more and , and less , than Philo's.

I find Philo to be an incredibly interesting figure in history and am fascinated by his theological ideas and system that he is trying to establish, which is no easy feat. I would have to agree that > is most evident in his work, but it is not quite with the same sort of systematic that we would see in a LII or LSI. It is that serves the purpose of and with social aims and goals for the Jewish community in the Roman Empire, much like Josephus.

[Expat]

From his life and The Jewish War, I think Josephus was IEI.

Interestingly, the BBC had in 2006 a 6-part docu-drama mini-series called Ancient Rome; one of the episodes, Rebellion (the best one, the others were poorer), was precisely about the Jewish revolt, and following closely (even as cutting it, of course) Josephus's account. Josephus as portrayed there was very obviously IEI.