For the source text click/tap here: Bechorot 8
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Our sugya describes an extended confrontation between Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah and the “Elders of Athens” (Sabei de-Bei Atuna). The identity of these Elders of Athens is unclear, and scholars throughout the generations have already questioned whether they can be identified with the sages of Athens in Greece. In any event, what we have before us is a lengthy confrontation between the sages of Israel and the sages of the nations of the world, much of which is obscure and difficult to understand. Several later commentators attempted to interpret the story systematically and homiletically.
We explore the various scholarly views of this debate between chapel and the rose men of Athens.