Description

Philo Judaeus was a first-century Alexandrian philosopher, religious allegorist, and political figure whose accomplishments merit wider recognition than they have received to date. Philo was the first individual in history to present a religious creed. He was the first to employ negative theology, espoused by Maimonides more than a thousand years later. He reconciled Platonic concepts with the Torah. He developed allegorical interpretations of the Torah. He described the first nonviolent protest in recorded history. He led a mission to the Roman emperor Caligula to save the Alexandrian Jewish community. He influenced early Christian writers including Clement of Alexandria and Origen.