Thy Brothers Blood

Introduction

Fraternal Relationships In The Myths Of The Ancient World

The Sin Of Cain: Fratricide In The Bible

Sibling Rivalry In Greek Mythology

Fraternal Pietas: The Foundation Story Of Romulus And Remus

The Fraternal Bonds Of The Attalids Of Pergamon

The Attalid Brothers

Present Power And Future Expectations

Fraternal Dissension And The Fall Of The Attalid Dynasty

Perseus Vs. Demetrius And The Fall Of The Antigonids

The Foundation Of Macedonian Kingship

Philip V Of Macedonia

Polybius On Perseus And Demetrius

Polybius On The Crimes Of Philip V

Supernatural Paraphernalia

Polybius On Philip V’s Earlier Crime

Tyche In Polybius

Livy On Perseus And Demetrius

Why Did Macedonia Fall?

Jason And The Fall Of The Zadokite Dynasty

2Maccabees On Jason

Jason And The Agon

2Maccabees 1:1-10a

1Maccabees And Josephus On Jason

Usurpation

Jason’s Return To Jerusalem

Jason’s Name

Jason In History

Fraternal Relationships And The Hasmonaeon Dynasty

Judas And His Brothers

Why Did Johnathan Become The Next Hasmonaean Leader?

Why Were The Maccabees Bured In Pyramid Tombs?

Aristobulus And His Brothers

To Value The Present More Than The Future

Conclusions

Works Cited

Additional Info
Through exploring the particular importance of the fraternal relationship among the dynasties of the Hellenistic world in Thy Brother’s Blood, Dr. Benjamin Scolnic demonstrates how adherence to or rejection of the “morality of kinship” literally changed the world. This in-depth book reviews fraternal relationships in the Bible and Greek and Roman mythology to create models for the falls of the Attalids of Pergamon and the Antigonids of Macedonia. The ancient writers from Rome to Jerusalem valued fraternal bonds and used fratricide as the symbol for internal dissension within nations. Using a focalized approach, Dr. Scolnic cautions that historians sometimes were so consumed with the metaphor of fraternity that they ignored the historical realities. He demonstrates this by providing a historical and moral context for the fall of one Judean dynasty, the Zadokite high priests, and for the rise and fall of the Hasmonaean dynasty, known to the world as the Maccabees.