Pontius Pilate

Nicodemus' writes with  Rabbi Gamamiel concerning the arrest and persecution of Pilate, for his sudden faith in Jesus.

A little picture is painted for the sake of the people present, about how Pilate was crucified, then taken down,
and then the son of the emperor Tiberius is said to rise from the dead through the power of the Lord Jesus.

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Analyzes the evidence and scholarship concerning the question of whether Herod the Great did in fact serve as chief imperial procurator of the Roman province of Syria. Concludes he did, but that this was a private business office and not a government position. Analyzes the evidence and scholarship on the distinction and separate functions of prefects and procurators in the time of Augustus.

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The Report of Pilate to Tiberius, known also as Anaphora Pilati, is an ancient apocryphal work attributed to Pontius Pilate and originally written in Greek. In it, the governor of Judea informs the Emperor in Rome about Jesus’ miracles, death sentence, crucifixion and resurrection. The tradition of such a report is alluded to by various early Christian writers. A thorough search for and investigation of its Greek manuscript witnesses has shed new light on certain aspects of its history, and especially on its origin and transmission. Firstly, one so-called « recension A » of the Report of Pilate is transmitted together with the Greek Acts of Pilate: this joint transmission explains the unusual syntax of the Report’s first lines, which modern translators have always tended to overlook. Some lexical choices also raise the possibility of the Report’s dependance on Eusebius’ Church History (1, 9; 9, 5.11). Secondly, the text could be dated to the second half of the 5th century on the basis of geographical names – the mention of Palestine and Phoenicia, the designation of Pilate’s administrative territory as a ἐπαρχία (the word being taken in its Christian, byzantine meaning and not as a subdivision of the early Roman Empire), and the variants on the names of Capernaum and Paneas. This lexical study enhances previous attempts to date the text in relation to specific places of worship mentionned in the Report of Pilate. An appendix offers a list of manuscripts organised in families and subfamilies.

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions

One of the least known characters of antiquity is Pontius Pilate. While he is primarily recognized for one major event in history, the trial of Jesus Christ, he has most recently been described as anti-Semitic, a convert, cruel, insensitive, without conviction, villain, or possibly a Saint. In this biographical study, a two-fold approach to the life of Pilate's leadership is explored.

The extremely complex apocryphal acta Pilati-tradition was comprised of four different phases. The first phase is the official record of the imperial magistrate. The second component of the tradition is definitely pagan in origin and was used in the anti-Christian propaganda. Christian texts which may have arisen in response to the pagan forgeries can be considered the third component of the tradition. The Christian texts can be divided into two separate branches: the Western textual tradition written in Latin usually demonizes Pilate’s character, while in the Eastern tradition Pilate’s character has been totally metamorphosed: the praefectus became a confessor, saint, and martyr of the Church.

...a consideration of the historicity and significance of Jesus’ life from a chronological perspective.  Jesus is most commonly thought to have ministered either from c. 27 to 30 AD or from 29 to 33 AD.  Both suggestions are broadly compatible with the relevant Biblical data, but require us to discard a large amount of extra-Biblical data.  They also (in some of their forms) necessitate a less-than-straightforward interpretation of: a] the flow of events in the Gospels, and b] the time-indicators implicit in John 2.20 and Gal. 1.15-20.  In the present paper, I propose an alternative:  a Jan. 26 to Apr. 28 AD ministry.  Those who believe Jesus to have been crucified on Friday 15th Nisan (as I do) are commonly attracted to a 30 or 33 AD crucifixion date on the basis of astronomical considerations.  But, despite many assertions to the contrary, it is possible for the Passover to have fallen on a Friday in 28 AD (once intercalation is correctly handled), which enables the relevant Biblical data to be treated more soundly and the relevant extra-Biblical data to be given its full weight.  As for the apparent conflict between the Synoptic and Johannine accounts of the Passion week, I here proffer a version of Jaubert’s 364-day-year hypothesis, which turns out to be particularly amenable to a 28 AD crucifixion.  If my claims are correct--i.e., if Jesus ate his last supper within a community where the 364-day-year calendar was observed--, then Jesus’ last supper should be seen not as a fulfilment of the Mosaic law’s requirements, but as a prophetic enactment of the events to come (akin to Jesus’ coronation at Bethany and the ‘signs’ acted out by Israel’s prophets).  A community where the 364-day-year calendar was observed merely provided a convenient and appropriate environment.  As such, the present paper undercuts two frequently-made claims about the Gospels:  a] that they cannot fruitfully be treated as credible historical documents;  and b] that their account of Jesus’ last days contains an irreconciable (in Ehrman’s words, “impossible”) contradiction.  It also sheds light on the significance of Jesus’ ministry.  As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says, “Some of Judaism’s most profound truths are to be found not in texts, but in time--in the Jewish calendar itself”.

In Pilate and Jesus, Giorgio Agamben argues that Pontius Pilate never formally condemned Jesus of Nazareth. “The traditional interpretation of Jesus’ trial … must be revised,” he urges, because “there has not been any judgement in a technical sense.” Pilate’s non-judgement is the original truth of Jesus’ death which has been “covered over and neutralized by tradition.” What would it mean if Jesus’ death had no legal status? If he had not been condemned to the “ultimate punishment” by a Roman prefect, but had merely been killed hors la loi with Pilate’s connivance? These are interesting questions, but Agamben’s use of sources in posing and resolving them is capricious. The present article sets out a critique of the legal and philological argumentation of Pilate and Jesus. In the process, it critically revisits an ancient – and still actual – controversy surrounding the Roman trial of Jesus, and demonstrates that Pilate did sentence Jesus, pro tribunali, to death on a cross.

This article examines the motifs on the coins struck in Judaea under the auspices of local Roman governors (prefects and procurators) between the dismissal of the ethnarch, Herod Archelaus, in 6 CE and the eve of the First Jewish Revolt which broke out in 66 CE. Although the governors were only designated by the title procurator from the mid-first century onwards, this series of coins is conventionally referred to as "procuratorial." All are bronzes minted in Jerusalem in a single denomination, generally identified as the prutah, and bear aniconic motifs. Because they carry year dates, we know that these coins were issued fairly sporadically and the possible reasons for this are reviewed. The coin types are analysed and their respective origins and meanings identified. An attempt is made to assess the extent to which their motifs support the picture presented in the literary sources of the changing political climate in both in Judaea and Rome over the period in which these coins were minted.

Perché un nuovo libro su Giovanni e Gesù? Il Battista e il Nazareno sono
due gigantesche figure ebraiche che hanno avuto un influsso determinante,
per due millenni, sulle culture che si sono ispirate al cristianesimo.
È da loro, soprattutto, che derivano i grandi miti del giudizio universale
e del regno di Dio e i modelli etici e culturali della necessità di un
mutamento radicale di vita, della giustizia sociale, della riconciliazione e
di molti altri.
Questi due personaggi sono spesso accostati l’uno all’altro, ma è anche
vero che, nell’opinione più diffusa, la figura di Gesù ha oscurato quella del
Battista. Succede addirittura che molte storie del cristianesimo comincino
con Gesù dimenticando l’esistenza di Giovanni. In realtà, l’inizio di tutto
sta in Giovanni e nel suo grande rito collettivo dell’immersione in acqua.
Non si può comprendere Gesù, la sua azione e le sue idee, se prima non si
è capito Giovanni. La sua attività, il suo successo e molte delle sue idee stanno
alla base della vicenda di Gesù. Abbiamo scritto perciò questo libro proprio
per esaminare in modo approfondito il rapporto tra Gesù e il Battista.
Per questo riesame, abbiamo fatto ricorso a schemi interpretativi che ci
vengono dalla storia delle culture e a una visione particolare dei movimenti
creativi che nascono, a volte per periodi abbastanza brevi, nella storia umana.
L’idea dei periodi creativi è nuova ma anche antica. Antica, perché Jacob
Burckhardt aveva parlato di momenti cruciali di accelerazione storica
suscitando ulteriori riflessioni, come ad esempio quella di George Balandier.
Ma l’ipotesi è anche nuova perché l’abbiamo modificata e articolata
facendo ricorso alla dialettica tra istituzioni e bisogni, alle teorie delle crisi
endemiche e alle funzioni determinanti dei giacimenti culturali, presenti
in ogni società o aggregato etnico.
Nei brevi periodi creativi, il successo di un’innovazione che mira a
risolvere situazioni endemiche di crisi provoca per emulazione una serie
di altri tentativi innovativi che convergono o divergono nel progetto di cambiamento radicale della società. Esempi celebri vanno dalla Riforma protestante alla Rivoluzione francese, a molti altri.
Il libro mette in luce sia la somiglianza sia la differenza tra i due leader, Giovanni e Gesù, che furono, ambedue, caratterizzati dalla creatività che si scatena nei brevi periodi innovativi.
Si tratta di una creatività che continuò poi per decenni fra i loro seguaci, i quali diedero vita a una straordinaria efflorescenza di gruppi in tutta l’area mediterranea e mediorientale e mesopotamica. Per questo, abbiamo premesso nel capitolo 1 un breve affresco della estrema diversità, opposizione, e spesso conflittualità dei primi gruppi di seguaci di Gesù, dopo la sua morte fin verso il 150 E.C.
Sia Giovanni che Gesù cercarono di rispondere alla crisi endemica della società giudaica dopo l’occupazione romana. L’originalità delle loro divergenti risposte dipese dai diversi ambienti sociali, umani e territoriali. Gesù prese molto dal Battista, ma il suo contatto con la gente che viveva nella povertà e nella malattia lo sollecitava in modo particolare. Un’ottica socioantropologica ci permette di ricostruire l’originalità e la creatività di ambedue.
Non abbiamo inteso scrivere due nuove biografie di Giovanni e Gesù, né ricostruire in modo completo le loro fisionomie religiose. Abbiamo voluto insistere sul loro approccio ai bisogni fondamentali della popolazione giudaica e sulle soluzioni che a loro parere avrebbero potuto risolvere la crisi che essa attraversava.
Abbiamo letto i Vangeli (e le altre fonti disponibili) con un’attenzione costante alla crisi della società che trapela nelle loro pagine, ai bisogni della gente e alle soluzioni che i due leader proponevano. Ciò ci ha permesso di scoprire tracce molto significative e spesso poco note del rapporto tra Giovanni Battista e Gesù.

RE: Facades, illusions & ideological concepts created & promoted by ancient royalty out of necessity; effective creation of an alternate version of reality. It is only by knowing this information that the true nature of ancient texts may be understood correctly. Not knowing, means making incorrect assumptions & conclusions. Important!

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions
Key words: mythological mosaic, House of Aion, Nea Paphos, Late Antiquity, Roman art, allegorical narrative, allusive language of mythological pictures, wordplay (Marsyas-Messias), Jesus Christ, anti-Christian polemic, Dionysos, Cassiopeia, Apollon, Nereides, Abstract Personifications, Greek Mythology, ΚΥΠΡΟΣ

The chapter introduces the political world of Jesus and the first disciples via a narrative history of Palestine, centered on the period 37 BC–AD 70. It argues that "religion" and "politics" were deeply intertwined in the first century, embedded together in the concrete forms of social life, such that any interpretation of the Gospels needs to take full account of their various interactions with their historical context.

Katika sura zilizopita tuliona hali ya utawala na kisiasa katika nchi ya Israeli na namna makundi mbalimbali ya kisiasa, kidini na kiutawala yalivyokuwa na uadui na Yesu. Pia tuliona namna Yesu alivyoingia Yerusalemu kwa kishindo, na siku chache baadaye kukamatwa na kupelekwa mbele ya Baraza ya Wayahudi, kabla ya kufikishwa mbele ya mahakama rasmi ya Kirumi. Katika Sura hii tutaangazia kwa undani namna kesi dhidi ya Yesu ilivyoendeshwa na utawala wa kirumi, sheria zilizotumika na uzito wa hoja na mashtaka dhidi ya Yesu. Endelea… Yesu mbele ya Pilato Usiku wa kuamkia kesi yake, Yesu hakupata wasaa wa kusinzia kabisa. Ilipokuwa asubuhi, siku ya Ijumaa, viongozi wa Kiyahudi walimpeleka Yesu kwa Pilato. 1 Viongozi wa Kiyahudi walikuwa wameandaa mashitaka yatakayopelekea adhabu ya kifo na si adhabu nyingine. Kitendo cha viongozi wa Kiyahudi kuita mashahidi na kumhoji Yesu kwanza kabla ya kumpeleka kwa Pilato kinafanana na utaratibu wa Uchunguzi wa Awali ("Preliminary Inquiry") katika mfumo wa kimahakama wa siku hizi.

The new discovery of the Pilate ring at Herodium has created a response by some scholars that this could not have been the ring of Pontius Pilate. While much of the debate has focused on the Greek name inscribed on the ring, the image is of equal significance and may further support that this was the ring used by the administrative assistant for Pilate for sealing the governorʼs documents. The image on the ring is possibly associated with Roman religious ceremonies (i.e., suovetaurilia, bacchanalia) and the imperial cult that were characteristic of the images on the coins that Pilate had minted during his term as governor.

The focus of this work has been to interpret aspects of the ancient coinages of Syria-Palestine and the coinage alloys, as well as put the results in a defined political, social and economic context in the Roman period. One of the major contributions is the analytical study of the chemical constituents of the early provincial coinage of Judaea that brought new approaches to the interpretation of the regional coinages and coinage alloys. The author imagines much progress will be made in this field in years to come, as some of the presently on-going archaeometallurgical research will be published. Trace element level profiles for the early provincial coinage of Judaea suggest that the firstRoman governors may have been responsible for removing the stock of pre-Roman bronze coins from circulation and initiating a process of their liquidation in A.D. 6. The most noteworthy changes in the chemical composition of the provincial coinage of Judaea occurred under Emperor Tiberius (A.D. 15-37), which in turn has prompted ideas about changing the mandate periods of some of the Roman governors.
Furthermore, the new interpretation of the coin data from Qumran indicates that the site had an advanced monetary economy in the Roman period similar to contemporary sites in Israel. The important archaeological conclusion emerging from the study of the Qumran silver, as far as the settlement chronology is concerned, is that the burial date of most of the silver caches does not support the chronology suggested by the original excavator for the main occupational periods. The earliest possible burial date for one or more of the Qumran silver coin hoards is in the light of this study conclusively not 9/8 B.C. but ca. A.D. 52/53-66, either before or during the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66-70). However, the extraordinary manner of seemingly simultaneous archaeological
burials in mostly unknown ceramic vessel types, in the mind of the author points to a burial date for all the three hoards possibly in the post A.D. 210 period.

«Patì sotto Ponzio Pilato, fu crocifisso, morì e fu sepolto». Così recita l'articolo 4, parte I, sezione II, Capitolo II del Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica 1 . La Rivelazione, le fonti bibliche ed extra-bibliche, il Credo stesso evocano gli eventi di processo, passione e morte di Cristo come indissolubilmente legati all'epoca storica e al nome di Ponzio Pilato.

The purpose of this of essay will be to examine the nature of Roman military control in the province of Judea by looking at the disposition and actions or duties of the Roman forces in the province. The research will be focusing on three periods of Roman control in the province. The first period sees Judea as a client kingdom, the second period will cover the first period of Roman control, (this period runs from Augustus dismissing the ruling Herodian in AD6 to the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt AD66) and the third period will cover the Roman actions in the First Jewish Revolt AD66-73.

Wenn Pontius Pilatus am Ende des Prozesses gegen Jesus seine „Hände in Unschuld wäscht“ (Mt. 27,24), dann zitiert er damit ein altjüdisches Entsühnungsritual für einen unaufgeklärten Mord (vgl. Dt. 21,7). Es ist sowohl eine Form der Unschuldsbeteuerung als auch zugleich das Eingeständnis, dass hier Unrecht geschieht oder geschehen ist (‚Blut an der Hand klebt‘). Das gilt auch für Rolf Hochhuths Drama ‚Der Stellvertreter‘, in dem Papst Pius XII. sich die Hände wäscht angesichts der von ihm nicht öffentlich angeprangerten Naziverbrechen. Zwischen diesen beiden Polen der Schuldabwehr und der Anerkennung von Schuld, so die These des Beitrags, bewegen sich die Handwaschungen im christlichen Kult. Nach der frühchristlichen Ablehnung des Händewaschens als einem Reinigungsritus, mit dem nach ‚Befleckungen‘ verschiedenster Art Kultfähigkeit (wieder)hergestellt werden sollte, halten seit dem früheren Mittelalter Handwaschungen Einzug auch in die christliche Liturgie. Dabei ist einmal eine enge Verbindung mit dem Zölibatsdiskurs und damit eine Reduktion auf geschlechtliche ‚Befleckung’ zu beobachten: Nur noch sexuell enthaltsam lebende Priester dürfen mit ihren ‚reinen Händen‘ die Eucharistie berühren. Und zum anderen gehen mit der Integration von Reinigungsriten in die Hl. Messe spirituelle Auslegungen einher, die betonen, dass es auf die Bedeutung ankomme, nicht (wie dem Judentum unterstellt wird) auf den äußeren Akt. Exemplarisch zeigt der Beitrag solche Allegoresen des liturgischen Händewaschens am ‚Rationale divinorum officiorum‘ des Wilhelm Durandus auf, wo es in doppelter Funktion gedeutet wird: als Aufforderung an den Priester, die eigene Sündhaftigkeit einzugestehen, wie auch als eine an Pilatus erinnernde Unschuldsbeteuerung, nicht für den Tod Jesu verantwortlich zu sein, dessen Gedächtnis die Hl. Messe feiert.

Comme l'a montré Ernst von Doschütz dans son magistral Christusbilder, la légende associant le portrait de Jésus à Véronique a partie liée avec une série de traditions littéraires sur Ponce Pilate, au point d'ailleurs qu'elle ne peut être correctement comprise hors de ce contexte 1 . Ces traditions sont d'une grande complexité et souffrent d'avoir été quelque peu négligées par la recherche 2 . Plusieurs textes importants sont ainsi toujours dans l'attente d'une édition critique. Les quelques études qui ont été consacrées aux autres dans le courant du XX e siècle ont montré l'insuffisance des éditions existances et ont complexifié le dossier. Les origines et les relations des divers récits de l'Antiquité et du Haut Moyen Âge consacrés à Pilate et à Véronique -pour ne pas parler des enjeux dont ils sont porteurs -sont ainsi loin de pouvoir être élucidées. Il n'est dès lors pas surprenant que les études sur le culte de la « Sainte Face » soient relativement prudentes dès lors qu'elles s'aventurent avant le XII e siècle, date à partir de laquelle ce culte est relativement bien documenté 3 .

A group of amateurs has published what they claim is a French translation of a travel memoir by Pontius Pilate written in 37 C.E. while he was enroute to Rome to defend himself against charges of the excessive use of force. No antecedent Latin text is available, so far as this author knows, which does not bode well for considering it possibly genuine. This essay nevertheless reviews the contents and what is known of its provenance and reaches certain conclusions.

The mysteries of Mount Sibyl and the Lakes of Pilate, in the Sibillini Mountain Range in Italy are both ancient enigmas which are still unsolved. As reported in a fifteenth-century account provided by Antoine de la Sale in his "The Paradise of Queen Sibyl", the sinister Lakes of Pilate have been visited for many centuries by necromancers coming from all over Europe, in search of an eerie, magical setting where to consecrate their spellbooks: a cursed place of gloomy waters, in which the body of Pontius Pilate would have been cast in antiquity, according to an ancient legend.

In this paper, following the marks left by the historical character of Pontius Pilate in the ancient literature of the Roman and early-Christian age, Michele Sanvico probes into the many apocryphal texts which enshroud the prefect's legendary figure, subsequently confronting with the amazing medieval sources that built up the myth concerning the final days of Pilate and the curse which fell on his burial places, be it Vienne in France, Lucerne in Switzerland or the Sibillini Mountain Range in Italy.

The goal of this research is to uncover the real essence of the myth of the Italian Lakes of Pilate, by highlightig the true origin of this legendary tale which establishes an odd connection between the lakes and the Roman prefect who was mentioned in the Gospels, by fully retracing the literary path that led to this remarkable association. The daring aim of all this is to cast an illuminating light on the mythical core of the legend that inhabits the place which we call today as the Lakes of Pilate, but was once known as the Lake of Norcia or the Lake of the Sibyl.

This article is Part 1 of the full paper on the above topic (including a Part 2 and a Part 3), and also part of an extended series of papers on the true origin of the Apennine Sibyl's and Pilatus Lakes' legends.

Affaire Jesus: Pilate’s procedural conduct is certainly influenced by the behavior of the Jewish authorities who threaten him of treason against the Emperor Tiberius but also by the existence of norms designed to preserve the provincials (the evolution of the original lex Calpurnia). However, Pilate’s answer was immediate, it is in “Titulus crucis”: Jesus, King of the Jews, in which, among other things, as reported by John, ὁ Ναζωραῖος, assumes, according to the interpretation of the Author, a specific meaning, far beyond what is usually passed down from “Nazarene”. Aspects, connected also to the sentence executed, offer, according to the Author, futuristic interesting from the scientific perspective

Arguments have been presented by Donald T. Ariel (2011) for the minting of the "year two" and "year three" bronze units (prutot) by John of Gischala's faction and its Zealot allies. These coins bear the hallmark of a procuratorial issue in their design. The exceptional "year four" silver quarter sheqel similarly owes its design to two linked procuratorial coins, so if John of Gischala (Gush Ḥalav) was behind the minting of the abovementioned bronzes one wonders if the same applied to these rare and short-lived quarter sheqels. The choice of the specific procuratorial issues for these coin types is also discussed.

This article examines the motifs on the coins struck in Judaea under the auspices of local Roman governors (prefects and procurators) between the dismissal of the ethnarch, Herod Archelaus, in 6 CE and the eve of the First Jewish Revolt which broke out in 66 CE. Although the governors were only designated by the title procurator from the mid-first century onwards, this series of coins is conventionally referred to as "procuratorial." All are bronzes minted in Jerusalem in a single denomination, generally identified as the prutah, and bear aniconic motifs. Because they carry year dates, we know that these coins were issued fairly sporadically and the possible reasons for this are reviewed. The coin types are analysed and their respective origins and meanings identified. An attempt is made to assess the extent to which their motifs support the picture presented in the literary sources of the changing political climate in both in Judaea and Rome over the period in which these coins were minted.

In this paper, I attempt an approach to the ‘historical Pilate.’ I aim to present the sources referring to him as well as to point out their rhetorical tendencies. However, the approach is selective: whereas all references to Pilate in Philo and Josephus will be addressed, with respect to the New Testament, this study will be based only on the Gospel of John, because its text offers the longest narrative of the Roman trial of Jesus among the Gospels. At the end of each section, the main conclusions are presented. Finally, after discussed all the sources chosen for this work, I will try to depict a picture of the ‘historical Pilate.’

The mysteries of Mount Sibyl and the Lakes of Pilate, in the Sibillini Mountain Range in Italy are both ancient enigmas which are still unsolved. As reported in a fifteenth-century account provided by Antoine de la Sale in his "The Paradise of Queen Sibyl", the sinister Lakes of Pilate have been visited for many centuries by necromancers coming from all over Europe, in search of an eerie, magical setting where to consecrate their spellbooks: a cursed place of gloomy waters, in which the body of Pontius Pilate would have been cast in antiquity, according to an ancient legend.

In this paper, following the marks left by the historical character of Pontius Pilate in the ancient literature of the Roman and early-Christian age, Michele Sanvico probes into the many apocryphal texts which enshroud the prefect's legendary figure, subsequently confronting with the amazing medieval sources that built up the myth concerning the final days of Pilate and the curse which fell on his burial places, be it Vienne in France, Lucerne in Switzerland or the Sibillini Mountain Range in Italy.

The goal of this research is to uncover the real essence of the myth of the Italian Lakes of Pilate, by highlightig the true origin of this legendary tale which establishes an odd connection between the lakes and the Roman prefect who was mentioned in the Gospels, by fully retracing the literary path that led to this remarkable association. The daring aim of all this is to cast an illuminating light on the mythical core of the legend that inhabits the place which we call today as the Lakes of Pilate, but was once known as the Lake of Norcia or the Lake of the Sibyl.

This article is Part 3 of the full paper on the above topic (also including a Part 1 and a Part 2), and also part of an extended series of papers on the true origin of the Apennine Sibyl's and Pilatus Lakes' legends.

The mysteries of Mount Sibyl and the Lakes of Pilate, in the Sibillini Mountain Range in Italy are both ancient enigmas which are still unsolved. As reported in a fifteenth-century account provided by Antoine de la Sale in his "The Paradise of Queen Sibyl", the sinister Lakes of Pilate have been visited for many centuries by necromancers coming from all over Europe, in search of an eerie, magical setting where to consecrate their spellbooks: a cursed place of gloomy waters, in which the body of Pontius Pilate would have been cast in antiquity, according to an ancient legend.

In this paper, following the marks left by the historical character of Pontius Pilate in the ancient literature of the Roman and early-Christian age, Michele Sanvico probes into the many apocryphal texts which enshroud the prefect's legendary figure, subsequently confronting with the amazing medieval sources that built up the myth concerning the final days of Pilate and the curse which fell on his burial places, be it Vienne in France, Lucerne in Switzerland or the Sibillini Mountain Range in Italy.

The goal of this research is to uncover the real essence of the myth of the Italian Lakes of Pilate, by highlightig the true origin of this legendary tale which establishes an odd connection between the lakes and the Roman prefect who was mentioned in the Gospels, by fully retracing the literary path that led to this remarkable association. The daring aim of all this is to cast an illuminating light on the mythical core of the legend that inhabits the place which we call today as the Lakes of Pilate, but was once known as the Lake of Norcia or the Lake of the Sibyl.

This article is Part 2 of the full paper on the above topic (including a Part 1 and a Part 3), and also part of an extended series of papers on the true origin of the Apennine Sibyl's and Pilatus Lakes' legends.

Were Pilate and Herod being churlish and vindictive, rubbing it in when the unfortunate Jesus was being led away to crucifixion while they renewed their friendship? What is behind Luke's statement that on the day of Jesus' death, they became "friends"?

Wizerunek późno antycznego sędziego pozostaje owiany tajemnicą, ponieważ wizualne artefakty obrazujące procesy sądowe należą do rzadkości. Zabytkami pomagającymi rozpoznać ten temat są sarkofagi wczesnochrześcijańskie oraz iluminacje zawarte we wczesnych manuskryptach. Znajdujące się tam przedstawienia sądu nad Jezusem w pełni odwołują się do kultury prawnej IV i V w. Zachodni twórcy nie mieli wiedzy na temat procesu, który odbył się na po- czątku I w. w Jerozolimie, prowincji rzymskiej. Z tego powodu przedstawiali to, co znali z doświadczenia. Obrazy Sądu nad Jezusem są prawdopodobnie najważ- niejszymi świadectwami ikonograficznymi przywołującym wydarzenia prawne, w których sędzia i oskarżony stoją naprzeciw siebie.
Na podstawie przeanalizowanej ikonografii możemy zauważyć, że pewne elementy powtarzają się. Należą do nich krzesło kurulne, skrzyżowane nogi sędziego, wieniec laurowy, stół, obecność innych osób w strojach żołnierskich, a także urzędników, którzy być może pełnili funkcje protokolantów. Późno antyczne wyobrażenia Piłata są w istocie odwzorowaniem wczesnych scen sądowych.

Słowa kluczowe: Poncjusz Piłat, ikonografia – prawo, sztuka wczesnochrześci- jańska, sztuka karolińska, sztuka ottońska, sarkofagi, plakiety

This article explores the biopolitical dimension of the trial of Jesus in John 18:28–19:16a from the Agambenian perspective of “bare life.” According to Giorgio Agamben, bare life, namely, life at risk of death through sovereign power, operates in the “state of exception.” The state of exception is a state wherein the threshold between the juridical order and anomie, or that between an insider and outsider of the juridical order becomes blurred as a result of a law that is suspended from its effectiveness yet is effective in its suspension. Jesus can be interpreted as a bare life in a zone of absolute undecidability in which both the Jewish and Roman laws simultaneously are operative and ineffectual. More specifically, Jesus is an insider in both the Jewish and Roman worlds on the grounds that he is subject to both the rules of Judaism and the Roman Empire. But at the same time, Jesus is an outsider from both the Jewish and Roman worlds explicitly because his kingship goes beyond both earthly rules (18:36; cf. 8:23; 17:14, 16). Paradoxically, Jesus is simultaneously an insider in and an outsider from each of the Jewish and Roman sovereignties. That is to say, Jesus lives in both of the sovereignties, while at the same time belonging to neither of them. It follows from this that Jesus resides in an in-between zone between insider and outsider. My contention, therefore, is that Jesus is such a liminal character—an unfixed and unfixable character in a zone of uncertainty—that he subverts the sovereign power and hierarchical dualism of the Jewish and Roman worlds.

The archaeometallurgic evidence of the first Roman provincial coinage of Judaea (AD 6-66) suggest that the reason for the sudden change of the coinage bronze alloy to lead-free occurring in the period AD 17/18-31/32 was that the Roman administration in Judaea needed the lead for construction purposes. The extant evidence implies that this construction purpose may have been the aqueduct project ascribed by Josephus to Pontius Pilate. Furthermore, on the basis of the numismatic and historical evidence we may conclude that Josephus erred in the dating of the beginning of Pilate's period of office and that Pilate must have been the one who initiated the aqueduct project. We believe therefore that Pilate assumed office as early as AD 17/18, and not in AD 26 as commonly believed.

La réception de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne dans le monde byzantin est loin d'être une terra incognita. La notice du patriarche Photios sur les actes apocryphes des apôtres a en effet depuis longtemps attiré l'attention des savants qui, non contents de s'intéresser à l'interprétation de ce texte complexe, se sont penchés sur d'autres mentions ou reprises des actes apocryphes des apôtres, par exemple dans les actes de Nicée II ou chez Nicéphore Xanthopoulos. Depuis les années 1980, les travaux d'Eric Junod 1 , de Jean-Daniel Kaestli 2 , de Xavier Lequeux 3 et du regretté François Bovon 4 ont ainsi apporté de précieuses informations sur la réception des actes apocryphes des apôtres dans le monde byzantin 5 .

This brief paper summarizes the evidence and scholarship backing my analysis in Herod the Procurator, pp. 34-35 (in context, pp. 29-36), which shows that from the time of Pontius Pilate to the time of Tacitus, equestrian governors of Roman provinces were both prefects and procurators.

The paper presents an unknown version of the Epistula Lentuli, the letter describing Jesus Christ, found in a new pseudo-Clementine fragment (Gesta Clementis) currently under study (edition forthcoming). A discussion on the Epistula Lentuli is offered here, together with the critical edition and an English translation of the new text. In a comparative perspective with the known Epistula Lentuli (CANT, 310), hitherto considered late medieval (14th century) and already identified as a falsification by Lorenzo Valla (first half of the 15th century), the new redaction is examined on a literary level, considering the possible sources and texts of similar content, and shedding light on some peculiarities of the text (investigation on the name of Lentulus, on the presence or absence of Pontius Pilate, and on the fifteenth-century discoverer of the text Jacobus Colonna). The preliminary re-examination of the known Epistula Lentuli also includes new remarks about its manuscript tradition, concluding that the known Epistula Lentuli, traditionally considered as a 14th-century creation, seems to be a 12th-13th-century’s rewriting, while the unknown version is cautiously dated back to the early Middle Ages (before the 7th century). A study devoted to the description of Jesus included in the letter is forthcoming. *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  L’articolo presenta una versione finora sconosciuta dell’Epistula Lentuli, la lettera che descrive l’aspetto di Gesù Cristo, ritrovata in un frammento parimenti inedito della tradizione pseudo-clementina, attualmente in corso di studio, intitolato Gesta Clementis, la cui edizione è di imminente pubblicazione. Si propone qui uno studio dell’Epistula Lentuli nel suo insieme, che include l’edizione con traduzione inglese del testo inedito. In prospettiva comparativa con l’Epistula Lentuli nota (CANT, 310), finora ritenuta tardomedievale (XIV sec.) e già individuata come falsificazione da Lorenzo Valla (prima metà del XV secolo), la nuova redazione viene esaminata sul piano letterario, considerando le possibili fonti e i testi di contenuto analogo, e facendo luce su alcune peculiarità del contenuto (indagine sul nome di Lentulo; sulla presenza o assenza di Ponzio Pilato; sul presunto scopritore quattrocentesco del testo Jacobus Colonna). Il riesame della versione nota dell’Epistula Lentuli include anche nuove osservazioni sulla sua tradizione manoscritta. Alla luce dello studio, l’Epistula Lentuli nota si rivela una riscrittura di XII-XIII secolo, mentre la nuova redazione si può cautamente considerare altomedievale (precedente al VII secolo). Uno studio dedicato alla descrizione di Gesù inclusa nella lettera è di prossima pubblicazione.