already, the greatness of Hellenism was that it did not require of its newly conquered peoples that they give up their indigenous ways; rather, it often allowed them to express themselves within the new culture in ways that were true to their own tradition. At another level, however, the speed with which Greek culture spread did not pick up significantly till the second century B.C.E., when we have increasing evidence for Greek monuments and architecture. Judea, as before in the Persian period, remained