Editing Decapolis (section)

== Culture ==
The Decapolis was a region where two cultures interacted: the culture of the Greek colonists and the indigenous [[Second Temple Judaism|Jewish]] and Aramean cultures. There was some conflict. The Greek inhabitants were shocked by the [[Brit milah|Jewish practice of circumcision]], which was regarded as a cruel and barbaric [[genital mutilation]].<ref name="Hodges2001">{{cite journal |last=Hodges |first=Frederick M. |year=2001 |title=The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome: Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipodermos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kynodesme |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/history/hodges2/ |format=PDF |journal=[[Bulletin of the History of Medicine]] |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |volume=75 |issue=Fall 2001 |pages=375–405 |doi=10.1353/bhm.2001.0119 |pmid=11568485 |s2cid=29580193 |access-date=13 February 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Various elements of Jewish dissent towards the dominant and [[Hellenization|assimilative nature of Hellenic civilization]] arose gradually in the face of assimilation. At the same time, [[Syncretism|cultural blending and borrowing]] also occurred in the Decapolis region. 

The cities acted as centers for the diffusion of Hellenistic culture. Some local deities began to be called by the name [[Zeus]], from the chief Greek god. Meanwhile, in some cities Greeks began worshipping these local "Zeus" deities alongside their own Zeus Olympios. There is evidence that the colonists adopted the worship of other [[Ancient Semitic religion|Semitic gods]], including [[Phoenicia]]n deities and the chief Nabatean god, [[Dushara]] (worshipped under his Hellenized name, ''Dusares''). The worship of these Semitic gods is attested in coins and inscriptions from the cities.