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Philo
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{{Short description|Hellenistic Jewish philosopher (c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE)}} {{Other uses}} {{Infobox philosopher |name = Philo |school_tradition = {{ubl|[[Middle Platonism]]|[[Hellenistic Judaism]]}} |region = [[Roman Egypt]] |era = [[Ancient philosophy]] |image = File:PhiloThevet.jpg |caption = Imaginative illustration of Philo made in 1584 by the French portrait artist [[André Thevet]] |birth_date = {{Circa|20 BCE}} |birth_place = [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman Egypt]] |death_date = {{Circa|50 CE|lk=no}} |main_interests = [[Cosmology]], [[philosophy of religion]] |notable_ideas = [[Allegorical interpretation]] of the [[Torah]] }} '''Philo of Alexandria''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|aɪ|l|oʊ}}; {{langx|grc|Φίλων|Phílōn}}; {{langx|he|יְדִידְיָה|Yəḏīḏyāh}}; {{Circa| 20 BCE| 50 CE|lk=on}}), also called '''{{lang|la|Philō Judæus|italics=no}}''',{{efn|"Philo" is the literal Greek translation of the Hebrew name {{tlit|he|Yəḏīḏyāh}} 'beloved of God', 'God loves me'; see [[Jedediah]].}} was a [[Hellenistic Jewish]] philosopher who lived in [[Alexandria]], in the [[Roman province of Egypt]]. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the [[Alexandrian Jews]] in a delegation to the Roman emperor [[Caligula]] in 40 CE following civil strife between the Jewish and Greek communities of Alexandria.<ref>(''Embassy to Gaius'')</ref><ref>''Antiquities'' xviii.8, § 1; comp. ib. xix.5, § 1; xx.5, § 2</ref><ref>[[Richard Carrier]] (2014). ''On the Historicity of Jesus''. [[Sheffield Phoenix Press]]. {{ISBN|978-1-909697-49-2}}. p. 304.</ref> Philo was a leading writer of the [[History of the Jews in Alexandria|Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria]], Egypt. He wrote expansively in [[Koine Greek]] on [[philosophy]], [[politics]], and [[religion]] in his time; specifically, he explored the connections between Greek [[Platonic philosophy]] and late [[Second Temple Judaism]]. For example, he maintained that the Greek-language [[Septuagint]] and the [[Jewish law]] still being developed by the rabbis of the period together serve as a blueprint for the pursuit of individual enlightenment. Philo's deployment of [[allegory]] to harmonize Jewish scripture, mainly the [[Torah]], with [[Greek philosophy]] was the first documented of its kind, and thereby often misunderstood. Many critics of Philo assumed his allegorical perspective would lend credibility to the notion of legend over historicity.<ref>''Philo and the Names of God'', JQR 22 (1931) pp. 295-306</ref> Philo often advocated a literal understanding of the Torah and the historicity of such described events, while at other times favoring allegorical readings.<ref>''De Opificio Mundi'', III.13, section regarding the necessity of the literal six days of creation.</ref>
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