Following Vespasian in His Footsteps: Movement and (E)motion Management in Josephus’ Judean War
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Eelco Glas
Abstract
This chapter examines Josephus’ account of the Year of the Four Emperors in book 4 of the Judean War, and in particular Vespasian’s response to the prospect of having to undertake a sea voyage from Judea to Rome to deal with the vicious Vitellius. Scholars have often taken the details of Josephus’ account as highly favorable to the Flavians. Consequently, they have argued that Josephus’ version of the events is arguably the most pro-Flavian version to survive from antiquity. Drawing on Greek and Roman views of narrative composition and arrangement, the present chapter challenges this view by examining Josephus’ characterization of Vespasian’s emotions and disposition as part of its wider literary context. The analysis suggests, first, that through his use of recognizable literary topoi related to sea travel, Josephus offers his readers interpretative clues for implicit criticism of the Flavians. The language and narrative structure of the War encourage comparisons between Vespasian and other characters staged in the narrative, such as Herod the Great. Second, the analysis sheds light on the rationale and patterns underlying the literary representation of travel and travel experiences in Josephus’ histories. Motifs of “travel” and “travel experiences” are not as incidental as they often seem to be. They can have important functions as literary devices in the narrative. Their paradigmatic nature allows readers to discover thematic structures and relationships between exemplary scenes for themselves.
Abstract
This chapter examines Josephus’ account of the Year of the Four Emperors in book 4 of the Judean War, and in particular Vespasian’s response to the prospect of having to undertake a sea voyage from Judea to Rome to deal with the vicious Vitellius. Scholars have often taken the details of Josephus’ account as highly favorable to the Flavians. Consequently, they have argued that Josephus’ version of the events is arguably the most pro-Flavian version to survive from antiquity. Drawing on Greek and Roman views of narrative composition and arrangement, the present chapter challenges this view by examining Josephus’ characterization of Vespasian’s emotions and disposition as part of its wider literary context. The analysis suggests, first, that through his use of recognizable literary topoi related to sea travel, Josephus offers his readers interpretative clues for implicit criticism of the Flavians. The language and narrative structure of the War encourage comparisons between Vespasian and other characters staged in the narrative, such as Herod the Great. Second, the analysis sheds light on the rationale and patterns underlying the literary representation of travel and travel experiences in Josephus’ histories. Motifs of “travel” and “travel experiences” are not as incidental as they often seem to be. They can have important functions as literary devices in the narrative. Their paradigmatic nature allows readers to discover thematic structures and relationships between exemplary scenes for themselves.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of Contributors VII
- Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Travel Experiences 1
- “And as They Travelled Eastward” (Gen 11:2): Travel in the Book of Genesis and the Anonymous Travelers in the Tower of Babel Account 11
- The Consolations of Travel: Reading Seneca’s Ad Marciam vis-à-vis Paul of Tarsus 33
- The (Missing) Motif of “Returning Home” from an Otherworldly Journey in Menippean Literature and the New Testament 55
- The Educational Aspect of the Lukan Travel Narrative: Jesus as a Πεπαιδευμένος 73
- Acts of the Apostles—A Celebration of Uncertainty? Constructing a Dialogical Self for the Early Jesus Movement 97
- “Today or Tomorrow We Will Go to Such and Such a City” (Jas 4:13): The Experience of Interconnectivity and the Mobility of Norms in the Ancient Globalized World 113
- Heavenly Journey and Divine Epistemology in the Fourth Gospel 145
- Following Vespasian in His Footsteps: Movement and (E)motion Management in Josephus’ Judean War 161
- Religion on the Road—Nehalennia Revisited: Voyagers Addressing a North Sea Deity in the Second Century CE 181
- Mapping Cosmological Space in the Apocalypse of Paul and the Visio Pauli: The Actualization of Virtual Spatiality in Two Pauline Apocalyptical Journeys based on 2 Cor 12:2–4 189
- The Travels of Barnabas: From the Acts of the Apostles to Late Antique Hagiographic Literature 229
- Rabbinic Geography: Between the Imaginary and Real 251
- The Journey of Zayd Ibn ʿAmr: In Search of True Worship 269
- Nautical Fiction of Late Antiquity: Jews and Christians Traveling by Sea 295
- Monasteries as Travel Loci for Muslims and Christians (500–1000 CE) 313
- Sachregister 337
- Stellenregister 341
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of Contributors VII
- Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Travel Experiences 1
- “And as They Travelled Eastward” (Gen 11:2): Travel in the Book of Genesis and the Anonymous Travelers in the Tower of Babel Account 11
- The Consolations of Travel: Reading Seneca’s Ad Marciam vis-à-vis Paul of Tarsus 33
- The (Missing) Motif of “Returning Home” from an Otherworldly Journey in Menippean Literature and the New Testament 55
- The Educational Aspect of the Lukan Travel Narrative: Jesus as a Πεπαιδευμένος 73
- Acts of the Apostles—A Celebration of Uncertainty? Constructing a Dialogical Self for the Early Jesus Movement 97
- “Today or Tomorrow We Will Go to Such and Such a City” (Jas 4:13): The Experience of Interconnectivity and the Mobility of Norms in the Ancient Globalized World 113
- Heavenly Journey and Divine Epistemology in the Fourth Gospel 145
- Following Vespasian in His Footsteps: Movement and (E)motion Management in Josephus’ Judean War 161
- Religion on the Road—Nehalennia Revisited: Voyagers Addressing a North Sea Deity in the Second Century CE 181
- Mapping Cosmological Space in the Apocalypse of Paul and the Visio Pauli: The Actualization of Virtual Spatiality in Two Pauline Apocalyptical Journeys based on 2 Cor 12:2–4 189
- The Travels of Barnabas: From the Acts of the Apostles to Late Antique Hagiographic Literature 229
- Rabbinic Geography: Between the Imaginary and Real 251
- The Journey of Zayd Ibn ʿAmr: In Search of True Worship 269
- Nautical Fiction of Late Antiquity: Jews and Christians Traveling by Sea 295
- Monasteries as Travel Loci for Muslims and Christians (500–1000 CE) 313
- Sachregister 337
- Stellenregister 341
