Pontius Pilate ' onMouseout='HidePop("580")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Latin">Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
:
Pilatus,
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
: ) was the Prefect (governor) of the
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
province of
JudaeaIudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
from AD 26–36. Typically referenced as the fifth
ProcuratorA procurator was the title of various officials of the Roman Empire, posts mostly filled by equites . A procurator Augusti was the governor of the smaller imperial provinces...
of Judea, he is best known as the judge at
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
'
trialThe Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus refers to the trial of Jesus before the Jewish Council, or Sanhedrin, following his arrest and prior to his trial before Pontius Pilate...
and the man who authorized his
crucifixionThe crucifixion of Jesus is an event that occurred during the first century A.D. in which Jesus was arrested, tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged and finally executed on a cross...
.
Pilate appears in all four
canonicalA Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community, generally in Judaism or Christianity. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources...
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
GospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
s. Mark, depicting Jesus as innocent of plotting against Rome, portrays Pilate as extremely reluctant to execute Jesus, blaming the Jewish hierarchy for his death. In Matthew, Pilate washes his hands of Jesus and reluctantly sends him to his death. In Luke, Pilate not only agrees that Jesus did not conspire against Rome, but
Herod AntipasHerod Antipas was a first century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
, the tetrarch, also finds nothing treasonous in Jesus' actions. In John, Jesus' claim to be the
Son of ManThe phrase son of man is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity.-Ancient languages:In Sumerian, child of man is:*DUMU.LU.A...
or the Messiah to Pilate or to the
SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Land of Israel.The Talmud states:GEMARA. Whence is this derived? — R...
is not portrayed.
Pilate's biographical details before and after his appointment to Judaea are unknown, but have been supplied by tradition, which include the detail that
his wifePontius Pilate's wife is unnamed in the New Testament, where she appears a single time in the Gospel of Matthew. Alternate Christian traditions named her Procula or Claudia. Also combinations like Claudia Proclēs or Claudia Procula are used. No verifiable biography exists on the life of Pilate’s...
's name was Claudia Procula (she is canonized as a
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
in the
Greek Orthodox ChurchThe Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of the Orthodox Church, sharing a common cultural tradition and whose liturgy is traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament....
) and competing legends of his birthplace.
Etymology of the name Pilatus
There are several possible origins for the cognomen
Pilatus.
A commonly accepted one is that it means "skilled with the
javelinA Javelin is a throw weapon, used more commonly in the modern athletics discipline: Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:* Javelin , a DC Comics supervillain...
". The
pilumThe pilum was a heavy javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two meters long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head. The iron shank may be socketed, but more usually widens to a flat tang; this was...
(= javelin) was five feet of wooden shaft and two feet of tapered
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
. When the point penetrated a shield, the shaft would bend and hang down, thus rendering it impossible to throw back.
Another definite origin of Pilatus was the name given to a hat worn by the devotees of the Dioskouroi. The Castorian cult was well established throughout the empire and persisted well into the 5th Century AD particularly among the Dacian and Sarmatian soldiers throughout the frontiers of the empire. The name Pileatus was used as a cognomen by the descendants of
BurebistaBurebista is widely considered to be the greatest king of Dacia. He ruled between 82 BC and 44 BC. He unified the Thracian population from Hercynia in the west, to the Bug River in the east, and from the northern Carpathians to Dionysopolis...
of Dacia whose descendants are known to have been soldiers who were stationed in Judea, Britain, Spain, Gaul, and Germany.
Birth, life and death in legend
Pilate's date and place of birth are unknown. An 1899 article in the New York Times references a
ScottishScottish may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom*Scottish Gaelic language*Scots language*Scottish people*Scottish American*Scottish English*Scottishness*Schottische, a dance...
legend that Pilate's father was an ambassador to the
CaledoniansThe Caledonians , or Caledonian Confederacy, is a name given by historians to a group of the Indigenous peoples of Scotland during the Iron Age that the Romans initially included as Britons, but later distinguished as the Picts...
and that he was born in
FortingallFortingall is a small village in highland Perthshire, Scotland, in the glen of the River Lyon. Place-name Gaelic Fartairchill, 'church at the foot' . Its nearest sizable neighbours are Aberfeldy and Kenmore.According to legend it was the birthplace of Pontius Pilate...
in
Glen LyonGlen Lyon may refer to:*Glen Lyon, Scotland , a glen in the Perth and Kinross area of Scotland*Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania, a U.S. village named after the Scottish glen...
,
PerthshirePerthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
,
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=980DE4D7163DE433A25756C1A9679C94689ED7CF this legend is quite common in
Highland PerthshirePerthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
.
http://www.alternative-perth.co.uk/pontiuspilate.htm The 1911
Encyclopaedia Britannica article on Pilate said that
Pontius suggested a Samnite origin—among the Pontii—and his
cognomenThe cognomen was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary...
Pileatus, if it derived from the
pileus or
cap of libertyThe Phrygian cap is a soft, red, conical cap with the top pulled forward, worn in antiquity by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia...
, implied that he was either descended from, or had been himself a
freedmanA freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation, ....
. It is also commonly believed that the name 'Pontius' implies that he was descended from
Gaius PontiusGaius Pontius, sometimes called as Gavius Pontius or simply Pontius, was a Samnite commander during the Second Samnite War. He is most well known for his victory over the Roman legions at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BCE...
, the Samnite General..
One tradition relates that he married Claudia Procula, daughter of illegitimate birth to Julia, Augustus' only natural offspring and adopted by Tiberius who had previously been married to Julia.
Eusebius quoted some early apocryphal accounts which he did not name, that said Pilate suffered misfortune in the reign of
CaligulaGaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his cognomen Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41...
(AD 37–41), was exiled to Gaul and eventually committed suicide there in Vienne.
There is an old tradition linking the birthplace of Pilate with the small village of
BisentiBisenti is a town and comune in Teramo province in the Abruzzo region of eastern Italy.-Church:The old face of Bisenti is still preserved in the streets and squares of the historic center, where he rediscovers the colorful atmosphere, typical of a medieval village.On Piazza Vittorio Emanuele...
, Samnite territory, in today's
AbruzzoAbruzzo Abruzzo Abruzzo (IPA: /aˈbruttso/ is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than 50 miles due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
region of Central Italy. There are ruins of a Roman house known as "The House of Pilate."
Titles and duties
Pontius Pilate's title was traditionally thought to have been
procuratorA promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the promagistracy was invented in order to provide Rome with governors of overseas territories instead of having to elect...
, since
TacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
speaks of him as such. However, an inscription on a limestone block known as the
Pilate StoneThe Pilate Stone is the name of a block of limestone with a carved inscription attributed to Pontius Pilate, a prefect of the Roman-controlled province of Iudaea from 26-36. Pilate is infamous as being the man who condemned Jesus Christ to a painful scourging and death by crucifixion c...
— apparently a dedication to Tiberius Caesar Augustus — that was discovered in 1961 in the ruins of an amphitheater at Caesarea Maritima refers to Pilate as "
PrefectPrefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
of Judaea".
The title used by the governors of the region varied over the period of the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
. When
SamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
,
JudeaJudea or Judæa is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel , an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank Judea or Judæa (Hebrew: יהודה,
Standard Yəhuda
Tiberian , "praised, celebrated"; Greek: Ιουδαία, Ioudaía; ) is the...
proper and Idumea were first amalgamated into the Roman Judaea Province, from 6 to the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt in 66, officials of the
Equestrian orderThe Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the Senatorial Order...
(the lower rank of governors) governed. They held the Roman title of prefect until Herod Agrippa I was named
King of the JewsKing of the Jews may refer to:History:Ruler of historic Jewish kingdoms and client states:* Kingdom of Israel * Kingdom of Judah * Hasmonean dynasty * Herodian Dynasty Others:...
by
ClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
. After Herod Agrippa's death in 44, when Iudaea reverted to direct Roman rule, the governor held the title procurator. When applied to governors, this term
procurator, otherwise used for financial officers, connotes no difference in rank or function from the title known as prefect. Contemporary archaeological finds and documents such as the Pilate Inscription from Caesarea attest to the governor's more accurate official title only for the period 6 through 44:
prefectPrefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
. The logical conclusion is that texts that identify Pilate as procurator are more likely following Tacitus or are unaware of the pre-44 practice.
The procurators' and prefects' primary functions were military, but as representatives of the empire they were responsible for the collection of imperial taxes, and also had limited judicial functions. Other civil administration lay in the hands of local government: the municipal councils or ethnic governments such as — in the district of Judea and Jerusalem — the
SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Land of Israel.The Talmud states:GEMARA. Whence is this derived? — R...
and its president the
High Priest. But the power of appointment of the High Priest resided in the Roman legate of
SyriaSyria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War...
or the prefect of Iudaea in Pilate's day and until 41. For example,
CaiaphasYosef Bar Kayafa , also known simply as Caiaphas in the New Testament, was the Roman-appointed Jewish high priest between AD 18 and 37. In the Mishnah, Parah 3:5 refers to him as Ha-Koph , a play on his name for opposing Mishnat Ha-Hasidim...
was appointed High Priest of
Herod's TempleHerod's Temple in Jerusalem was a massive expansion of the Temple Mount platform and major expansion of the Jewish Temple by King Herod the Great around 19 BCE...
by Prefect Valerius Gratus and deposed by Syrian Legate
Lucius VitelliusLucius Vitellius Veteris was the youngest of four sons of quaestor Publius Vitellius and the only one that did not die through politics. Under Emperor Tiberius, he was Consul in 34 and Governor of Syria in 35. He deposed Pontius Pilate in 36 after complains from the people in Samaria...
. After that time and until 66, the Jewish client kings exercised this privilege. Normally, Pilate resided in Caesarea but traveled throughout the province, especially to
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, in the course of performing his duties. During the
PassoverPassover is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day and festival commemorating the Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt....
, a festival of deep national as well as religious significance for the Jews, Pilate, as governor or prefect, would have been expected to be in Jerusalem to keep order. He would not ordinarily be visible to the throngs of worshippers because of the Jewish people's deep sensitivity to their status as a Roman province.
Equestrians such as Pilate could command legionary forces but only small ones, and so in military situations, he would have to yield to his superior, the legate of Syria, who would descend into Palestine with his legions as necessary. As governor of Iudaea, Pilate would have small auxiliary forces of locally recruited soldiers stationed regularly in Caesarea and Jerusalem, such as the
Antonia FortressThe Antonia Fortress was a military barracks built by Herod the Great in Jerusalem on the site of earlier Ptolemaic and Hasmonean strongholds, named after Herod's patron Mark Antony...
, and temporarily anywhere else that might require a military presence. The total number of soldiers at his disposal numbered in the range of 3000.
The "Pilate Inscription" or "Pilate Stone" from Caesarea
The first physical evidence relating to Pilate was discovered in 1961, when
a block of limestoneThe Pilate Stone is the name of a block of limestone with a carved inscription attributed to Pontius Pilate, a prefect of the Roman-controlled province of Iudaea from 26-36. Pilate is infamous as being the man who condemned Jesus Christ to a painful scourging and death by crucifixion c...
was found in the Roman theatre at Caesarea Maritima, the capital of the province of Iudaea, bearing a damaged dedication by Pilate of a
Tiberieum. This dedication states that he was
[...]ECTVS IUDA[...] (usually read as
praefectus iudaeae), that is,
prefect/governor of Iudaea. The early governors of Iudaea were of prefect rank, the later were of procurator rank, beginning with
Cuspius FadusCuspius Fadus was the Roman procurator of Iudaea Province between AD 44 and AD 46. He is mentioned by Josephus.He was succeeded in 46 by Tiberius Julius Alexander.-External links:*...
in 44.
This inscription was discovered in
Caesarea (Israel)Caesarea is a town in Israel on the outskirts of Caesarea Maritima, the ancient port city. It is located mid-way between Tel Aviv and Haifa , on the Israeli Mediterranean coast near the city of Hadera...
by a group led by Antonio Frova and has been dated to 26-37 AD. Currently the inscription is housed in the
Israel MuseumThe Israel Museum was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
,
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
.
Pilate in the canonical Gospel accounts
According to the
canonicalA Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community, generally in Judaism or Christianity. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources...
Christian Gospels, Pilate presided at the trial of Jesus and, despite stating that he personally found him not guilty of a crime meriting death, handed him over to crucifixion. Pilate is thus a pivotal character in the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
accounts of Jesus.
According to the New Testament, Jesus was brought to Pilate by the
SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Land of Israel.The Talmud states:GEMARA. Whence is this derived? — R...
, who had arrested Jesus and questioned him themselves. The Sanhedrin had, according to the Gospels, only been given answers by Jesus that they considered blasphemous pursuant to Mosaic law, which was unlikely to be deemed a capital offense by Pilate interpreting Roman law. The Gospel of Luke records that members of the Sanhedrin then took Jesus before Pilate where they accused him of sedition against Rome by opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar and calling himself a king. Fomenting tax resistance was a capital offense. Pilate was responsible for imperial tax collections in Judea. Jesus had asked the tax collector Levi, at work in his tax booth in Capernaum, to quit his post. Jesus also appears to have influenced Zacchaeus, "a chief tax collector" in Jericho, which is in Pilate's tax jurisdiction, to resign. Pilate's main question to Jesus was whether he considered himself to be the
King of the Jews, and thus a political threat. in the NIV translation states: "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "It is as you say," Jesus replied. However, quite a number of other translations render Jesus' reply as variations of the phrase:"Thou sayest it."(King James Version, Mark 15:2); "So you say." (
Good News BibleThe Good News Bible , also called the Good News Translation , is an English language translation of the Bible by the American Bible Society, first published as the New Testament under the name Good News for Modern Man in 1966...
, Mark 15:2). Whatever degree of confirmation modern interpreters would derive from this answer of Jesus, according to the New Testament, it was not enough for Pilate to view Jesus as a real political threat. In the same Gospel of Mark, 15 verse 5 of King James Version we read, that "Pilate marvelled" ("was amazed" in
Good News BibleThe Good News Bible , also called the Good News Translation , is an English language translation of the Bible by the American Bible Society, first published as the New Testament under the name Good News for Modern Man in 1966...
).
Following the Roman custom, Pilate ordered a
sign posted above JesusINRI is an acronym of the Latin inscription IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM , which translates to English as "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." The Greek equivalent of this phrase, , appears in the New Testament of the Christian Bible in the Gospel of John...
on the cross stating "Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews" to give public notice of the legal charge against him for his crucifixion. The chief priests protested that the public charge on the sign should read that Jesus claimed to be King of the Jews. Pilate refused to change the posted charge. This may have been to emphasize Rome's supremacy in crucifying a Jewish king; it is not unlikely, though, that Pilate was quite irritated by the fact, that the Jewish leaders had used him as a marionette and thus compelled him to sentence Jesus to death contrary to his own will (according to Mathew 27:19, even Pilate's wife asked him on Jesus' behalf).
The
Gospel of LukeThe Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension...
also reports that such questions were asked of Jesus, in Luke's case it being the priests that repeatedly accused him, though Luke states that Jesus remained silent to such inquisition, causing Pilate to hand Jesus over to the jurisdiction (
GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
) of
Herod AntipasHerod Antipas was a first century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
. Although initially excited with curiosity at meeting Jesus, of whom he had heard much, Herod (according to Luke) ended up mocking Jesus and so sent him back to Pilate. This intermediate episode with Herod is not reported by the other Gospels, which appear to present a continuous and singular trial in front of Pilate. Luke, however, made further reference to this involvement of Herod along with Pilate into Jesus' execution and linked it with the prophecy about the Messianic King found in Psalm 2, as we can read in Luke's other book,
ActsActs or ACTS may mean:* Aboriginal Christian Television System* Acts of the Apostles , a genre of early Christian literature* Acts of the Apostles, the fifth book in the Bible's New Testament...
4:24-28. This explains why he counted this episode of importance.
Unlike the
synoptic gospelsThe synoptic Gospels are three Gospels in the New Testament the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Luke, that display a high degree of similarity in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence and paragraph structures...
, the
Gospel of JohnThe Gospel of John , is the last of the four canonical gospels. This non synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth...
gives more detail about that dialog taking place between Jesus and Pilate. In John, Jesus seems to confirm the fact of his kingship, although immediately explaining, that "[his] kingdom [was] not of this world"; of far greater importance for the followers of Christ is his own definition of the goal of his ministry on earth at the time. According to Jesus, as we find it written in John 18:37, Jesus thus describes his mission: " [I] came into the world ...
to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of
truth listen to [my] voice", to which Pilate famously replied, "What is truth?" ...
Whatever it be that some modern critics want to deduce from those differences, the ending result was the same for Jesus and Pilate, as it was in all the other 3 Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke). In the same chapter of John 18 verse 38 (King James Version, compare with other versions) the conclusion Pilate made from this interrogation:"I find in him no fault at all".
The Synoptic Gospels and John then state that it had been a tradition of the Jews to release a prisoner at the time of the
PassoverPassover is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day and festival commemorating the Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt....
. Pilate offers them the choice of an insurrectionist named
BarabbasIn the Christian narrative of the Passion of Jesus, Barabbas, according to Greek texts Jesus bar-Abbas, , was the insurrectionary whom Pontius Pilate freed at the Passover feast in Jerusalem....
or Jesus, somewhat confusing because Barabbas had the full name Jesus Barabbas, and
bar-Abbas means
son of the father. The crowd may not have understood whose release they were asking for, and were particularly susceptible to suggestions from the Jewish leaders. The crowd states that they wish to save Barabbas.
Pilate agrees to condemn Jesus to crucifixion, after the Jewish leaders "kindly" explained to him, that Jesus presented a threat to Roman occupation through his claim to the throne of King David as King of Israel in the royal line of David. The small crowd in Pilate's courtyard, according to the Synoptics, had been coached to shout against Jesus by the
PhariseesThe word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "set apart" . The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era...
and
SadduceesThe Sadducees were a group of Jews opposed to the Pharisees , founded in the second century BC. They ceased to exist sometime after the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD....
. The
Gospel of MatthewThe Gospel of Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth...
adds that before condemning Jesus to death, Pilate washes his hands with water in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; you will see."
Responsibility for Jesus' death
In all gospel accounts, Pilate hesitates to condemn Jesus, but is eventually forced to give in when the crowd insists and the Jewish leaders remind him that Jesus's claim to be king is a challenge to Roman authority. Roman magistrates had wide discretion in executing their tasks, and some readers question whether Pilate would have been so captive to the demands of the crowd. Pilate was later recalled to Rome for his harsh treatment of the Jews.
With the
Edict of MilanThe Edict of Milan was a letter signed by emperors Constantine I and Licinius that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire...
in AD 313, the state-sponsored
persecution of ChristiansPersecution of Christians is the religious persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the current era....
came to an end, and Christianity became officially tolerated as one of the religions of the Roman Empire. Afterward, in AD 325 the
First Ecumenical CouncilThe First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325 CE...
at Nicaea promulgated a creed which was amended at the subsequent
First Council of ConstantinopleThe First Council of Constantinople is recognised as the Second Ecumenical Council by the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholics, the Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups...
in 381. The
Nicene CreedThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
incorporated for the first time the clause
was crucified under Pontius Pilate (which had already been long established in the
Old Roman SymbolThe Old Roman Symbol, or Old Roman Creed, is an earlier and shorter version of the Apostles' Creed. It was based on the second-century Rules of Faith and the interrogatory declaration of faith for those receiving Baptism , which by the fourth century was everywhere tripartite in structure,...
, an ancient form of the
Apostles' CreedThe Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...
dating as far back as the 2nd century AD) in a creed that was intended to be authoritative for all Christians in the Roman Empire.
Pilate in Jewish literature
According to
PhiloPhilo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria....
, Pilate was "inflexible, he was stubborn, of cruel disposition. He executed troublemakers without a trial." He refers to Pilate's "venality, his violence, thefts, assaults, abusive behavior, endless executions, endless savage ferocity."
According to
JosephusJosephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70...
, Pilate repeatedly almost caused insurrections among the Jews due to his insensitivity to Jewish customs. While Pilate's predecessors had respected Jewish customs by removing all images and effigies on their standards when entering Jerusalem, Pilate allowed his soldiers to bring them into the city at night. When the citizens of Jerusalem discovered these the following day, they appealed to Pilate to remove the ensigns of Caesar from the city. After five days of deliberation, Pilate had his soldiers surround the demonstrators threatening them with death. He finally removed the images after realizing that the Jews would rather die than have their traditions disrespected.
Josephus recounts another incident in which Pilate spent money from the
TempleThe Second Temple was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE. During this time, it was the center of Jewish worship, which focused on the sacrifices known as the korbanot...
to build an aqueduct. When Jews again protested his actions, Pilate had soldiers hidden in the crowd of Jews while addressing them. After giving the signal, Pilate's soldiers randomly attacked, beat, and killed scores of Jews to silence their petitions.
Pilate in the Apocrypha
Little enough is known about Pilate, but mythology has tried to fill the gap. A body of fiction built up around the dramatic figure of Pontius Pilate, about whom the Christian faithful hungered to learn more than the canonical Gospels revealed. Eusebius (
Historia EcclesiaeThe Church History of Eusebius of Caesarea was a fourth-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the first century. It was written in Koine Greek, and survives also in Latin, Syriac and Armenian manuscripts...
ii: 7) quotes some early apocryphal accounts that he does not name, which already relate that Pilate fell under misfortunes in the reign of
CaligulaGaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his cognomen Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41...
(AD 37–41), was exiled to
GaulGaul is a historical name used in the context of the Roman Empire in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France and Belgium, but also sometimes including the Po Valley, western Switzerland, and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River...
and eventually committed suicide there in
VienneVienne is a commune in south-eastern France, located south of Lyon, on the Rhône River. It is the second largest city after Grenoble in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture. The city's population was of 29,400 as of the 2001 census....
.
Other details come from less respectable sources. His body, says the
Mors Pilati ("Death of Pilate"), was thrown first into the
TiberThe Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
, but the waters were so disturbed by evil spirits that the body was taken to Vienne and sunk in the
RhôneThe Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, originating in Switzerland and running from there through the south-eastern corner of France...
: a monument at Vienne, called Pilate's tomb, is still to be seen. As the waters of the Rhone likewise rejected Pilate's corpse, it was again removed and sunk in the lake at
LausanneLausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva , and facing Évian-les-Bains and with the Jura mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located some northeast of Geneva. It is the capital of the canton of Vaud and of the district of...
. The sequence was a simple way to harmonise conflicting local traditions.
The corpse's final disposition was in a deep and lonely mountain
tarnA tarn is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. A corrie may be called a cirque.The word is derived from the Old Norse word tjörn meaning pond...
, which, according to later tradition, was on a mountain, still called Pilatus (actually
pileatus or "cloud capped"), overlooking
LucerneLucerne is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and seat of the district with the same name. With a population of 57,890, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland and a focal point of the region...
. Every
Good FridayGood Friday, also called Holy Friday, Black Friday, or Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by adherents to Christianity commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary...
, the body is said to reemerge from the waters and wash its hands.
There are many other legends about Pilate in the folklore of Germany, particularly about his birth, according to which Pilate was born in the Franconian city of
ForchheimForchheim is a large town in Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the “Gateway to the Franconian Switzerland”, as the region is known. Its population, as of October 2008, was...
or the small village of
HausenHausen is:*part of the name of 15 municipalities and 84 localities throughout Germany and Switzerland.*the most numerous name of towns and villages in Germany...
only 5 km away from it. His death was (unusually) dramatised in a medieval
mysteryMystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...
play cycle from Cornwall, the Cornish
OrdinaliaThe Ordinalia are three medieval mystery plays written in Cornish. The three plays are Origo Mundi, , Passio Christi and Resurrexio Domini...
.
Pilate's role in the events leading to the crucifixion lent themselves to melodrama, even tragedy, and Pilate often has a role in medieval
mystery playMystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...
s.
In the
Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
, Claudia Procula is commemorated as a saint, but not Pilate, because in the Gospel accounts Claudia urged Pilate not to have anything to do with Jesus. In some Eastern Orthodox traditions, Pilate committed suicide out of remorse for having sentenced Jesus to death.
Gospel of Peter
The fragmentary apocryphal
Gospel of PeterThe Gospel of Peter may have been a prominent passion narrative in the early history of Christianity, but over time it passed out of common usage. Only fragments survive...
exonerates Pilate of responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus, placing it instead on
HerodHerod Antipas was a first century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
and the Jews, who unlike Pilate refuse to "wash their hands". After the soldiers see three men and a cross miraculously walking out of the tomb they report to Pilate who reiterates his innocence: "I am pure from the blood of the Son of God". He then commands the soldiers not to tell anyone what they have seen so that they would not "fall into the hands of the people of the Jews and be stoned".
Acts of Pilate
The 4th century apocryphal text that is called the
Acts of PilateThe Acts of Pilate is a book of the New Testament Pseudepigrapha. Its date is uncertain, but scholars agree in assigning it to the middle of the fourth century. The text is found in the Gospel of Nicodemus, with additional material...
presents itself in a preface (missing in some MSS) as derived from the official acts preserved in the
praetoriumThe praetorium, also spelled prœtorium or pretorium, was originally the name for the commander's tent or house in a Roman fortification, a castra or castellum....
at Jerusalem. Though the alleged Hebrew original of the document is attributed to
NicodemusNicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus. He appears three times in the Gospel: the first is when he visits Jesus one night to listen to his teachings ; the second is when he states the law concerning the arrest of Jesus...
, the title
Gospel of Nicodemus for this fictional account only appeared in mediaeval times, after the document had been substantially elaborated. Nothing in the text suggests that it is in fact a translation from Hebrew or Aramaic.
This text gained wide credit in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, and has considerably affected the legends surrounding the events of the crucifixion, which, taken together, are called the
PassionThe Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
. Its popularity is attested by the number of languages in which it exists, each of these being represented by two or more variant "editions": Greek (the original), Coptic, Armenian and Latin versions. The Latin versions were printed several times in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
One class of the Latin manuscripts contain as an appendix or continuation, the
Cura Sanitatis Tiberii, the oldest form of the
VeronicaSaint Veronica or Berenice, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" published by the Bollandists , was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted the offering and after using it handed it back...
legend.
The
Acts of Pilate consist of three sections, whose styles reveal three authors, writing at three different times.
- The first section (1–11) contains a fanciful and dramatic circumstantial account of the trial of Jesus, based upon .
- The second part (12–16) regards the Resurrection
The resurrection of dead humans is a central doctrine of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It may refer either to the resurrection of particular individuals, or a general resurrection of humanity....
.
- An appendix, detailing the Descensus ad Infernos was added to the Greek text. This legend of a Harrowing of Hell
The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology referenced in the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed , which states that Jesus "descended into Hell"...
has chiefly flourished in Latin, and was translated into many European versions. It doesn't exist in the eastern versions, Syriac and Armenian, that derive directly from Greek versions. In it, Leucius and Charinus, the two souls raised from the dead after the Crucifixion, relate to the SanhedrinThe Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Land of Israel.The Talmud states:GEMARA. Whence is this derived? — R...
the circumstances of Christ's descent to LimboIn Roman Catholic theology, Limbo is an idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
. (Leucius CharinusLeucius, called Leucius Charinus by the Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople in the ninth century, is the name applied to a cycle of what M. R. James termed "Apostolic romances" that seem to have had wide currency long before a selection were read aloud at the Second Council of Nicaea and rejected...
is the traditional name to which many late apocryphal Acta of Apostles is attached.)
Eusebius (325), although he mentions an
Acta Pilati that had been referred to by
JustinJustin may refer to:* Justin , a common given name* Justin Martyr, early Christian apologist* Justin , 3rd century Roman historian...
and
TertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, was a prolific and controversial early Christian Berber author, and the first to write Christian Latin literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy...
and other pseudo-Acts of this kind, shows no acquaintance with this work. Almost surely it is of later origin, and scholars agree in assigning it to the middle of the 4th century.
EpiphaniusEpiphanius was the name of several early Christian scholars and ecclesiastics:*Saint Epiphanius of Pavia *Saint Epiphanius of Salamis , bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, author of Panarion...
refers to an
Acta Pilati similar to this, as early as 376, but there are indications that the current Greek text, the earliest extant form, is a revision of an earlier one.
Justin the Martyr - The First and Second Apology of Justin
Chapter 35-"And that these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate."
The Apology letters were written and addressed by name to the Roman Emperor Pius and the Roman Governor Urbicus. All three of these men lived between AD 138-161.
Minor Pilate literature
There is a pseudepigrapha letter reporting on the crucifixion, purporting to have been sent by Pontius Pilate to the Emperor Claudius, embodied in the pseudepigrapha known as the
Acts of Peter and PaulThe Acts of Peter and Paul is a late text from the New Testament apocrypha, thought to date from after the 4th century. An alternate version with variances in the introductory part of the text exists named the Passion of Peter and Paul....
, of which the
Catholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and it was completed in April 1914...
states, "This composition is clearly apocryphal though unexpectedly brief and restrained." There is no internal relation between this feigned letter and the 4th-century
Acts of PilateThe Acts of Pilate is a book of the New Testament Pseudepigrapha. Its date is uncertain, but scholars agree in assigning it to the middle of the fourth century. The text is found in the Gospel of Nicodemus, with additional material...
(
Acta Pilati).
This Epistle or Report of Pilate is also inserted into the
Pseudo-Marcellus Passio sanctorum Petri et PauliThe pseudepigraphical Passio sanctorum Petri et Pauli is a late version of the martyrdoms of the two apostles, which claims to have been written by a certain Marcellus, thus the anonymous author, of whom nothing further is known, is referred to as the "pseudo-Marcellus"...
("Passion of Saints Peter and Paul"). We thus have it in both Greek and Latin versions.
The
Mors Pilati ("Death of Pilate") legend is a Latin tradition, thus treating Pilate as a monster, not a saint; it is attached usually to the more sympathetic
Gospel of Nicodemus of Greek origin. The narrative of the
Mors Pilati set of manuscripts is set in motion by an illness of Tiberius, who sends Volusanius to Judea to fetch the Christ for a cure. In Judea Pilate covers for the fact that Christ has been crucified, and asks for a delay. But Volusanius encounters
VeronicaSaint Veronica or Berenice, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" published by the Bollandists , was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted the offering and after using it handed it back...
who informs him of the truth but sends him back to Rome with her
Veronica of Christ's face on her kerchief, which heals Tiberius. Tiberius then calls for Pontius Pilate, but when Pilate appears, he is wearing the seamless robe of the Christ and Tiberius' heart is softened, but only until Pilate is induced to doff the garment, whereupon he is treated to a ghastly execution. His body, when thrown into the Tiber, however, raises such storm demons that it is sent to Vienne (
via gehennaeGehenna, gehinnam, or gehinnom are words used in Jewish and Christian writings for the place where evil people go in the afterlife . The name is derived from a geographical site in Jerusalem known as the Valley of Hinnom, one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City...
) in France and thrown to the Rhone. That river's spirits reject it too, and the body is driven east into "Losania", where it is plunged in the bay of the lake near
LucerneLucerne is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and seat of the district with the same name. With a population of 57,890, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland and a focal point of the region...
, near Mont Pilatus — originally
Mons Pileatus or "cloud-capped", as
John RuskinJohn Ruskin was an English art critic and social thinker, also remembered as an author, poet and artist. His essays on art and architecture were extremely influential in the Victorian and Edwardian eras....
pointed out in
Modern Painters — whence the uncorrupting corpse rises every Good Friday to sit on the bank and wash unavailing hands.
This version combined with anecdotes of Pilate's wicked early life were incorporated in
Jacobus de VoragineBlessed Jacobus de Varagine or Voragine Blessed Jacobus de Varagine or Voragine Blessed Jacobus de Varagine or Voragine ( (c. 1230 – July 13 or July 16, 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author of the Golden Legend, a collection of the legendary lives of the...
's
Golden LegendThe Golden Legend is a collection of fanciful hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller...
, which ensured a wide circulation for it in the later Middle Ages. Other legendary versions of Pilate's death exist:
Antoine de la SaleAntoine de la Sale or la Salle was a French writer.-Family and Early Years:He was born in Provence, probably at Arles, the illegitimate son of Bernardon de la Salle, a celebrated Gascon mercenary, mentioned in Froissart's Chronicles...
reported from a travel in central
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
on some local traditions asserting that after death the body of Pontius Pilate was driven until a little lake near Vettore Peak (2478 m in
Sibillini Mountsthumb|300px|A summer view of the Monti Sibillini.The Monti Sibillini are a mountain group in Italy, part of the central Apennines. Situated between eastern Umbria and the Marche, they are mostly composed of limestone rocks, formed in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic from the bottoms of an extinct sea...
) and plunged in. The lake, today, is still named
Lago di Pilato.
In the Cornish cycle of
mystery playMystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...
s, the "death of Pilate" forms a dramatic scene in the
Resurrexio Domini cycle. More of Pilate's fictional correspondence is found in the minor Pilate apocrypha, the
Anaphora Pilati (
Relation of Pilate), an
Epistle of Herod to Pilate, and an
Epistle of Pilate to Herod, spurious texts that are no older than the 5th century.
Veneration
The
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchThe Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia...
recognized Pilate as a saint in the sixth century, based on the account in the
Acts of PilateThe Acts of Pilate is a book of the New Testament Pseudepigrapha. Its date is uncertain, but scholars agree in assigning it to the middle of the fourth century. The text is found in the Gospel of Nicodemus, with additional material...
.
Pilate in later fiction
Plays and films dealing with life of Jesus Christ often include the character of Pontius Pilate due to the central role he played in the final days of Christ's life. Writers have found various reasons to make Pilate a main character and to fill in any unknown details of his life. Pilate has been portrayed in a number of different ways by various writers:
- A weak and harried bureaucrat
Bureaucracy is the collective organizational structure, procedures, protocols, and set of regulations in place to manage activity, usually in large organizations and government...
- A hard governor who rules with an iron fist
- A man who clearly sees how the story of Jesus will affect human history
- A man who regrets his role in Jesus' death (to greater or lesser extents, depending on the work)
- A man who is oblivious to the significance of the Galilean
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
he condemns to death
- A tired governor who doesn't care and wants Jesus out of his hands
- Pilate appears in the Mystery Plays and Passion Plays, the most notable being in the Cornish cycle in which he is summoned to Rome by Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla...
and sentenced to death"Death Sentence" is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov....
for killing Jesus, but owing to the fact that this crime cannot be contained by earth, sea or water and so immediately proceeds (body and soul, rather than just soul) to hellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
.
- In the Vestibule of Hell in Dante
DANTE is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various National Research and Education Networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
's Divine ComedyThe Divine Comedy , written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321, is widely considered the central epic poem of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative and allegorical vision of the Christian afterlife is a...
, a figure is seen "who made the great refusal". This is interpreted to be either Pontius Pilate or Pope Celestine VPope Saint Celestine V , born Pietro Angelerio , also known as Pietro da Morrone, was elected pope in the year 1294, by the Papal election, 1292–1294, the last non-conclave in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Celestine V is recognized by the Church as a saint...
.
- Pontius Pilate is portrayed in Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov was a Russian contemporary novelist and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century...
's The Master and MargaritaThe Master and Margarita is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union...
as being ruthless, complex, and yet human. In this novel, he exemplifies the statement "Cowardice is the worst of vices", and thus serves as a model, in an allegorical interpretation of the work, of all the people who have "washed their hands" by silently or actively taking part in the crimes committed by Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953...
.
- This novel inspired the song "Sympathy for the Devil
"Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by The Rolling Stones which first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1968 album Beggars Banquet. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards...
" by The Rolling Stones'. The title of this song, and its lyrics, seem to be derived from Bulgakov's portrayal of the Devil. Pilate is referenced in the verse: "And I was around when Jesus Christ / had his moment of doubt and pain / made damn sure that Pilate / washed his hands, and sealed his fate".
- The Master and Margarita and Pilate are also referred to in the Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
song "Pilate", on the album YieldYield is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on February 3, 1998 through Epic Records. Following a short tour for its previous album, No Code , Pearl Jam went into the studio in 1997 to record its follow-up...
.
- Pilate appears in three stories in Karel Čapek
Karel Čapek was one of the most influential Czech writers of the 20th century. He introduced and made popular the frequently used international word robot, which first appeared in his play R.U.R. in 1921...
's collection Apocryphal Tales. In "Pilate's Evening", the weary governor wonders why Jesus' friends and relatives did not come to try and save him, and wishes that they had. "Pilate's Creed" features a dialogue between Pilate and Joseph of ArimatheaJoseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. A native of Arimathea, he was apparently a man of wealth, and probably a member of the Sanhedrin, which is the way bouleutēs, literally "counsellor", in ...
. Their argument reflects the conflict between sceptical humanismHumanism is a perspective common to a wide range of ethical stances that attaches importance to human dignity, concerns, and capabilities, particularly rationality. Although the word has many senses, its meaning comes into focus when contrasted to the supernatural or to appeals to authority...
(Pilate's famous "What is truth?") and religiousA religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth...
certainty (Joseph's reply, "The truth in which I believe"). "The Crucifixion" features a world-weary Pilate disgusted with the political machinations that led to Jesus' condemnation.
- In Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois was a French intellectual whose idiosyncratic work brought together literary criticism, sociology, and philosophy by focusing on subjects as diverse as gems, play and the sacred. He was also instrumental in introducing Latin American authors to the French public.-Biography:Caillois...
' short novel Pontius Pilate (1961), Pilate is portrayed as a vacillating colonial administrator who, during the day after Jesus' arrest, receives advice from his wife, from Judas IscariotJudas Iscariot, "Yehuda" ' was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original Apostles of Jesus. Among the twelve, he was apparently designated to keep account of the "money bag" Judas Iscariot, "Yehuda" ' was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original Apostles of...
and from a ChaldaeanChaldea or Chaldaea , "the Chaldeans" of the KJV Old Testament, was a Hellenistic designation for a part of Babylonia, which became an independent kingdom under the Chaldees...
friend who has amassed an immense knowledge of the world's various religions. In the end, he is shown as "a man who despite every hindrance succeeded in being brave".
- In The Flame and the Wind, a novel by John Blackburn
John Fenwick Blackburn was a British novelist who wrote thrillers, horror novels, and The Flame and the Wind , an unusual historical novel set in Roman times, in which a nephew of Pontius Pilate tries to discover the facts about the crucifixion of Jesus.His horror novels are often structured as...
, the aged Pilate is wracked by guilt over Jesus' death and directs his heir to find out if Jesus was really the Son of God"Son of God" is a phrase found in the Hebrew Bible, various other Jewish texts and the Christian Bible. In the holy Hebrew scriptures, according to Jewish religious tradition, "Son of God" has many possible meanings, referring to angels, or humans or even all mankind...
.
- In the Anatole France
Anatole France , born François-Anatole Thibault, was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. He was born in Paris, and died in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire. He was a successful novelist, with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters...
short story The Procurator of Judea, Pilate has retired to SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
to become a gentlemanThe term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of good family, analogous to the Latin generosus...
farmerA farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials.- Definition :The term farmer usually applies to a person who grows field crops, and/or manages orchards or vineyards, or raises livestock or poultry such as chicken and cows...
. This story is an example of the "oblivious" interpretation of Pilate. He has forgotten everything about Jesus and the part that he (Pilate) played in his trial.
- In the 1935 film The Last Days of Pompeii
The Last Days of Pompeii is a 1935 RKO film starring Preston Foster and directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper, creators of the original King Kong...
, Pilate (played by Basil RathboneBasil Rathbone, MC , was a South African–born British actor most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and of suave villains in such swashbuckler films as The Mark of Zorro, Captain Blood, and The Adventures of Robin Hood.- Early life :He was born Philip St...
) is portrayed as a man consumed with guilt over having crucified Christ.
- The Dutch
The Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
writer Simon VestdijkSimon Vestdijk was a Dutch writer.Born in the small town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned to literature after a few years as a doctor. He became one of the most important 20th-century writers in the Netherlands...
's 1938 novel De nadagen van Pilatus (The Last Days of Pilate) presents an account of Pilate's life after the crucifixion.
- Ann Wroe's Pontius Pilate: The Biography of an Invented Man is an attempt to provide the obscure official with a biography suitable to the man who is so influential to the Christian story. **The Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company. Located primarily at Stratford-upon-Avon, with bases also in London and Newcastle upon Tyne, it is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly-funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal National Theatre.-The early...
debuted a performance piece called The Pilate Workshop in the summer of 2004, which attempted to cast Wroe's research in the form of a mystery play.
- Hurd Hatfield
William Rukard Hurd Hatfield was an American actor.-Biography:The son of William Henry Hatfield , an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife, the former Adele Steele, Hatfield was born in New York City, and was educated at Columbia University before travelling to...
portrayed Pilate in Nicholas RayNicholas Ray was an American film director best known for the movie Rebel Without a Cause.-Early career:...
's film King of KingsKing of Kings is an American motion picture epic made by Samuel Bronston Productions and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus from his birth to his crucifixion and Resurrection.-Synopsis:...
(1961). The film portrays an overtly militaristic Pilate — his caravan is attacked by BarabbasIn the Christian narrative of the Passion of Jesus, Barabbas, according to Greek texts Jesus bar-Abbas, , was the insurrectionary whom Pontius Pilate freed at the Passover feast in Jerusalem....
and his followers in the movie — and he is also characterised as being vain and aloof.
- Telly Savalas
Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
portrayed Pilate in George StevensGeorge Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.-Film career:Born in Oakland, California, Stevens broke into the movie business as a cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy shorts...
' film The Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 U.S. motion picture epic produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection....
(1965). Although Pilate would prefer to crucify Barabbas rather than Jesus, he is not portrayed as being especially sympathetic towards Jesus.
- Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an American actor known for his performances in such films as In the Heat of the Night, Waterloo, The Pawnbroker, On the Waterfront, and Doctor Zhivago.-Early life:...
portrayed Pilate in Franco ZeffirelliFranco Zeffirelli is an Italian film director. He is also an opera director, designer and producer of opera, theatre, film and television, and a politician....
's TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977). In this version, Pilate is angered by Jesus' refusual to defend himself. After condemning Jesus to death, Pilate is told by one of his aides that he cannot release Barabbas, "an assassin and enemy of Rome." Pilate replies, "I wonder...Who is the real enemy?" In Anthony BurgessJohn Burgess Wilson was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic....
's novel Man of NazarethMan of Nazareth is a historical novel by Anthony Burgess based on his screenplay for Franco Zeffirelli's TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth...
, based on Jesus of Nazareth, Pilate is portrayed as being more sympathetic towards Jesus, recognising the validity of his doctrine and even telling Jesus he is free to go, although Jesus tells Pilate he has to condemn him to death.
- David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
portrayed Pilate in Martin ScorseseMartin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe,...
's The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1960 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as Pontius...
(1988), based on the novel by Nikos KazantzakisNikos Kazantzakis was arguably the most important and most translated Greek writer and philosopher of the 20th century...
. In the film, Pilate is portrayed as world-weary and somewhat sympathetic towards Jesus, but believes he has to die to preserve the status quo.
- In Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American Australian actor, film director and producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in the Mad...
's The Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the Christ is a film co-written, co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson. It is based on the New Testament accounts of the arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, events commonly known as The Passion. The film’s dialogue is in Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew, with...
(2004), Pilate is played by Bulgarian actor Hristo ShopovHristo Naumov Shopov is a Bulgarian actor. Shopov's father, Naum Shopov, is a famous Bulgarian actor as well....
. He is extremely reluctant to sentence Jesus to death and very sympathetic to him. He only condemns Jesus to death when he has no other option.
- In the comedy film Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
(1979), Pilate is portrayed by Michael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
as a foolish man who has trouble pronouncing the letter "r" (proncouncing it like a "w"). He is also unable to remember who is in his prisons, and seems to be easily offended, as in the scene where he feels his guards are "insulting" his friend Biggus Dickus. Pilate later chides the Jewish crowds for laughing at Biggus Dickus' lisp, telling them "This man commands a cwack legion!" and "He wanks higher than anyone in Wome!"
- Pilate is mentioned in the theme song for Marvel Comics
Marvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
' NextwaveNextwave was a farcical superhero comic book series by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Nextwave debuted in 2006 and was cancelled after issue #12 which was published in February 2007...
series in a list of enemies, along with a monster, a pirate, an electric emuThe Emu , Dromaius novaehollandiae, is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is also the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. The soft-feathered, brown, flightless bird reach up to in height...
, a giant sky-rat, and a midgetMidget is a term used to describe an exceptionally short person. The terms "midget" and "dwarf" are often used synonymously, as both terms mean someone who has been short in stature since birth, but those terms were not originally synonyms....
Hitler.
- Retired California
California is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
politician James R. Mills wrote a novel titled Gospel According to Pontius Pilate in 1978. Pilate is described as an ordinary, cynical politician whose primary concern is to keep the local population content and maintain social order, rather than particular sense of rightness.
- In the rock opera
A rock opera is a musical work that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include metal opera and rap opera...
Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera that became a musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It highlights the political and interpersonal struggles of Judas Iscariot and Jesus. The rock opera is based on St John's Gospel account of the last week of Jesus' life, beginning with the preparation...
, in the song "Trial Before Pilate", a sympathetic Pilate pleads with Jesus to speak to him, saying that he believes the accused has "done no wrong" but "ought to be locked up" for insanity. Receiving no answer from the silent Jesus, Pilate eventually grows exasperated and tells him, "Die if you want to, you misguided martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
." Barry DennenBarry Dennen is an American actor, singer, and writer.Dennen was born in Chicago, Illinois. In New York City from 1960 to 1963, he had a relationship with Barbra Streisand, including living together for a year, during which time he helped her develop the nightclub act that began her successful...
played Pilate in the 1973 film version of the musical, directed by Norman JewisonNorman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre.-Early life:...
.
- The Collection of Short Stories The Night Chicago Died by Tom Wessex contains a story entitled "An Afternoon on Skull Hill", in which the author supposes that Gestas
Gestas, also spelled Gesmas, is the apocryphal name given to one of the two thieves who was crucified alongside Jesus. According to legend, Gestas taunted Jesus about not saving himself, while Dismas asked for mercy. Dismas was saved, and Gestas was not...
, one of the thieves crucified with Christ, was in fact Pilate's illegitimate son.
- Pontius Pilate is mentioned in the drama The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witchcraft trials that took place in Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as a response to McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
by Arthur MillerArthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include awards-winning plays such as All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible.Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, 1950s and...
. Protagonist John Proctor yells "Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this!", to Reverend Hale as Proctor's wife is being arrested.
- In Nicolas Notovith's The Lost Years of Jesus" (1894), an apocryphal Gospel he claims to have found in the Leh lamasery, Ladak, Pilatus is seen as an evil man and the Jews as mild and compassionate.
- In the 2004 Superman
Superman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc...
storyline "For Tomorrow", a story with strong messianicMessiah literally means "anointed "...
themes, a priest dying of cancer (and a confidant of Superman) is transformed into a biological war machineEquus is a fictional comic book supervillain, a cyborg mercenary in the DC Comics universe who serves as an opponent of Superman. Created by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Jim Lee, he first appeared in Superman #206 , which was published in June 2004 as part of the "For Tomorrow"...
, codenamed "Pilate", and rampages through a paradise dimension created by Superman. He retains enough of his humanity to regret his murders and sacrifices himself.
- In Jeffrey Archer's 1980 collection of short stories A Quiver Full of Arrows
A Quiver Full of Arrows is a 1980 collection of twelve short stories by British writer and politician Jeffrey Archer.-Contents:*"The Chinese Statue"*"The Luncheon"...
, one of the stories, "The First Miracle" tells of how a 12-year-old Pontius Pilate meets JosephSaint Joseph is known from the New Testament as the husband of Mary, mother of Jesus...
and Mary as they arrive in BethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, and gives them the food that his mother had sent him to buy.
- In Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters...
's book Song of SolomonThe Song of Songs , is a book of the Hebrew Bible—Tanakh or Old Testament—one of the five megillot...
, Pilate is the name of Macon Dead's sister
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th- century German philosopher and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science, using a distinctive German-language style and displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and...
wrote that Pilate is the one powerful personality in the Gospels.
- Pilatus is the central figure in The Karma Killers a 2009 novel by Angelo Paratico
Curiosities
- There is a house in Seville
Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos or...
(SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
) which is said to be a copy of Pilate's house in JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
(Casa de Pilatos). The Pilates House
Primary sources
The references to Pilate, outside the New Testament:
- Josephus
Josephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70...
, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews was a work published by the important Jewish historian Flavius Josephus about the year 93 or 94. Antiquities of the Jews is a history of the Jewish people, written in Greek for Josephus' gentile patrons...
- Josephus
Josephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70...
, The Wars of the JewsThe Wars of the Jews is a book written by the 1st century Jewish historian Josephus.It is a description of Jewish history from the capture of Jerusalem by the Seleucid...
- Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria....
, Legatio ad Gaium (Embassy to Gaius)
- Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
, AnnalsThe Annals is a history book by Tacitus covering the reign of the four Roman Emperors succeeding to Caesar Augustus. The parts of the work that survived from antiquity cover most of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero....
External links