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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250418T160000
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SUMMARY:“The Rabbis\' Queens: Cleopatra and Zenobia in Talmudic Literature”
DESCRIPTION:\nJoin the CAMS department for the final lecture in the 2024
/25 series “Connected Histories of the Ancient Mediterranean and Near Ea
st.”\n\nCatherine Bonesho (UCLA) will deliver a talk entitled:\n\n“The R
abbis' Queens: Cleopatra and Zenobia in Talmudic Literature”\n\nFriday\,
April 18\, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.\n\n102 Weaver Building and via Zoom\n\nAbs
tract:\n\nThe famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra and the Palmyrene Queen Ze
nobia each ruled at and within the intersections of the ancient Near Eas
t and the Mediterranean. Polemical Roman sources like those of Cassius D
io and the Historia Augusta have loomed large in scholarship and in the
public perception of the queens\; however\, they do not represent the on
ly kinds of sources and approaches to the queens. Indeed\, my analysis w
ill focus on the handful of references to Zenobia and Cleopatra in the c
lassical rabbinic texts of the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds and wi
ll emphasize the need of a large scope study that contextualizes the rab
binic passages in the rich afterlives of Cleopatra in the late antique w
orld. Using the Palmyrene queen Zenobia as an exemplar\, I show how thos
e living under and responding to Roman rule in the third century CE and
later appropriated Cleopatra and her persona. Similarly\, the rabbis of
the Babylonian Talmud use Cleopatra’s portrait toward a variety of goals
. First\, they tell stories of Cleopatra’s knowledge of embryology and t
he human body to support certain rabbinic concepts\, including resurrect
ion and menstrual impurity. Second\, they elevate and include the rabbis
themselves in the famous struggle of Cleopatra versus Rome\, East versu
s West\, with the goal of further authorizing the rabbinic project itsel
f.\n\nFor more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/the-rabbis-queen
s/
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Join the CAMS d
epartment for the final lecture in the 2024/25 series “Connected Histori
es of the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East.”
Catherine Bonesho
(UCLA) will deliver a talk entitled:
“The Rabbis' Queens: Cleopatr
a and Zenobia in Talmudic Literature”
Friday, April 18, 2025 at 4:
00 p.m.
102 Weaver Building and via Zoom
Abstract:
The
famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra and the Palmyrene Queen Zenobia each rul
ed at and within the intersections of the ancient Near East and the Medi
terranean. Polemical Roman sources like those of Cassius Dio and the His
toria Augusta have loomed large in scholarship and in the public percept
ion of the queens; however, they do not represent the only kinds of sour
ces and approaches to the queens. Indeed, my analysis will focus on the
handful of references to Zenobia and Cleopatra in the classical rabbinic
texts of the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds and will emphasize the
need of a large scope study that contextualizes the rabbinic passages in
the rich afterlives of Cleopatra in the late antique world. Using the P
almyrene queen Zenobia as an exemplar, I show how those living under and
responding to Roman rule in the third century CE and later appropriated
Cleopatra and her persona. Similarly, the rabbis of the Babylonian Talm
ud use Cleopatra’s portrait toward a variety of goals. First, they tell
stories of Cleopatra’s knowledge of embryology and the human body to sup
port certain rabbinic concepts, including resurrection and menstrual imp
urity. Second, they elevate and include the rabbis themselves in the fam
ous struggle of Cleopatra versus Rome, East versus West, with the goal o
f further authorizing the rabbinic project itself.
For more detail
s: https://
events.la.psu.edu/event/the-rabbis-queens/
LOCATION:102 Weaver Building
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