The intertestamental period of Jewish history, which preceded the life of Jesus, profoundly affected the way Jews viewed and perfected their religion. The successes of Alexander the Great had Hellenized the known world and, all things considered, homogenized old society. This situation was also exacerbated by the approach of the Roman Empire and its organizations. The diaspora of Jewish individuals, which had distanced them from their usual love at the Temple, had made them develop new methods of love around the Synagogue. Living in a pagan society also caused them to assimilate much of its thoughts and traditions. The control of Palestine and the misery it brought also gave rise to progressive developments, which thus gave rise to new religious groups, for example the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes and the