The return of the gods: Greco-Roman mythology in eighteenth-century rabbinic lore

This study examines the reconfiguration of Greco-Roman mythology within eighteenth-century Central and Eastern European Jewish cultures. Through an analysis of rabbinic and kabbalistic writings, urban processions, and early Hasidic storytelling, it demonstrates how figures such as Apollo, Hercules, and the Amazons were woven into Jewish religious and intellectual life in innovative ways. The study traces the origins of this phenomenon to the sixteenth century, when Iberian and Italian Jewish scholars — under the influence of Renaissance humanism — incorporated classical mythology into Hebrew literature. It then explores the diverse eighteenth-century manifestations of this tradition in Central and Eastern Europe, where classical elements became embedded in Jewish religious thought and cultural expression, addressing various contemporary challenges. These included responses to Enlightenment scepticism, the desire to systematize rabbinic knowledge, messianic aspirations, and kabbalistic interpretations of Jewish and global history. By tracing the embeddedness of mythology within Jewish religious and mystical frameworks, this study reveals a complex and previously overlooked cross-cultural exchange in early modern European Jewish thought. It argues that, rather than fading in the Age of Reason, Greco-Roman mythological elements gained renewed religious significance in the eighteenth century, shaping Jewish esoteric, messianic, and intellectual traditions in unexpected ways.