History of the Jews in Greece
The history of the Jews in Greece can be traced back to at least the fourth century BCE. The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, also known as "Greek Jews." The term "Greek Jew" is predominantly used for any Jew that lives in or originates from the modern region of Greece.
History of the Jews in Greece
The wedding clothing of a Sepharadi Greek couple, ca. 19th century
Mosaic floor of a synagogue in Aegina, Greece, 300 CE
Paul of Tarsus by El Greco.
The Romaniote Jews or the Romaniotes are a Greek-speaking ethnic Jewish community native to the Eastern Mediterranean. They are one of the oldest Jewish communities in existence and the oldest Jewish community in Europe. The Romaniotes have been, and remain, historically distinct from the Sephardim, some of whom settled in Ottoman Greece after the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal after 1492.
Members of the Romaniote Greek Jewish community of Volos: Rabbi Moshe Pesach (front left) with his sons (back). Prior to 1940.
Mosaic floor of a Jewish synagogue in Greece, built 300 AD, Aegina.
Colonel Mordechai Frizis (1893–1940) from the ancient Romaniote Greek Jewish community of Chalkis with his wife Victoria.
View on the Torah Ark of the Kehila Kedosha Yashan Synagogue of Ioannina with the typical Romaniote Shadayot (Votive offerings similar to the Byzantine Christian tradition) hanging on the Parochet and a Romaniote "Aleph" on the right side (a circumcision certificate with Berachot (mostly the Shiviti) and ancestral details).
