The famous Talmudic tale of R. Joshua ben Hananiah and the ‘elders of the house of Athens’ has been discussed at length by the traditional Talmudic commentators and by modern scholars. This chapter seeks to subject the story to literary analysis with a view possibly of shedding some further light on the general literary style and method of the Babylonian Talmud. The story is found in the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Bekhorot 8b–9a. Although the reference to R. Joshua and the gestation of a serpent is found in the midrash and one or two of the riddles are found in another midrash, the story in its entirety is only found in this section of the Babylonian Talmud.

The story begins with the question Caesar puts to R. Joshua, ‘What is the duration of a serpent's gestation and birth?,’ to which R. Joshua replies, ‘Seven years.’ But, Caesar objects, the ‘elders of the house of Athens’ coupled a male serpent with a female and she gave birth after no more than three years, to which R. Joshua replies that at the time of the coupling the female had already been pregnant for four years. That cannot be, argues Caesar, since a pregnant animal does not copulate. R. Joshua replies that serpents, like human beings, do copulate even when the female is pregnant. But, objects Caesar, this casts doubts on the wisdom of the Athenian Sages, to which R. Joshua replies that ‘we,’ i.e. the Jewish Sages, have greater wisdom than the Athenians.