Terapeuti e theravāda: Sull’attitudine alla "cura" di una comunità giudaica egizia e le sue similitudini con lo spirito medico degli antichi buddhisti

The article intends to investigate the Jewish group of the Therapeutae, active in the 1st century AD. A comparison has been suggested by several authors between the Therapeutae, dedicated to the care of souls, and the Buddhist who practiced the medical arts, referred to as the Theravāda. While recognizing the cosmopolitical context, in which the Mediterranean world got in touch with Buddhism, this contribution analyzes the elements common to the Therapeutae and the Buddhists, showing the inconsistency of the hypothesis.