1000 word Excerpt



I so vividly recalled one of Pilates major indiscretions. My first awareness was the roar of a Jewish crowd that awakened me from a sound mid-day slumber. The roar grew harsher with each passing hour. I stayed inside the Palace but listened as the drama unfolded. The hope that the searing desert sun would quell their passions did not bear out. They were angrier than I had ever sensed them. I remained hidden in the shadows of our Palace, cooled by ... the fans of three servants. I wondered what these Jewish slaves thought whenever a confrontation arose between Pilatus and the people he governed.

Pilatus was behind the portico overlooking the massive crowds. He was pacing back and forth, receiving whispered messages from advisers, some in plain togas, others in military dress and still others ... in the Palestinian, a long, mud-stained robe, drab, colorless. These were the Jewish spies, paid to figure out what the people were thinking...

He paced the portico, faster and faster, his hands clasped behind himself, a gesture he assumed when his anxieties mounted.

The gold, Pilatus, the gold; how can you use the Temple gold, Yahwehs gold,? They were screaming louder and louder. The Priests were out in full force, mingling with the people, informing them of what Pilatus had done, urging them to yell louder and louder. The Sanhedrin guards would raise their clenched fists and yell to the portico, urging others to do the same. Pilatus motioned to his Roman guard and assembled one hundred fully armed and helmeted legionnaires. He prepared a battle.

Pilatus had taken gold from the Temple without consulting the Chief Priest. Rome controlled all finances and it was within Pilates authority to take any wealth he wished. But it didnt work that way in Judea. Rome needed the well wishes of the Jews to help in its on-going observations of Parthia.

You have stolen our gold, gold from the Temple. You have spat upon our holy Temple, Pilatus. Yield in the name of Yahweh.

Pilatus approached the edged of the portico, now visible to the Jews gathered near the Palace. A roar of derision rose up with hundreds of outstretched arms and clenched fists.

The gold, give us back our gold.

Pilatus raised his arms and spread his fingers, a sign demanding silence.

The gold, we are the people of the true God; give us, give Him our gold, Pilatus. We will not be silenced.

Pilatus had used the gold to build an aqueduct that replenished the Temple waters and fed the people of Jerusalem. He had thought this would put him in good with the Jews and here it was causing him grief because he had no understanding of their religious restrictions. He would later repeat to me a saying that became almost a daily ritual for him: It is impossible to rule these people; they are like no other in our Empire.

Suddenly Pilatus spread his arms sideways and bowed his head, indicating a period of reconciliation. His spies had apprised him that the Jews would appeal to Tiberius. Pilatus didnt need another reprimand from Rome. On seeing his hands spread sideways, the crowd fell silent. The shrewd Sadducees had worked long enough with Pilatus to know when compromise or total capitulation was in the offing.

I have decreed that the gold taken from your Temple by Titus Galeria must be returned to your treasury. The denarii for the aqueduct, water designed for the Temple, will be drawn from Roman sources. So be it from the Palace of your Governor. Titus Galeria, an invention of Pilatus, would never be heard from again.

The crowd cheered and bowed their heads.

Long live the Emperor of Rome; long live his servant, Pontius Pilatus. The Sanhedrin led the chorus of praise for wise Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judea.

Pilatus turned. Three female slaves, sensing his frustration, rushed to fan him. His fists clenched and his eyes turned heavenward. .... May the gods ring down thunder and send these people to Hades.

I ran to his side.

Pilatus, enough, enough.

No, my Claudia, they are a damnable people.

But why, my Pilatus; tell me why you chose to take their gold?

Enough Claudia, he swung his body and feigned walking away.

Tell me my Pilatus, answer my question.

What, what Claudia? Why I took their gold? Enough; it is Romes gold; it is my gold. I am their ruler and they must know this. Dont you see this, my love?
Pilatus, of course it is Romes gold and of course you are their ruler but it is enough to know it; it need not be thrown at them each time you need to prove it.

He slammed his fist against his chest and slapped a column of the portico.

No, my Claudia; you do not understand. I must force them to know who rules. If I do not, they will forget the ruler. I do not do this for myself but for Rome and our noble Emperor.

Pilatus had violent feelings about the Jews, this inferior race. He restrained these feelings. More importantly was the overriding mission of Rome: to control Judea as a buffer zone against Parthia. This required a peaceful relationship and discretion when dealing with the Jews. Also, Pilatus held back these feelings because of his fear that the Jewish authorities would report any infractions to Tiberius.

Nor could Pilatus possibly understand the violation of everything holy by robbing the Temple of its gold. It was donated by the people and held by the priests as a sacred trust. It was always under control by Rome but it was, in long-standing Jewish tradition, gods gold to be used only by the priests for holy things of god. Bad as Roman occupation was, raping their women, treating them as slaves, spitting at their culture, their beliefs, even their dress and the food they ate, bad as all this was, to violate their Temple was the hardest thing the Jews could take from the occupying Romans. In their sad and lonely history these Jews saw their Temple destroyed many times by occupying Empires.

But that was history for Pilatus and me. We were to sail in four hours and I pray to my goddess Minerva never to dwell or think of Judea or Parthia again.....