In the previous chapter, the case of the Jerusalem gymnasium was discussed from the starting point of its location and time, and in the current chapter we will complete the picture in relation to its location and "price" - wealth and government even in the days of the Temple
in the previous episodeThe case of the Jerusalem gymnasium is discussed from the starting point of its location and time, and in the discussed chapter we will complete the picture in relation to its location and "price".
its location
All the sources are unanimous as to the establishment of the gymnasium within Jerusalem, but we should be more interested in determining its exact location, or at least determining its area. The Book of Maccabim XNUMX testifies that "they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem" and Joseph ben Matthew follows in his footsteps. The book of Maccabim XNUMX goes into more detail by saying: "For with joy he (Jason) built a gymnasium under the citadel", and according to the book of Maccabim XNUMX - "he built a gymnasium in the citadel of the city of our ancestors".
If so, locating the aforementioned citadel may well bring us closer to the more or less exact location of the gymnasium, and indeed the different researchers disagreed on the "citadel" rock. Some have speculated that this is a citadel ("capital") that was in the north of the temple. Others argued that "under the citadel" means on the Temple Mount itself, west of the temple, between the citadel and the temple, the western wall, where the "xistus" was erected in the days of Herod.
In my humble opinion, two hypotheses can be put forward here, with each referring to the "castle" not as a "capital" ("Baris") in the north of the temple, but to a later structure, dating from the Hasmonean times, in the "Hekra" area (south-west of the temple). This is in light of the fact mentioned in the book of Maccabim XNUMX - "... and to register the people of Jerusalem to the people of Antioch", and which is directly adjacent to the establishment of the Jerusalem gymnasium. That is, the establishment of the area of "Antioch in Jerusalem", southwest of the Temple, is the "polis" of Jerusalem, where the Greek-Hellenistic market was also established, namely the "Agora", and where the gymnasium was probably also established.
To confirm the above hypothesis let's look at some data: first - the location of the gymnasium must be sought near flowing water sources, because every Greek and Hellenistic gymnasium was built near live water sources, for the use of running facilities by the gymnasts and competitors; Second, the gymnasium was usually established at the edge of the city. If so, it should be located at the edge of the city of Polis "Antioch in Jerusalem"; Third - it must be assumed that the polis in Syrian Antioch served as a model for the entrepreneurs of the Jerusalem gymnasium, and an examiner of the structure of the city of Antioch will see that the stadium and the gymnasium were located at the edge of the city, when they are adjacent to the Seleucid palace (just like in the above source - "under the citadel").
To these data we can add the assumption that the facilities of the gymnasium were later used by Herod, either in their entirety or in the restoration of their remains by him.
If so, the gymnasium was established: a) in the place where the stadium and the hippodrome were established by Herod; or b) in the place where the Herodian Theater was established or near it.
According to the first option, the distance between the temple and the gymnasium was about 500 m, and according to the second option, the distance was greater, about 600 m. These distances may explain the reason for the appearance of the following sentence in the book of Maccabees 14: "And to such a height Hellenism had reached... until the priests ceased to be zealous for the work of the altar and in despising the temple and abandoning the sacrifices they rushed to the wrestling arena..." (13 Maccabees XNUMX:XNUMX- XNUMX).
And lest the gymnasium or its remains should be identified in the Jerusalem "Casistos", which according to Josephus can be identified as the location of the "Casistos" (that is, the running track in every Greek gymnasium, such as that of Delpoi, Pergamon, etc.) in the western part of Gaia Ben-Hinnom, when a step (terrace) running north and south, could have been cultivated on the western slope of the ravine as a surface with the length necessary for the stadium running (about 192 m), and when the slope could have been used nicely for the spectators.
From all the above assumptions and the data brought up above, it seems to me the most plausible that the gymnasium should be looked for in the eastern part of the "Hekra".
"His price"
Baal of Maccabim 9 sheds light on the issue by saying: "But after the death of Seleucus IV ("Philopterus") and Antiochus (the fourth) known as Epiphanes, he received the kingship, which Jason... to the high priesthood by promising the king at his meeting with him three hundred and sixty locars (of silver) and eighty other revenues a square, and on top of these he promised in writing another hundred and fifty (squares) if he were given the license to establish a gymnasium and an epibion by his own power and to register the people of Jerusalem to the people of Antioch..." (Maccabim 7:XNUMX-XNUMX-XNUMX).
In the above section, huge sums of about 700,000 drachmas are implied, and considering the fact that the average daily wage of a laborer reached one drachma, this is a real treasure.
It is understandable why Jason needed to deposit a lot of money into the Seleucid king's coffers in order to secure himself the position of high priest, but it is not clear enough why he had to come up with another 180,000 drachmas to get the right to establish a gymnasium and a pub.
The continuation of the aforementioned text - "And to register the people of Jerusalem as the people of Antioch (or - "as Antiochians")" - may offer us a solution to this tangle. That is, we are not talking about sallows here. The establishment of Greek educational institutions, such as gymnasium and epibion, was nothing more than an external form of this transformation of Jerusalem from "ethnos" (an overall definition of a people) into a "polis" (a legal association with a city with special rights). And since this change in the status of the Jews is before the central government in Antioch, surely it will take a disaster for the government to agree. Because of this reform, the privileges that will fall on the part of Jerusalem will be many and varied (this is urban autonomy that includes, among other things, the authority to mint its own copper coins, the possibility of establishing trade relations with other Greek cities, the possibility of holding joint sports competitions and more).
Moreover, the Seleucid royal coffers were in short supply. Antiochus III suffered a serious blow at the hands of the Romans in the battle of Magnesia (189 BC) and the current king, Antiochus IV, was also in great need of funds to manage his future journeys to Egypt. These data may explain the background to the astronomical payments for the construction of the gymnasium in Jerusalem. It is known that the gymnasium education in the Hellenistic period was expensive, so that Asason (or Menelaus) could, within a short period of time, overcome the financial obstacles caused by the financial payments.
We can also examine the case with the help of an interesting parallel, outside of Judea. From Helicarnassus, which is in Western Asia Minor, a delegation was sent to the Hellenistic king in order to obtain approval for the establishment of a new gymnasium for the young men (this also means the members of the aristocracy) and for the third approval request, sending a respectable amount of money to satisfy the king's heart, to show us how much this type of request involved financial payments.
In the Maccabean text a pair of words is offered - "in writing" and "by his power". These in their textual context may explain, on the one hand, the intense ambition of the initiator of the gymnasium to realize his intentions, and, on the other hand, illuminate the financial side. In other words, Jason did not expect financial or technical assistance from the Seleucid royal house, thus exempting the royal house, which was in financial difficulties anyway, from allocating any resources, and he may pick up the project "on his own". And from a different point of view: it is possible that there was some doubt in the heart of the Seleucid king, that the above-mentioned additional amount of the order of 150 square meters would not be paid for some reason, since, from a personal perspective, there is no doubt that the royal appointment to be given to the high priest was much more important than the actual establishment of the gymnasium. This appointment could have been denied by the king, if the full amount was not paid, i.e. 440 silver squares. However, on the other hand, it is inconceivable that the king would have ordered the gymnasium to be destroyed if and when the supplement totaling 150 silver was not paid. Hence, the petitioner to the High Priesthood had to commit to this "in writing" (as the text says).
And it is possible that apart from the above interpretation, another trend was hidden behind the above pair of words - "in writing" and "by his power", and by this trend I would like to illuminate the whole issue of the construction of the gymnasium in an additional light.
Hellenistic rule over Judah began in 332 BC, and from then until 175 BC, which is the date of the beginning of the establishment of the gymnasium in question, we do not have any solid information regarding any gymnasium activity in Judea, although gymnasium influences penetrated Judea through the neighboring cities of Polis. It is also known that there was no deliberate trend on the part of the Hellenistic kingdom to Greekize the local residents (at any rate neither explicitly nor directly), and from this Jason's gymnasium initiative receives an important weight and may contribute to clarifying the financial section from a slightly different aspect: such an initiative on behalf of a local ruler It could have sharpened the competitiveness and with it the tensions between Jerusalem and other polis cities, and therefore Yason had to express his support for the construction idea "in writing", and thereby be responsible for everything that might happen in the future.
Capital and government is not an invention of the modern era!
