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Pontius Pilate

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Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man"), Antonio Ciseri's depiction of Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem.

Pontius Pilate (pronounced /ˈpɒntʃəs ˈpaɪlət/; Latin: Pilatus, Greek: Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος) was the Equestrian procurator of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26–36.[1][2] Typically referenced as the fifth Procurator of Judea, he is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized his crucifixion.

Pilate appears in all four canonical Christian Gospels. Mark, depicting Jesus as innocent of plotting against Rome, portrays Pilate as extremely reluctant to execute Jesus, blaming the Jewish priestly hierarchy for his death.[3] In Matthew, Pilate washes his hands of Jesus and reluctantly sends him to his death.[3] In Luke, Pilate not only agrees that Jesus did not conspire against Rome, but Herod Antipas, the tetrarch, also finds nothing treasonable in Jesus' actions.[3] In John, Jesus' claim to be the Son of Man or the Messiah to Pilate and the Sanhedrin is not portrayed at all.[3]

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 wife's name was Claudia Procula (she is canonized as a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church)[4] and competing legends of his birthplace.

Prominent contemporary scholars see the scenes with Pilate as demonstrating that Jesus was not a threat to Roman authority.[5]

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 javelin". The pilum (= javelin) was five feet of wooden shaft and two feet of tapered iron. When the point penetrated a shield, the shaft would bend and hang down, thus rendering it impossible to throw back.[6]

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 Burebista 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 Scottish legend that Pilate's father was an ambassador to the Caledonians and that he was born in Fortingall in Glen Lyon, Perthshire;[7] this legend is quite common in Highland Perthshire.[8]

The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article on Pilate said that Pontius suggested a Samnite origin—among the Pontii—and his cognomen Pileatus, if it derived from the pileus or cap of liberty, implied that he was either descended from, or had been himself a freedman.

It is also commonly believed that the name 'Pontius' implies that he was descended from Gaius Pontius, the Samnite General.[6]

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.[9]

Eusebius [10] quoted some early apocryphal accounts which he did not name, that said Pilate suffered misfortune in the reign of Caligula (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 Bisenti, Samnite territory, in today's Abruzzo region of Central Italy.[citation needed] There are ruins of a Roman house known as "The House of Pilate."

Titles and duties

Bronze prutah minted by Pontius Pilate.
Reverse: Greek letters TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC (Tiberius Emperor) and date LIS (year 16 = 29/30 A.D) surrounding simpulum (libation ladle).
Obverse: Greek letters IOYLIA KAICAPOC (Julia Empress), three bound heads of barley, the outer two heads drooping.

Pontius Pilate's title was traditionally thought to have been procurator, since Tacitus speaks of him as such. However, an inscription on a limestone block known as the Pilate Stone — 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 "Prefect of Judaea".

The title used by the governors of the region varied over the period of the New Testament. When Samaria, Judea proper and Idumea were first amalgamated into the Roman Judaea Province,[11] from 6 to the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt in 66, officials of the Equestrian order (the lower rank of governors) governed. They held the Roman title of prefect until Herod Agrippa I was named King of the Jews by Claudius. 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: prefect. 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,[12] 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 Sanhedrin and its president the High Priest. But the power of appointment of the High Priest resided in the Roman legate of Syria or the prefect of Iudaea in Pilate's day and until 41. For example, Caiaphas was appointed High Priest of Herod's Temple by Prefect Valerius Gratus and deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius. 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 Jerusalem, in the course of performing his duties. During the Passover, 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 Fortress, and temporarily anywhere else that might require a military presence. The total number of soldiers at his disposal numbered in the range of 3000.[13]

The "Pilate Inscription" or "Pilate Stone" from Caesarea

Main article: Pilate Stone
Limestone block discovered in 1961 with Pilate's tribute in Latin to Tiberius. The words [...]TIVS PILATVS[...] can be clearly seen on the second line.

The first physical evidence relating to Pilate was discovered in 1961, when a block of limestone 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.[14] 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 Fadus in 44 AD.

This inscription was discovered in Caesarea (Israel) by a group led by Antonio Frova and has been dated to 26-37 AD. Currently the inscription is housed in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.[15]

Pilate in the canonical Gospel accounts

Christ before Pilate, Mihály Munkácsy, 1881
Major events in Jesus' life from the Gospels
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