Sylvie Honigman (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: סילבי הוניגמן; born 1965) is an academic and author. Her research interests include the
Hellenistic period
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
,
Greek historiography in the Hellenistic period,
Jews in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, and Jewish literature in Greek. Since 2003, she has been a senior lecturer at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
. She has authored two books along with many articles.
Education
Honigman obtained all her degrees from the
University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
: a bachelor's degree in history in 1986, a master's degree in ancient history in 1990, and a doctorate in ancient history in 1995.
Her doctoral dissertation, "''Les Orientaux dans l'Égypte grecque et romaine: onomastique, identité culturelle et statut personnel''" ("Orientals in Ptolemic and Roman Egypt: Onomastics, cultural identity and personal status"), was supervised by Professor
Joseph Mélèze-Modrzejewski
Joseph Mélèze-Modrzejewski (Józef Edmund Mélèze-Modrzejewski, 8 March 1930 in Lublin – 29 January 2017) was a Polish-French historian and professor of ancient history at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University.
Career
Joseph Mélèze-Modrzejews ...
.
[ She also received a French national degree for teacher training in history and geography in 1989.][
]
Career
While studying for her doctorate, Honigman worked part-time in the department of history at Paris-Est Créteil University
The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris Est, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Ga ...
from 1991 to 1994. In the 1994-1995 academic year she was a full-time doctoral student in the department of history at the University of Caen Normandy
The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France.
History
The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...
.[
After obtaining her PhD, Honigman became a tenured lecturer in ancient history at the University of Caen from 1995 to 1998. She then moved to Israel to accept a similar position at ]Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
from 1998 to 2003. In 2003, she became a senior lecturer at the latter institution.[
Honigman's research interests include the ]Hellenistic period
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
, Greek historiography in the Hellenistic period, Jews in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, and Jewish literature in Greek.[ She is a member of the Maccabees Project at ]Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
.
Notably, she has idiosyncratic views downplaying the reliability of the books of Maccabees as a source on the Maccabean Revolt
The Maccabean Revolt () was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167 to 160 BCE and ended with the Seleucids in control of ...
compared to other historians. She has argued that the persecution of traditionalist Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( 215 BC–November/December 164 BC) was king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. Notable events during Antiochus' reign include his near-conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of ...
was greatly overstated in the surviving sources, and the conflict was more due to economic factors than religious ones. While other historians have been skeptical about her strongest claims, her work is generally considered a useful addition to the field.[ Mendels also cites:]
Works
*
*
References
External links
" Tales of High Priests and Taxes with Dr. Sylvie Honigman" (videos)
''Ancient Jew Review'', March 25, 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honigman, Sylvie
Living people
1965 births
Academic staff of Tel Aviv University