Homotopia: the feminized Jewish man and the lives of women in late antiquity

Feminine characterizations of Jewish men arose due to European views that Jewish scholars do not have the masculine attributes of men. The concept, which emerged during Roman times and continued through the Christian era, may be seen in two talmudic stories concerning the relationship between Rabbi Yehudah Hannassi and Caesar Antoninus and the transformation of a rabbi from a Roman-like brigand into an example of ideal Jewish maleness.