Pilate (Paperback, New Ed)

The subtitle of Wroe's splendid biography of Pontius Pilate reveals a profound truth and is a meticulous and eloquent description of the way Pilate has been perceived in history, literature and legend during the last 2000 years. For it has indeed been an 'invention'. The well-meaning Pilate of the Gospels bears little relation to the brutal portrait given by Philo of Alexandria, an older contemporary of Jesus Christ. Later tales become even more fanciful, demonstrating a blithe disregard for facts but an intense interest in the meaning of Jesus's trial and condemnation by the Roman governor of Judea. In the course of this account of a developing fantasy, the reader discovers in a new way that evil and good are often deeply and mysteriously complementary; that religion has little to do with history as we understand it today; and that Christianity's success as a world faith is due to the mythos of Jesus's death and resurrection depicting a timeless truth, which each generation has been able to apply to its own circumstances. Review by KAREN ARMSTRONG Editor's note: Karen Armstrong is the author of A History of God. (Kirkus UK)

The facts about Pontius Pilate are very few. We don't know when he was born or when he died. We know nothing of his career before he became Governor of Judea, and nothing of what happened to him after he was recalled by Tiberius. Some say he came from Rome, others from Spain or Germany. Everyone - from the evangelists to the writers of the medieval mystery plays - has his own Pilate, each symbolic of something, each a projection of his own ideas and anxieties. This extraordinary book is about all our Pilates, real, half-real and invented. Some are familiar, some surprising. They have depths and contrasts that are unexpected. They do remarkable things. Among these surprises, perhaps, are the glimpses we get of a man actually walking on a marble floor in Caesarea, feeling his shoes pinch, clicking his fingers for a slave, while the clouds of lasting infamy gather over his head.

General

Imprint:	Vintage
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	March 2000
Authors:	Ann Wroe
Dimensions:	197 x 128 x 127mm (L x W x H)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	416
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-09-928793-3
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Historical, political & military Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Early Church Books > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Biography > Historical, political & military Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Early Church Books > Christianity > Early Church
LSN:	0-09-928793-5
Barcode:	9780099287933

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