Herod I, Flavius Josephus, and Roman Bathing
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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts HEROD I, FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS, AND ROMAN BATHING: HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY IN DIALOG A Thesis in History by Jeffrey T. Herrick 2009 Jeffrey T. Herrick Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts August 2009 The thesis of Jeffrey T. Herrick was reviewed and approved* by the following: Garrett G. Fagan Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and History Thesis Advisor Paul B. Harvey Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, History, and Religious Studies, Head of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Ann E. Killebrew Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Jewish Studies, and Anthropology Carol Reardon Director of Graduate Studies in History; Professor of Military History *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT In this thesis, I examine the historical and archaeological evidence for the baths built in late 1st century B.C.E by King Herod I of Judaea (commonly called ―the Great‖). In the modern period, many and diverse explanations of Herod‘s actions have been put forward, but previous approaches have often been hamstrung by inadequate and disproportionate use of either form of evidence. My analysis incorporates both forms while still keeping important criticisms of both in mind. Both forms of evidence, archaeological and historical, have biases, and it is important to consider their nuances and limitations as well as the information they offer. In the first chapter, I describe the most important previous approaches to the person of Herod and evaluate both the theoretical paradigms as well as the methodologies which governed them. I show how the evidence from Herod‘s baths has seldom been meaningfully utilized to evaluate the king. In the second chapter, I provide a synthesis of the archaeological evidence for Herod‘s bathing installations and show that his predilection for imported Roman luxuries was balanced against his devotion to Jewish strictures of ritual purity. In the third chapter, I examine the evidence which Flavius Josephus preserves for the life of Herod and show that, though our best historical source, the writer was unfamiliar with Herod‘s personal bathing habits. In the fourth and final chapter, I locate the discussion of Herod‘s bathing practices within the larger debate over Romanization in the Empire, showing that Herod‘s adoption of Roman baths fits within this model as an expression of both local and empire-wide power dynamics and a display of conspicuous consumption. I then provide my own innovative synthesis and theory that, whatever other intended functions they had, Herod‘s baths were in general built with a utilitarian concern in mind: to accommodate his personal mercenaries and bodyguard. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1 Historical and Archaeological Narratives of Herod ................................. 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Ancient and medieval characterizations of Herod ............................................. 4 Toward a new dialog: the birth of archaeology .................................................. 5 Ante-archaeological views of Herod: rehashing an old debate .......................... 7 The genesis of systematic archaeology in Palestine ......................................... 14 Herodian archaeology after the British Mandate ............................................... 21 Abraham Schalit‘s Herod .................................................................................. 28 Yigael Yadin at Masada .................................................................................... 30 Subsequent literary reactions to Masada and subsequent archaeological work ........................................................................................................... 38 The work of Ehud Netzer .................................................................................. 40 A new approach: the prosopography of Herod .................................................. 44 Conclusion........................................................................................................ 45 Chapter 2 The Archaeological Evidence ................................................................. 75 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 75 Hasmonaean Bathing Structures ...................................................................... 75 Bathhouse typology .......................................................................................... 78 Bathhouse features .......................................................................................... 79 Idiomatic expression: Herodian miqva‘ot .......................................................... 83 Conclusion........................................................................................................ 87 Chapter 3 The Evidence from Josephus ................................................................. 100 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 100 The current reception of Josephus ................................................................... 100 General references to Herod‘s gifts of baths ..................................................... 102 Specific references to Herod‘s gifts of baths ..................................................... 106 References to Herod‘s personal baths .............................................................. 107 Bathing Narratives ............................................................................................ 119 Varying codas to Herod‘s vita ........................................................................... 129 Conclusion........................................................................................................ 131 Chapter 4 Conclusions and Synthesis .................................................................... 140 Introduction – Romanization and elite display ................................................... 140 Romanization and Idiomatic Expression ........................................................... 143 The depth of Roman influence .......................................................................... 144 Synthesis: the Use of Herod‘s Baths................................................................. 146 v Appendix A Miqva’ot ............................................................................................... 154 Appendix B ―Herodian‖ as a Problematic Term ...................................................... 159 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 159 Semantic Confusion ......................................................................................... 161 Conclusion........................................................................................................ 163 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 165 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Plan of the Syrian bathhouse at Gezer. After Macalister, Gezer, p. 224, fig. 110 . ................................................................................................... 47 Figure 1.2: Room f of the Syrian bathhouse at Gezer, viewed from the northwest. After Macalister, Gezer, p. 224, fig. 110 . ......................................................... 48 Figure 1.3: The Herodian Augusteum complex at Samaria-Sebaste: 1 = Gate; 2 = Western entrance; 3 = Temple of Augustus; 4 = Forecort; 5 = Apsidal Building; 6 = ―Atium House‖ Peristyle Villa; 7 = Stepped Pools; 8 = Western stores; 9 = Eastern Stores. After Barag, ―Herod‗s Royal Castle,‖ p. 14, fig. 6.... 49 Figure 1.4: The ―Atrium House‖ peristyle villa at Samaria-Sebaste, with the bathhouse in the upper right hand corner: 369 = room with bathtub; 368 = miqveh; 366 = room with rectangle-pattern mosaic. After Gill and Gempf, Book of Acts, p. 203, fig. 12, based on Reisner et al., Harvard Excavations, fig. 97... ............................................................................................................ 50 Figure 1.5: The 1950 ASOR excavation‘s plan of the Herodian complex at Tulul Abu el-‗Alayiq. After Kelso and Baramki, Excavations, plate 33. ....................... 51 Figure 1.6: Stuccoed opus reticulatum walls from Tell 2 at Tulul Abu el-‗Alayiq. After Kelso and Baramki, Excavations, plate 9.................................................. 52 Figure 1.7: Top levels of Early Roman building on Tell 1 at Tulul Abu el-‗Alayiq, showing opus reticulatum brickwork. After Kelso and Baramki, Excavations, plate 33... ......................................................................................................... 53 Figure 1.8: Opus quadratum pier from Early Roman building on Tell 1 at Tulul Abu el-‗Alayiq. After Kelso and Baramki, Excavations, plate 33... ..................... 54 Figure 1.9: Plan of the round Early Roman building on the summit of Tell 1 at Tulul Abu el-‗Alayiq. After Kelso and Baramki, Excavations, plate 33.. ............. 55 Figure 1.10: Laborers from the 1950 ASOR excavation uncover the foundations