The late Karl-Johan Illman was a professor of Biblical and Judaic studies at Abo Akademi University in Abo/Turku, Finland. A beloved and respected figure in the Judeo-Christian dialogue and an accomplished scholar of Judaism, he is remembered in this memorial volume by leading scholars of Biblical and Judaic studies in Europe and North America.

Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus are amongst the most influential ancient writers. In his long scholarly career, Per Bilde (1939-2014) published various essays, studies and articles examining early Judaism and the historical Jesus from the angle of the work of Philo and Josephus. Many of the articles contain in-depth treatment of primary sources, and thus are of great value for scholars to come. The studies in this volume have yet been compiled by Per Bilde himself. They are now edited posthumously with contributions from Steve Mason (Groningen) and Mogens M|ller (Copenhagen) responding to Bilde's work.

The contributors to this volume seek to decipher the Hellenistic citizens' views on vital elements of their society: the city, the ruler, religion, magic and astrology, everyday life and social relations (family and gender), morality, uses of the past, and the iconography of death. How did the changes in political and social ideas affect actions and practices, which in turn again altered concepts? Moreover, the authors distinguish between the views of the common people and the elite, the evidence from inscriptions (seen as popular sentiment) and the evidence from literature (from the elite). The authors' conclusions have broad ramifications for future scholars in a field that has not hitherto received much attention. This volume is essential reading on the early development of individualism and the history of ideas.

This collection of essays was presented to Professor Soren Giversen on his 65th birthday, 9 January 1993. Their common theme is ancient Gnosticism and its importance to the social, cultural and religious development of the Mediterranean world from Hellenistic to Roman times. Our knowledge of Gnosticism has recently been enriched by the discovery of previously unknown Gnostic texts preserved in Coptic manuscripts and published by Soren Giversen and others. These texts form the point of departure for several of the essays; others deal with Marcion, early Christianity and Judaism and their attitude to crucial Gnostic issues.

The Hellenistic period is a highly complicated one. Political transformations, changing configurations of society, and even a new awareness of the world on all levels - religious, philosophical, scientific, ethnographical, cultural, artistic - characterized the centuries before the birth of Christ. In the search for both structure and understanding of these processes, the application of centre and periphery perspective is almost imperative.;Centre and periphery is a very powerful heuristic set of concepts within archaeological, historical and other studies of society and ideology, and has demonstrated its power by its continuing ability to provide new explanations and to create new images.;The series "Studies in Hellenistic Civilization" is published for the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. This fourth volume contains the proceedings of an international symposium on Centre and Periphery in the Hellenistic World held at Fuglsang Manor, Denmark, in March 1992.

This first volume in the series "Studies in Hellenistic Civilization", published for the Danish Research Council for the Humanities, covers all aspects of religion and religious practice in the Seleucid kingdom.