|
Page 3 of 6
TheTheater and the Death of Herod Agrippa
Rome took the land in 63 BC, but the turmoil continued for decades. Until Herod started building Caesarea 40 years later, there wasn't enough security to found a city in the Roman style on the flatlands. The theater must have signaled to people, then, that Rome had indeed arrived. Herod carved it into the kurkar ridge running alongside the sea, just as he did his hippodrome to the north. The cavea, containing the audience, does not face north, therefore, as in most Roman theaters, but west. The rows of seats are raked according to the natural rise of the sound waves from the stage, behind which stood an ornate wall that served as acoustical screen. The latter would have been vital here on days when the sea kicked up. Indeed, it was precisely the mimes of Caesarea who became world-famous in the 4th-5th centuries.
 The theater was rebuilt often in antiquity. On one such occasion, the builders recycled a stone with the following remnant of an inscription:
TIBERIEVM
...IVSPILATUS
...ECTUS...
This is the only mention of Pilate in stone. He lived in Caesarea most of the year , and he must have dedicated a building here to his emperor, Tiberius. At some point this "Tiberieum" ceased to function, and the stone was re-used. A copy is on the site. The original is usually in the Israel Museum.
An event in the theater
As the architecture of Roman theaters became more splendid, the quality of the material performed on the stage degenerated. The most dramatic event that occurred here, however, was no fiction. It concerned Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great. He had been brought up in Rome. One day, a servant informed on him to the emperor, Tiberius, saying he had voiced a wish that his friend Caligula should rule instead. Tiberius threw Agrippa in prison. Some time later, a fellow prisoner called him over, pointing to a fierce-looking owl in a tree. Such an owl is called an "uhu" or "bubo," and it is rare to see it in daylight.
From Josephus, Antiquities , XVIII 6.7 and XIX 8.2:
Now Agrippa stood in his bonds before the royal palace, and leaned on a certain tree for grief, with many others, who were in bonds also; and as a certain bird sat upon the tree on which Agrippa leaned... (More...)
The story is more briefly told in Acts 12:18-23
Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.
When Herod had sought for him, and didn’t find him, he examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death. He went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there. Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus, the king’s personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.
On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them.
The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”
Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
|
RSS | Terms of Use | Contact Us
