Moses as Masterpiece: Identity and Leadership in the Greco-Roman World
During the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman eras, the reputation of Moses was contested, often maligned by non-Jewish critics. In response, Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus crafted biographies that modified biblical accounts stylistically to elevate Moses’ status. By framing Moses within the classical traditions of “aretalogy” and “encomium,” they presented him as an idealized leader whose ancient traits, ranging from extraordinary wisdom to physical beauty, remain remarkably relevant to modern leadership models.
