This article was most recently revised and updated by, Historical and traditional accounts of the life of Pontius Pilate, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pontius-Pilate, World History Encyclopedia - Pontius Pilate, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Pontius Pilate, Sagrada Famlia: sculpture of Pontius Pilate. [11] Two additional chapters of Tacitus's Annals that might have mentioned Pilate have been lost. [264] During the Ecce homo scene, the eagle stands in the background between Jesus and Pilate, with a wing above each figure; after hesitantly condemning Jesus, Pilate passes back to the eagle, which is now framed beside him, showing his isolation in his decision and, McDonough suggests, causing the audience to question how well he has served the emperor. [202] While many images still draw from the Acts of Pilate, the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine is the primary source for depictions of Pilate from the second half of the thirteenth century onward. [115] The more recent scholars Alexander Demandt and Henry MacAdam both believe that the inscription is genuine, but attests to a person who simply had the same cognomen as Pontius Pilate. Medieval art frequently portrayed scenes of Pilate and Jesus, often in the scene where he washes his hands of guilt for Jesus's death. [257] Because he betrayed his desire to follow his morality and free Jesus, Pilate must suffer for eternity. [9] Modern historians have differing assessments of Pilate as an effective ruler: while some believe that he was a particularly brutal and ineffective governor, others believe that his long time in office implies reasonable competence. What sort of a ruler was he generally? [73] Helen Bond argues that, the evangelists' portrayals of Pilate have been shaped to a great extent by their own particular theological and apologetic concerns. But Pilate brought down with him the seamless tunic of Jesus; and he wore it on him in presence of the emperor. Pilate weakly capitulates. [262], Pilate has been depicted in a number of films, being included in portrayals of Christ's passion already in some of the earliest films produced. Pontius Pilate was the fifth magistrate to serve in the Roman province of Judea, created in 6 CE by Roman emperor Augustus (r. 27 BCE to 14 CE). Csar, hearing that Pilate had arrived at Rome, was filled with exceeding fury against him, and caused him to be brought to him. [269] Martin Winkler, however, argues that Ben-Hur provides a more nuanced and less condemnatory portrayal of Pilate and the Roman Empire than most American films of the period. Why would he cave to demands to crucify a man he had proclaimed innocent? [139] Tibor Grll believes that this could be a reference to Pilate's actual records,[138] but other scholars argue that Justin has simply invented the records as a source on the assumption that they existed without ever having verified their existence. McClintock and Strong. There he lives happily as a farmer and is looked after by his daughter, but suffers from gout and obesity and broods over his time as governor of Judaea. [270], Only one film has been made entirely in Pilate's perspective, the 1962 French-Italian Ponzio Pilato, where Pilate was played by Jean Marais. 1887, p. 202. According to Flavius Josephus, Pilates supporter, Sejanus, was murdered later. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. This is stated by those Greek historians who have recorded the Olympiads, together with the respective events which have taken place in each period.[11]. [254], Pilate features prominently in Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, which was written in the 1930s but only published in 1966, twenty six years after the author's death. [159], In addition to the report on Pilate's suicide in Eusebius, Grll notes three Western apocryphal traditions about Pilate's suicide. 1887, p. 201. Omissions? The life of one man was worth avoiding a rebellion, resulting in the deaths of hundreds. However, his successor, Caligula, was not similarly swayed and ordered . Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect (governor) of Judaea (2636 CE) who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for his crucifixion. As a result, pressure was applied by the Jewish Sanhedrin (Luke 23:2-7) upon Pilate. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records these words about Pilate, Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. Overall he actually mostly unimportant. They wanted Jesus dead. "[254] The work features a novel within the novel about Pontius Pilate and his encounter with Jesus (Yeshu Ha-Notsri) by an author only called the Master. [212] Pilate continued to be represented in various manuscript picture bibles and devotional works as well, often with innovative iconography, sometimes depicting scenes from the Pilate legends. A non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation. Pontius Pilate is a mysterious and controversial figure . [62] Helen Bond, Daniel Schwartz, and Warren Carter argue that Philo's portrayal is largely stereotyped and rhetorical, portraying Pilate with the same words as other opponents of Jewish law, while portraying Tiberius as just and supportive of Jewish law. The novel centers on an extended dialogue between Pilate and Jesus witnessed in a vision by the narrator Avdii Kallistratov, a former seminarian. The message from Pilate's wife. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [152] Another early text is an apocryphal letter attributed to "Herod" (a composite character of the various Herods in the Bible), which claims to respond to a letter from Pilate in which Pilate spoke of his remorse for Jesus' crucifixion and of having had a vision of the risen Christ; "Herod" asks Pilate to pray for him. 23:13-25; Jn. He also finds historical the information that their relationship mended following the execution of Jesus. [286] These include John 18:35 (numquid ego Iudaeus sum? [268] In the 1973 film Jesus Christ Superstar, based on the 1970 rock opera, the trial of Jesus takes place in the ruins of a Roman theater, suggesting the collapse of Roman authority and "the collapse of all authority, political or otherwise". (59) But they threw themselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said they would take their death very willingly, rather than the wisdom of their laws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable, and presently commanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to Cesarea.[4]. Lets discover what happened to Pontius Pilate after the death of Christ? Ignatius of Antioch mentions him in his epistles to the Trallians, Magnesians, and Smyrnaeans[13] (composed between 105110 AD). [260] Swiss playwright Max Frisch's comedy Die chinesische Mauer portrays Pilate as a skeptical intellectual who refuses to take responsibility for the suffering he has caused. [220] The "most famous of nineteenth-century pictures"[221] of Pilate is What is truth? Josephus tells us that in order to abolish Jewish laws, and with the intent of diminishing privileges Jews had hitherto enjoyed, Pilate ordered his troops to encamp in Jerusalem and sent them into the city with images of the emperor attached to their ensigns. Nothing is known about what happened to him after this event. They seem to picture a headstrong strict authoritarian Roman leader who, although both rational and practical, never knew how far he should go in a given case. [68] Bond argues that the number of Galileans killed does not seem to have been particularly high. [251], John Masefield's play in verse, Good Friday was written in 1916. What do we know about Pontius Pilate? Others argue that Pilate's duty was not so much to uphold justice as it was to promote peace and Roman interests. [99], The church historian Eusebius (Church History 2.7.1), writing in the early fourth century, claims that "tradition relates that" Pilate committed suicide after he was recalled to Rome due to the disgrace he was in. So Pontius may have come from Pontus, an ancient land in Northeast Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). [186] Pilate first appears in art on a Christian sarcophagus in 330 CE; in the earliest depictions he is shown washing his hands without Jesus being present. Pilate is presented as a materialist pessimist who believes mankind will soon destroy itself, whereas Jesus offers a message of hope. The king reads in the stars that he will bear a son who will rule over many lands, so he has a miller's daughter named Pila brought to him whom he impregnates; Pilate's name thus results from the combination of the names Pila with Atus. First Apology 35. [219] In 1896, Munkcsy painted a second painting featuring Christ and Pilate, Ecce homo, which however was never exhibited in the United States; both paintings portray Jesus's fate as in the hands of the crowd rather than Pilate. [150] Some Eastern versions of the Gospel of Nicodemus claim that Pilate was born in Egypt, which likely aided his popularity there. "[289] However, Paul Maier argues that Pilate's long term as governor of Judaea indicates he must have been a reasonably competent administrator,[290] while Henry MacAdam argues that "[a]mong the Judaean governors prior to the Jewish War, Pilate must be ranked as more capable than most. : the final authority concerned in the condemnation and execution of Jesus Christ. [120] Earlier coins read on the obverse and on the reverse, referring to the emperor Tiberius and his mother Livia (Julia Augusta). [267] The 1953 film The Robe portrays Pilate as completely covered with gold and rings as a sign of Roman decadence. [25], Pilate was likely educated, somewhat wealthy, and well-connected politically and socially. According to Eusebius (Church History 9.2.5), these texts were distributed during the persecution of Christians conducted by the emperor Maximinus II (reigned 308313). [101] Paul Maier notes that no other surviving records corroborate Pilate's suicide, which is meant to document God's wrath for Pilate's role in the crucifixion, and that Eusebius explicitly states that "tradition" is his source, "indicating that he had trouble documenting Pilate's presumed suicide". [268] The 1959 film Ben-Hur shows Pilate (the Australian actor, Frank Thring, Jr.) presiding over a chariot race, in a scene that Ann Wroe says "seemed closely modeled on the Hitler footage of the 1936 Olympics," with Pilate bored and sneering. Despite their different cultures and positions, love blossoms despite themselves. It appears that Pilate attempted to avoid a direct conflict with the Jewish leaders by hoping that King Herod might release Jesus (Luke 23:7-11). "), John 18:38 (Quid est veritas? According to one prominent post-war theory, Pilate's treatment of the Jews was motivated by antisemitism, but most modern historians do not believe this theory.[10]. Because of this subject matter, the Master has been attacked for "Pilatism" by the Soviet literary establishment. Philo is hostile, Josephus mostly neutral, and the Gospels "comparatively friendly. He seeks to expose and refute harmful myths, misinterpretations . Pontius Pilate. Reportedly, his father sent him to Rome as a hostage. The fate of Pontius Pilate after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is disputed among historians. He is happy to be back in Italy after a long exile, spent mainly in a remote province of the Empire. The second-century pagan philosopher Celsus polemically asked why, if Jesus was God, God had not punished Pilate, indicating that he did not believe that Pilate shamefully committed suicide. Pilate made several bad decisions while in Judea and Sejanus had supported him and kept him our of trouble with Rome. "[291] Other scholars have argued that Pilate was simply culturally insensitive in his interactions with the Jews and in this way a typical Roman official. "[70], At the Passover of most likely 30 or 33, Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death by crucifixion in Jerusalem. [153], In the so-called Book of the Cock, a late-antique apocryphal passion Gospel only preserved in Ge'ez (Ethiopic) but translated from Arabic,[154] Pilate attempts to avoid Jesus's execution by sending him to Herod and writing further letters arguing with Herod not to execute Jesus. [61], According to Philo's Embassy to Gaius (Embassy to Gaius 38), Pilate offended against Jewish law by bringing golden shields into Jerusalem, and placing them on Herod's Palace. By other accounts, Pontius Pilate was sent into exile and committed suicide of his own accord. . The Samaritans were leading an expedition to Mount Gerizim to look for artifacts. The New Testament suggests that Pilate had a weak, vacillating personality. Pontius Pilate [b] ( Latin: Pontius Pilatus; Greek: , Pontios Pilatos) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. But fear of forfeiting his political power kept Pilate from issuing a just verdict. This resulted in a crowd of Jews surrounding Pilate's house in Caesarea for five days. Protecting The Most Valuable Treasure On Earth. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his crucifixion. Eugene Norris asks our panel of pastors, What Happened to Pontius Pilate? [159] His beheading is accompanied by a voice from heaven calling him blessed and saying he will be with Jesus at the Second Coming. [252], Pilate makes a brief appearance in the preface to George Bernard Shaw's 1933 play On the Rocks where he argues against Jesus about the dangers of revolution and of new ideas. [158] In the Greek Paradosis Pilati (5th century),[152] Pilate is arrested for the crime of executing Jesus, although he has since converted to be a follower of Christ. Tiberius, however, had died before his arrival. Flavius Josephus. [177] A number of traditions also connected Pilate to Germany. Answer (1 of 5): Pilate had a political benefactor in Rome named, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. [87] Bart Ehrman argues that the Gospel of Mark, the earliest one, shows the Jews and Pilate to be in agreement about executing Jesus (Mark 15:15), while the later gospels progressively reduce Pilate's culpability, culminating in Pilate allowing the Jews to crucify Jesus in John (John 19:16). [183] In the medieval Slavonic Josephus, an Old Church Slavonic translation of Josephus, with legendary additions, Pilate kills many of Jesus's followers but finds Jesus innocent. It is possible that the ring belonged to another individual named Pilate,[130] or that it belonged to someone who worked for Pontius Pilate. [148] One version claims to have been discovered and translated by a Jewish convert named Ananias, portraying itself as the official Jewish records of the crucifixion. [156], Seven of the Pilate texts mention Pilate's fate after the crucifixion: in three, he becomes a very positive figure, while in four he is presented as diabolically evil. Notable paintings of this era include Tintoretto's Christ before Pilate (1566/67 CE), in which Pilate is given the forehead of a philosopher, and Gerrit van Honthorst's 1617 Christ before Pilate, which was later recatalogued as Christ before the High Priest due to Pilate's Jewish appearance. [238], Hourihane argues that in England, where the Jews had been expelled in 1290 CE, Pilate's characterization may have been used primarily to satyrize corrupt officials and judges rather than to stoke antisemitism. "[107] Originally, the inscription would have included an abbreviated letter for Pilate's praenomen (e.g., T. for Titus or M. for Marcus). [44] He also would have toured around the province in order to hear cases and administer justice. [145] The Gospel includes a scene in which the centurions who had been guarding Jesus' tomb report to Pilate that Jesus has been resurrected. [274], Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ portrays Pilate, played by Hristo Shopov, as a sympathetic, noble-minded character,[275] fearful that the Jewish priest Caiaphas will start an uprising if he does not give in to his demands. 26-36? Although in Latin, the name Pilate means, "skilled with the javelin." [3], But now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army from Cesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter quarters there, in order to abolish the Jewish laws. Company Structure; Cerfiticates; Products; Contact; Our partners; what happened to pontius pilate daughter Tertullian, the late, great 2nd-century Christian theologian and apologist was convinced of this as was the 4th century Saint . An early church tradition that had taken a favourable opinion of Pilate persisted in some churches into the early 21st century. Ignatius further dates Jesus's birth, passion, and resurrection during Pilate's governorship in his epistle to the Magnesians (11.1). What happened to Pontius Pilate after the death of Jesus? The oldest is written by Philo in the . [137] The earliest attestation of a positive tradition about Pilate comes from the late first-, early second-century Christian author Tertullian, who, claiming to have seen Pilate's report to Tiberius, states Pilate had "become already a Christian in his conscience. Copyright Like The Master Ministries. He provoked both Jews and Samaritans to riot. All Rights Reserved. The nineteenth century saw a renewed interest in depicting Pilate, with numerous images made. Pilate has frequently been a subject of artistic representation. By other accounts, Pontius Pilate was sent into exile and committed suicide of his own accord. For Pilate, anything that got him advanced in status in the eyes of the emperor was truth. 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