JASON OF CYRENE. - An educated Jew from North Africa, author of a work in 5 books, of which II Macc., except for the beginning (1:1-2:18), is nothing but a summary (cf. II Macc. 2:23).

This is the only information available about G. and his voluminous work. It, as emerges from our canonical book, starting from the robbery attempted by Heliodorus in the temple (175 B.C.), reached the victory of Judas over Nicanor (161 B.C.).

The detailed and precise information contained in II Macc. allows one to deduce that G. (from whom it derives) drew on eyewitnesses of the events and wrote shortly after 161. He does not appear to have used written sources. The hypothesis (Schlatter) that I Macc. also depends on G. is without foundation.

Bibliography5 works

BIBL.: A. Schlatter, Jason von Kyrene. Ein Beitrag zu seiner Wiederherstellung, Munich 1891; E. Schürer, Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes, I, 3rd-4th ed., Leipzig 1901, p. 40; III, 3rd ed., ibid. 1898, pp. 358-61; A. Momigliano, Prime linee di storia nella tradizione maccabaica, Rome 1930; M.-J. Lagrange, Le judaïsme avant Jésus-Christ, 2nd ed., Paris 1931, p. 48.

Francesco Spadafora

@incollection{ec6_giasone_di_cirene, author = {Spadafora, Francesco}, title = {Giasone di Cirene}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VI}, pages = {380}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/giasone-di-cirene} }

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Jason of Cyrene

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