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1 results for "masada"

1. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 7.409-7.436 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •masada, date of fall, Found in books: Brighton, Sicarii in Josephus's Judean War: Rhetorical Analysis and Historical Observations (2009) 132

7.409. ἔτι δὲ καὶ περὶ ̓Αλεξάνδρειαν τὴν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ μετὰ ταῦτα συνέβη πολλοὺς ̓Ιουδαίων ἀποθανεῖν: 7.411. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτοῖς τῶν οὐκ ἀφανῶν τινες ̓Ιουδαίων ἀντέβαινον, τοὺς μὲν ἀπέσφαξαν, τοῖς δ' ἄλλοις ἐνέκειντο πρὸς τὴν ἀπόστασιν παρακαλοῦντες. 7.412. ὁρῶντες δ' αὐτῶν τὴν ἀπόνοιαν οἱ πρωτεύοντες τῆς γερουσίας οὐκέτ' ἀσφαλὲς αὐτοῖς ἐνόμιζον περιορᾶν, ἀλλὰ πάντας ἀθροίσαντες εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τοὺς ̓Ιουδαίους ἤλεγχον τὴν ἀπόνοιαν τῶν σικαρίων πάντων αἰτίους ἀποφαίνοντες ἐκείνους τῶν κακῶν: 7.413. καὶ νῦν ἔφασαν αὐτούς, ἐπείπερ οὐδὲ πεφευγότες τῆς σωτηρίας ἐλπίδα βεβαίαν ἔχουσιν, γνωσθέντας γὰρ ὑπὸ ̔Ρωμαίων εὐθὺς ἀπολεῖσθαι, τῆς αὐτοῖς προσηκούσης συμφορᾶς ἀναπιμπλάναι τοὺς μηδενὸς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων μετασχόντας. 7.414. φυλάξασθαι τοίνυν τὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὄλεθρον τὸ πλῆθος παρεκάλουν καὶ περὶ αὑτῶν πρὸς ̔Ρωμαίους ἀπολογήσασθαι τῇ τούτων παραδόσει. 7.415. συνιδόντες τοῦ κινδύνου τὸ μέγεθος ἐπείσθησαν τοῖς λεγομένοις, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ὁρμῆς ἐπὶ τοὺς σικαρίους ᾄξαντες συνήρπαζον αὐτούς. 7.416. τῶν δ' ἑξακόσιοι μὲν εὐθὺς ἑάλωσαν, ὅσοι δ' εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ Θήβας διέφυγον, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν συλληφθέντες ἐπανήχθησαν. 7.417. ἐφ' ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ὃς οὐ τὴν καρτερίαν καὶ τὴν εἴτε ἀπόνοιαν εἴτε τῆς γνώμης ἰσχὺν χρὴ λέγειν οὐ κατεπλάγη: 7.418. πάσης γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτοὺς βασάνου καὶ λύμης τῶν σωμάτων ἐπινοηθείσης ἐφ' ἓν τοῦτο μόνον, ὅπως αὐτῶν Καίσαρα δεσπότην ὁμολογήσωσιν, οὐδεὶς ἐνέδωκεν οὐδὲ ἐμέλλησεν εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ πάντες ὑπερτέραν τῆς ἀνάγκης τὴν αὐτῶν γνώμην διεφύλαξαν, ὥσπερ ἀναισθήτοις σώμασι χαιρούσῃ μόνον οὐχὶ τῇ ψυχῇ τὰς βασάνους καὶ τὸ πῦρ δεχόμενοι. 7.419. μάλιστα δ' ἡ τῶν παίδων ἡλικία τοὺς θεωμένους ἐξέπληξεν: οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκείνων τις ἐξενικήθη Καίσαρα δεσπότην ἐξονομάσαι. τοσοῦτον ἄρα τῆς τῶν σωμάτων ἀσθενείας ἡ τῆς τόλμης ἰσχὺς ἐπεκράτει. 7.421. ὁ δὲ τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων τὴν ἀκατάπαυστον ὑφορώμενος νεωτεροποιίαν καὶ δείσας, μὴ πάλιν εἰς ἓν ἀθρόοι συλλεγῶσι καί τινας αὑτοῖς συνεπισπάσωνται, προσέταξε τῷ Λούππῳ τὸν ἐν τῇ ̓Ονίου καλουμένῃ νεὼν καθελεῖν τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων. 7.422. ὁ δ' ἐστὶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ διὰ τοιαύτην αἰτίαν ᾠκίσθη τε καὶ τὴν ἐπίκλησιν ἔλαβεν: 7.423. ̓Ονίας Σίμωνος υἱός, εἷς τῶν ἐν ̔Ιεροσολύμοις ἀρχιερέων, φεύγων ̓Αντίοχον τὸν Συρίας βασιλέα πολεμοῦντα τοῖς ̓Ιουδαίοις ἧκεν εἰς ̓Αλεξάνδρειαν, καὶ δεξαμένου Πτολεμαίου φιλοφρόνως αὐτὸν διὰ τὴν πρὸς ̓Αντίοχον ἀπέχθειαν ἔφη σύμμαχον αὐτῷ ποιήσειν τὸ τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ἔθνος, εἰ πεισθείη τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ λεγομένοις. 7.424. ποιήσειν δὲ τὰ δυνατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ὁμολογήσαντος ἠξίωσεν ἐπιτρέπειν αὐτῷ νεών τε που τῆς Αἰγύπτου κατασκευάσασθαι καὶ τοῖς πατρίοις ἔθεσι θεραπεύειν τὸν θεόν: 7.425. οὕτως γὰρ ̓Αντιόχῳ μὲν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐκπολεμώσεσθαι τοὺς ̓Ιουδαίους τὸν ἐν ̔Ιεροσολύμοις νεὼν πεπορθηκότι, πρὸς αὐτὸν δ' εὐνοϊκωτέρως ἕξειν καὶ πολλοὺς ἐπ' ἀδείᾳ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐπ' αὐτὸν συλλεγήσεσθαι. 7.426. Πεισθεὶς Πτολεμαῖος τοῖς λεγομένοις δίδωσιν αὐτῷ χώραν ἑκατὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀγδοήκοντα σταδίους ἀπέχουσαν Μέμφεως: νομὸς δ' οὗτος ̔Ηλιοπολίτης καλεῖται. 7.427. φρούριον ἔνθα κατασκευασάμενος ̓Ονίας τὸν μὲν ναὸν οὐχ ὅμοιον ᾠκοδόμησε τῷ ἐν ̔Ιεροσολύμοις, ἀλλὰ πύργῳ παραπλήσιον λίθων μεγάλων εἰς ἑξήκοντα πήχεις ἀνεστηκότα: 7.428. τοῦ βωμοῦ δὲ τὴν κατασκευὴν πρὸς τὸν οἰκεῖον ἐξεμιμήσατο καὶ τοῖς ἀναθήμασιν ὁμοίως ἐκόσμησεν χωρὶς τῆς περὶ τὴν λυχνίαν κατασκευῆς: 7.429. οὐ γὰρ ἐποίησε λυχνίαν, αὐτὸν δὲ χαλκευσάμενος λύχνον χρυσοῦν ἐπιφαίνοντα σέλας χρυσῆς ἁλύσεως ἐξεκρέμασε. τὸ δὲ τέμενος πᾶν ὀπτῇ πλίνθῳ περιτετείχιστο πύλας ἔχον λιθίνας. 7.431. οὐ μὴν ̓Ονίας ἐξ ὑγιοῦς γνώμης ταῦτα ἔπραττεν, ἀλλ' ἦν αὐτῷ φιλονεικία πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ̔Ιεροσολύμοις ̓Ιουδαίους ὀργὴν τῆς φυγῆς ἀπομνημονεύοντι, καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἱερὸν ἐνόμιζε κατασκευάσας εἰς αὐτὸ περισπάσειν ἀπ' ἐκείνων τὸ πλῆθος. 7.432. ἐγεγόνει δέ τις καὶ παλαιὰ πρόρρησις ἔτεσί που πρόσθεν ἑξακοσίοις: ̔Ησαί̈ας ὄνομα τῷ προαγορεύσαντι τοῦδε τοῦ ναοῦ τὴν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ γενησομένην ὑπ' ἀνδρὸς ̓Ιουδαίου κατασκευήν. τὸ μὲν οὖν ἱερὸν οὕτως ἐπεποίητο. 7.433. Λοῦππος δ' ὁ τῆς ̓Αλεξανδρείας ἡγεμὼν τὰ παρὰ Καίσαρος λαβὼν γράμματα καὶ παραγενόμενος εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν καί τινα τῶν ἀναθημάτων ἐκφορήσας τὸν ναὸν ἀπέκλεισε. 7.434. Λούππου δὲ μετὰ βραχὺ τελευτήσαντος Παυλῖνος διαδεξάμενος τὴν ἡγεμονίαν οὔτε τῶν ἀναθημάτων οὐδὲν κατέλιπε, πολλὰ γὰρ διηπείλησε τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν εἰ μὴ πάντα προκομίσειαν, οὔτε προσιέναι τῷ τεμένει τοὺς θρησκεύειν βουλομένους ἐφῆκεν, 7.435. ἀλλ' ἀποκλείσας τὰς πύλας ἀπρόσιτον αὐτὸ παντελῶς ἐποίησεν, ὡς μηδ' ἴχνος ἔτι τῆς εἰς τὸν θεὸν θεραπείας ἐν τῷ τόπῳ καταλιπεῖν. 7.436. χρόνος ἦν εἰς τὴν ἀπόκλεισιν τοῦ ναοῦ γεγονὼς ἀπὸ τῆς κατασκευῆς ἔτη τρία καὶ τεσσαράκοντα καὶ τριακόσια.

7.409. for still it came to pass that many Jews were slain at Alexandria in Egypt; 7.410. for as many of the Sicarii as were able to fly thither, out of the seditious wars in Judea, were not content to have saved themselves, but must needs be undertaking to make new disturbances, and persuaded many of those that entertained them to assert their liberty, to esteem the Romans to be no better than themselves, and to look upon God as their only Lord and Master. 7.411. But when part of the Jews of reputation opposed them, they slew some of them, and with the others they were very pressing in their exhortations to revolt from the Romans; 7.412. but when the principal men of the senate saw what madness they were come to, they thought it no longer safe for themselves to overlook them. So they got all the Jews together to an assembly, and accused the madness of the Sicarii, and demonstrated that they had been the authors of all the evils that had come upon them. 7.413. They said also that “these men, now they were run away from Judea, having no sure hope of escaping, because as soon as ever they shall be known, they will be soon destroyed by the Romans, they come hither and fill us full of those calamities which belong to them, while we have not been partakers with them in any of their sins.” 7.414. Accordingly, they exhorted the multitude to have a care, lest they should be brought to destruction by their means, and to make their apology to the Romans for what had been done, by delivering these men up to them; 7.415. who being thus apprised of the greatness of the danger they were in, complied with what was proposed, and ran with great violence upon the Sicarii, and seized upon them; 7.416. and indeed six hundred of them were caught immediately: but as to all those that fled into Egypt and to the Egyptian Thebes, it was not long ere they were caught also, and brought back,— 7.417. whose courage, or whether we ought to call it madness, or hardiness in their opinions, everybody was amazed at. 7.418. For when all sorts of torments and vexations of their bodies that could be devised were made use of to them, they could not get anyone of them to comply so far as to confess, or seem to confess, that Caesar was their lord; but they preserved their own opinion, in spite of all the distress they were brought to, as if they received these torments and the fire itself with bodies insensible of pain, and with a soul that in a manner rejoiced under them. 7.419. But what was most of all astonishing to the beholders was the courage of the children; for not one of these children was so far overcome by these torments, as to name Caesar for their lord. So far does the strength of the courage [of the soul] prevail over the weakness of the body. 7.420. 2. Now Lupus did then govern Alexandria, who presently sent Caesar word of this commotion; 7.421. who having in suspicion the restless temper of the Jews for innovation, and being afraid lest they should get together again, and persuade some others to join with them, gave orders to Lupus to demolish that Jewish temple which was in the region called Onion, 7.422. and was in Egypt, which was built and had its denomination from the occasion following: 7.423. Onias, the son of Simon, one of the Jewish high priests, fled from Antiochus the king of Syria, when he made war with the Jews, and came to Alexandria; and as Ptolemy received him very kindly, on account of his hatred to Antiochus, he assured him, that if he would comply with his proposal, he would bring all the Jews to his assistance; 7.424. and when the king agreed to do it so far as he was able, he desired him to give him leave to build a temple somewhere in Egypt, and to worship God according to the customs of his own country; 7.425. for that the Jews would then be so much readier to fight against Antiochus who had laid waste the temple at Jerusalem, and that they would then come to him with greater goodwill; and that, by granting them liberty of conscience, very many of them would come over to him. 7.426. 3. So Ptolemy complied with his proposals, and gave him a place one hundred and eighty furlongs distant from Memphis. That Nomos was called the Nomos of Heliopoli 7.427. where Onias built a fortress and a temple, not like to that at Jerusalem, but such as resembled a tower. He built it of large stones to the height of sixty cubits; 7.428. he made the structure of the altar in imitation of that in our own country, and in like manner adorned with gifts, excepting the make of the candlestick, 7.429. for he did not make a candlestick, but had a [single] lamp hammered out of a piece of gold, which illuminated the place with its rays, and which he hung by a chain of gold; 7.430. but the entire temple was encompassed with a wall of burnt brick, though it had gates of stone. The king also gave him a large country for a revenue in money, that both the priests might have a plentiful provision made for them, and that God might have great abundance of what things were necessary for his worship. 7.431. Yet did not Onias do this out of a sober disposition, but he had a mind to contend with the Jews at Jerusalem, and could not forget the indignation he had for being banished thence. Accordingly, he thought that by building this temple he should draw away a great number from them to himself. 7.432. There had been also a certain ancient prediction made by [a prophet] whose name was Isaiah, about six hundred years before, that this temple should be built by a man that was a Jew in Egypt. And this is the history of the building of that temple. 7.433. 4. And now Lupus, the governor of Alexandria, upon the receipt of Caesar’s letter, came to the temple, and carried out of it some of the donations dedicated thereto, and shut up the temple itself. 7.434. And as Lupus died a little afterward, Paulinus succeeded him. This man left none of those donations there, and threatened the priests severely if they did not bring them all out; nor did he permit any who were desirous of worshipping God there so much as to come near the whole sacred place; 7.435. but when he had shut up the gates, he made it entirely inaccessible, insomuch that there remained no longer the least footsteps of any Divine worship that had been in that place. 7.436. Now the duration of the time from the building of this temple till it was shut up again was three hundred and forty-three years.

Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database