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Self-Characterization in Flavian Rome

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Self-Characterization in Flavian Rome University of Groningen Flavius Josephus' Self-Characterization in First-Century Rome Glas, Eelco DOI: 10.33612/diss.135980205 IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2020 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Glas, E. (2020). Flavius Josephus' Self-Characterization in First-Century Rome: A Literary Analysis of the Autobiographical Passages in the Bellum Judaicum. University of Groningen. https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.135980205 Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. Download date: 24-09-2021 Flavius Josephus’ Self-Characterization in First-Century Rome A Literary Analysis of the Autobiographical Passages in the Bellum Judaicum PhD thesis to obtain the degree of PhD at the University of Groningen on the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. C. Wijmenga and in accordance with the decision by the College of Deans. This thesis will be defended in public on Monday 2 November 2020 at 11.00 hours by Jacob Evert Glas born on 20 September 1991 in Groningen ii Supervisors Prof. dr. S.N. Mason Prof. dr. F.L. Roig Lanzillotta Assessment Committee Prof. dr. H.H. Chapman Prof. dr. J.W. Van Henten Prof. dr. J.T.A.G.M. Van Ruiten iii Printing house: GVO drukkers & vormgevers B.V. Cover illustration: Miniature in the French translation of the Bellum Judaicum by Guillaume Coquillard made in 1460–63 (Chantilly, Musée Condé, Ms. fr. 1061, fol. 151; plate: J. Meurgey, Les principaux manuscrits à peintures du Musée Condé à Chantilly. Paris: La Société française de reproductions de manuscrits à peintures, 1930: pl. lxxxiv). iv Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................................... vii Preface and Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. viii Conventions and Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 “There’s no Such Thing as Bad Publicity” ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Foundation of this Study ................................................................................................................ 4 1.2.1 Developments in Josephus Scholarship and the Approach of the Present Study ......... 4 1.2.2 The Sources of the BJ ..................................................................................................................... 11 1.2.3 The Date of the BJ .......................................................................................................................... 13 1.3 Josephus’ Autobiographical Material: State-of-the-Question..................................................... 14 1.4 Josephus in Flavian Rome: Reading the BJ Comparatively ......................................................... 27 1.5 On Character and Self-Characterization ......................................................................................... 30 1.6 Scope and Outline of the Present Study ........................................................................................... 33 Chapter 2: The Moral and Rhetorical Backgrounds of Character in the BJ ........................................ 37 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 37 2.2 The Historical Context of Josephus’ BJ............................................................................................. 38 2.3 Historiography in Josephus’ Rome .................................................................................................... 43 2.3.1 Rhetoric and Character in Graeco-Roman Historiography .............................................. 45 2.3.2 Moral Didacticism and Roman Imperial Historiography .................................................. 48 2.4 Exemplarity and Didacticism in Josephus’ Corpus ....................................................................... 55 2.4.1 Josephus’ Historical Writings: Some General Observations .............................................. 55 2.4.2 Moral Character in the BJ ........................................................................................................... 59 2.4.3 Rhetoric and the Presentation of Character in the BJ ........................................................ 65 2.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 83 Chapter 3: The Moralizing Themes of Josephus’ Self-Characterization in the BJ ............................ 85 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 85 3.2 Josephus as a Historian in Flavian Rome and the Aims of the BJ ............................................. 88 v 3.3 The Composition of Josephus’ Self-Characterization .................................................................. 95 3.3.1 Josephus’ Self-Characterization: Outline and Compositional Framing ........................ 95 3.3.2 Josephus as a Political and Military Leader .......................................................................... 101 3.3.3 Civil War, Purity, and Pollution in the BJ (2.569–646) ...................................................... 120 3.3.4 The Tragic Tone of Josephus’ Self-Characterization (BJ 3.135–442) ............................... 128 3.3.5 The Functions of Josephus’ Speech before the Walls of Jerusalem (BJ 5.361–419) ..... 138 3.4 Conclusion: The Purpose of Josephus’ Self-Characterisation in the BJ .................................. 142 Chapter 4: Graeco-Roman Autobiographical Discourse and the Rhetoric of Self-Praise ............. 145 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 145 4.2 Josephus and Autobiographical Practice in Flavian Rome ....................................................... 147 4.2.1 Autobiography in Antiquity ..................................................................................................... 147 4.2.2 Classical Greece ........................................................................................................................... 148 4.2.3 Autobiography in the Hellenistic and Roman Republic Period ..................................... 150 4.2.4 The Roman Empire ..................................................................................................................... 153 4.2.5 Josephus’ Autobiographical Practice in a Roman Imperial Context ............................. 155 4.3 Greeks and Romans on the Problem of Self-Praise ..................................................................... 156 4.3.1 Classical Greece ........................................................................................................................... 157 4.3.2 Greek and non-Greek Provincials under Rome .................................................................. 160 4.3.3 Romans and Self-Praise .............................................................................................................. 179 4.4 Josephus and the Decorum of Self-Praise ...................................................................................... 192 Chapter 5: The Rhetorical Features of Josephus’ Self-Characterization in the BJ .......................... 196 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 196 5.2 Person and Perspective in the BJ: Comparative Observations ................................................. 199 5.3 The Art of Moderating Self-Praise in the BJ .................................................................................. 209 5.3.1 Other Characters Praising Josephus ....................................................................................... 210 5.3.2 Josephus’ Praising His Own Virtues: Exceptions ................................................................. 213 5.3.3 Josephus’ Words and Actions ................................................................................................... 215 5.3.4 Josephus’ Praise of Other Characters ....................................................................................
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