Essene Thíasoi and Syssítia. Hellenistic Perspective of Philo of Alexandria about the Essene Organization

Abstract

When Philo of Alexandria describes the way how Essenes organize within their communities, he uses the Greek words thíasoi and syssítia. Moreover, it is also surprising that he does not bother to explain its meaning. Therefore, we can suppose that, firstly, Philo found how to present to a Hellenistic audience the way of Essene life and, secondly, that this audience knew very well the meaning of these terms. On the other hand, if we compare Philo’s information with the Dead Sea scrolls, we will be able to see that both agree when they refer to the smallest groups in which the population was divided.