Page "Philo" Paragraph 8

We find a brief reference to Philo by the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus.

In Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus tells of Philo's selection by the Alexandrian Jewish community as their principal representative before the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula.

He says that Philo agreed to represent the Alexandrian Jews in regard to civil disorder that had developed between the Jews and the Greeks in Alexandria ( Egypt ).

Josephus also tells us that Philo was skilled in philosophy, and that he was brother to an official called Alexander the alabarch.

According to Josephus, Philo and the larger Jewish community refused to treat the emperor as a god, to erect statues in honor of the emperor, and to build altars and temples to the emperor.

Josephus says Philo believed that God actively supported this refusal.