Caesar's Messiah

A Reader's Guide to the Names and Terms
in Caesar's Messiah 

ACILIUS GLABRIO Consul at Rome in 91 C.E., he was ban-
ished then executed by Domitian in 95 CE. as a "contriver of nov-
elty." Traditionally he is supposed to have been executed for being a
Christian. 

ACHILLEUS Legendary chamberlain of Flavia Domitilla. He
appears in the sixth-century CE. work Acts of Saints Nereus and
Achilleus. 

AGRIPPA II Born in 27 C.E., son of Agrippa I, king of Judea,
and grandson of Herod the Great. As governor over the tetrarchy of
Philip and Lysanias, he supported Vespasian during the Jewish War,
sending 2,000 men. 

BARABBAS A character in the Gospels who acts as a foil for
Jesus and is released instead of him. The name is a composite of the
Hebrew bar (son) and abba (father), meaning "son of the Father." In
some early manuscripts his name is given as Jesus Barabbas. 

BAR COCHBA Leader of the revolt against Rome in 131 CE.
His name in Hebrew means "son of the star," referring to the "star
prophecy." 

BERNICE Born in 28 C.E., she was the daughter of Agrippa I
(died 44 C.E.), king of Judea, the grandson of Herod the Great. She
married Marcus, brother of Tiberius Alexander, and then became
mistress to Titus. She can be identified through a logic puzzle as one
of those who initiated the idea of creating the Gospels. Her sister

338

Appendix 339

Drusilla, believed to be the most beautiful woman in the world, mar-
ried Antonius Felix, Roman procurator of Judea (52-60 C.E). 

BRUNO BAUER German philosopher, historian, and theolo-
gian (1809-1882). He realized that the Gospels had been written as
Roman propaganda utilizing Stoic and Hellenistic ideas, and had not
been derived directly from Judaism. He thought that the first Gospel
had been written under Hadrian (117-138 C.E.). See Christ and the
Caesars (1879). 

CATULLUS A character in War of the Jews who dies when his
guts burst. Judas, Catullus' counterpart in the Book of Acts, dies
when his guts burst. The parallel is set up to create a logical puzzle
which, when solved, reveals the names of the writers of the Gospels. 

CLEMENT Or Clemens, Pope Clement I, traditionally cred-
ited with the authorship of the noncanonical Epistle of Clement to
the Corinthians c. 96 C.E. He used to be identified with Consul
Titus Flavius Clemens who was executed by Domitian in 95 C.E. 

CYPRIAN Christian bishop and orator, born c. 240 C.E. 

DANIEL Prophetic book of the Hebrew Scriptures written
around 600 B.C.E., containing prophecies about the coming of a
Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem 

DECIUS MUNDUS A character in the passage that surrounds
the famous Testimonium passage in Jewish Antiquities, which sup-
posedly confirms the historicity of Jesus. The name is a pun on
Decius Mus (mouse), a Roman military hero who sacrificed himself
to save Rome. 

DOMITIAN Titus Flavius Domitianus (51-96 C.E.). The
younger son of Vespasian who, at Domitian's birth, was an army
general. Domitian succeeded his father and elder brother Titus as
the third Flavian emperor (81-96 C.E.). His rule is associated with
a literary revival and major building program in Rome. Historians
present him as an efficient but cruel and corrupt despot. 

ELEAZAR Maccabean Hebrew name that means "whom God
aids." It is translated in Greek as "Lazarus." Eleazar was a member
of the messianic dynasty that was captured by the Romans during
the siege of Jerusalem; he was threatened with crucifixion and had
his limbs "pruned." He was then given back to his relatives — and
after he died from his injuries they ate him. His torture and death are

340 Caesar's Messiah 

satirized when the figure of the cannibal Mary eats her son as a sym-
bolic Passover lamb, and when the figure of Lazarus in the Gospels
is raised from the tomb, whereupon Mary "makes him a supper." 

EPICTETUS Stoic philosopher and slave to Epaphroditus, sec-
retary to Nero and Domitian. Some of his attitudes were reflected in
the Gospels. 

EUSEBIUS Bishop of Caesarea around 330 C.E. and author of
a History of the Church and an apologetic life of the Emperor Con-
stantine. 

FELIX Antonius Felix, corrupt Roman procurator of Judea
(52-60 C.E.) and husband to Drusilla, sister of Bernice. 

FLA VIA DOMITILLA Granddaughter of Vespasian, niece of
Titus. She married Clemens. She provided the land for the earliest
Christian catacombs in Rome. To be distinguished from the Domit-
illa who was sister of Titus and Domitian. 

FLAVIANS The family name for the dynasty of emperors
founded by Vespasian. 

HEGESIPPUS A second-century Christian writer of a book of
memoirs directed against the Gnostics. His work is known from the
passages incorporated in the writings of Eusebius. 

HEROD THE GREAT King of Judea (73-4 B.C.E.). From an
Idumaean (not Jewish) family he became governor of Galilee at the
age of twenty-five and later fled to Rome, where Mark Anthony
appointed him the puppet king of Judea in absentia. Caesar Augus-
tus eventually confirmed the title and with Roman support he was
installed as a client king in Jerusalem. He co-opted the Maccabean
dynasty by marrying one of their women, Mariamme, by whom he
had five children before he had her executed. 

HIPPOLYTUS Heretical Christian teacher and bishop born
c. 150 C.E. 

HONI Known in Greek as Onias, Honi the Rainmaker, (died
65 B.C.E.) is traditionally identified as a Galilean holy man, and was
one of the models upon which the character of Jesus was based. 

IRENAEUS Christian theologian born c. 130 C.E. Best known
for his writings against Gnosticism. 

JEROME Christian saint and writer on the Bible, born about
340 C.E.

Appendix 341

JESUS The name of a character portrayed in the Gospels. The
name is a Greek homophone for the Hebrew word yeshu'a, which
can mean either "God saves" or "Savior." 

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA A character in the Gospels, he takes
the body of Jesus down from the cross. In the Gospel of Barnabas his
name is given as Joseph of Barimathea. No such town as Arimathea
existed. The name is a pun on Josephus bar Matthias. 

JOSEPHUS Originally Josephus bar Mattathias (37-100 C.E.),
he took the name Flavius Josephus on being adopted into the Impe-
rial Flavian family. He claimed to originally have been a general in
Galilee who recognized that the traditional Hebrew prophecy about
the new world ruler applied to Vespasian. He abandoned the Jews and
sided with the Romans. He was given an apartment in the emperor's
own townhouse and wrote the authorized history War of the Jews,
which was criticized by contemporaries for fictionalizing history
and containing scholastic puzzles. The Romans erected a statue in
his honor. 

JUDAS ISCARIOT A character in the Gospel who betrays Jesus
to the Romans and dies when his gut bursts. His last name may be
an anagram, indicating that he represents not merely the Maccabean
Judas the Galilean, but specifically the Sicarii movement. See Catullus. 

JUDAS THE GALILEAN A Maccabean Zealot. He was a leader
of a revolt against the Romans around 6 C.E. over a proposed census.
His sons Jacob and Simon were crucified by the Romans, and another
son, Menahem, became leader of the Sicarii movement — which sup-
posedly assassinated its opponents with the daggers after which
their movement was named. 

JUSTIN MARTYR Christian theologian born about 100 C.E.
Best known for his Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon. 

JUVENAL Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, satirical anti-Semitic poet
active in the first century C.E. He coined the well-known expression
"bread and circuses" to describe how the emperors would please the
populace. 

LAZARUS See Eleazar.
MACCABEES Original messianic dynasty of Judea removed
from power by the Romans in 63 B.C.E. See Mattathias.

342 Caesar's Messiah

MARY At least five different Marys are presented in the Gos-
pels, where the name is used generically to refer to female rebels.
The word is a Hebrew term meaning "their rebellion." Its Aramaic
equivalent is Martha, "she was rebellious." 

MATTATH IAS Founder of the militaristic and messianic dynasty
of the Maccabees, who in 165 B.C.E. led the revolt celebrated by
Jews today in the festival of Hannukah. Mattathias/Matthias (Matthew)
had five sons: Simon, Judas, John, Eleazar (Lazarus), and Jonathan.
These names were dynastic and were passed on through later gener-
ations until the dynasty was removed from power by the Roman
conquest of Judea in 63 B.C.E. (The dynasty's burial site was dis-
covered in 1995 at a site 30 kilometers north of Jerusalem). Once
removed from power, the dynasty continued to revolt against the
Roman occupation and the Herodian puppet kings. In the Gospels,
the Romans blatantly satirize the Jews by using Maccabean names
for Christian characters. 

NEREUS Legendary chamberlain of Flavia Domitilla. He
appears in the sixth-century work Acts of Saints Nereus and Achilleus. 

ORIGEN Major Christian theologian and Biblical critic
(185-264 C.E.). 

PAUL A historical figure who may have begun his career in
the service of the Emperor Nero (as described by Robert Eisenman).
He subsequently became an administrator of the Jesus cult. Several
characters in Josephus are parodies of him. These include the evil
character on the right-hand side of the Decius Mundus triptych, and
Paulinus, who prevents the Jews from having access to the temple
by closing the gates. Acts 21:28-30 contain a parallel event in which
the temple gates are closed. 

PEDANIUS DI0SC0RIDES The chief physician and botanist
accompanying Vespasian and Titus in Judea. His work is believed to
have contributed to the underlying botanical metaphor that the
Romans used to create their satire. He is best known as the origina-
tor of modern herbalism and as a pioneer of anesthesia. 

PERSIUS Aulus Persius Flaccus (34-62 C.E.). Roman satiri-
cal poet aligned with Stoic philosophy. 

PLINY THE ELDER Gaius Plinius Secondus was a friend and
advisor to the Emperor Vespasian, whom he visited daily. He is known

Appendix 343

to have advised on the creation of the Roman satire and to have vis-
ited the army in Judea. He is best known for his Natural History. 

PLINY THE YOUNGER Governor of Pontus/Bithynia 111 to
113 C.E. His correspondence with the Emperor Trajan on how to
treat Christians survives. The problem as he defined it was that the
contagion of this "superstition" had gotten out of control and had
already spread beyond Judea, not only to the cities but also to the
villages and farms, although he still thought it possible to check its
further spread. The Emperor Trajan, however, instructed him that
Christians were not to be sought out. 

QUIRINIUS Governor of Syria. He attempted to conduct a cen-
sus in 6 C.E. to facilitate tax gathering. This led directly to the revolt
by the Zealot Judas the Galilean. In the Gospel of Luke, the depic-
tion of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem to register for the cen-
sus is a satirical counter to this revolt. The Gospel depicts Jews who
cooperate in paying their taxes. 

C. I. SCOFIELD Christian writer (1843-1921) who produced
an edition of the Bible that popularized premillennial teachings. 

SENECA Stoic philosopher and tutor to the Emperor Nero.
Some of his attitudes are reflected in the Gospels. 

SIMON PETER A character from the Gospels whose name is
originally "Simon," before he is renamed petros, meaning "a stone."
At the end of John 21 he is told that he will be bound and taken off
to die. The character parodies the rebel Simon, who was seized at the
siege of Jerusalem and taken to Rome for execution. 

SUETONIUS Roman historian and secretary to the Emperor
Hadrian. He is remembered chiefly as the author of The Lives of the
Twelve Caesars, produced around 120 C.E. 

TACITUS Cornelius Tacitus (55-117 C.E.), a Roman historian
known for his Histories, Annals of Imperial Rome, and a biography of
his father-in-law Agricola. 

TERTULLIAN Christian theologian born about 160 C.E. The
first theologian to write in Latin. 

TIBERIUS ALEXANDER A nonpracticing Jew, who was son of
the richest man in the world, the customs collector of Alexandria.
He was brother-in-law to Titus' mistress Bernice and one of the gen-
erals supporting the Romans in the siege of Jerusalem. He put down

344 Caesar's Messiah

a riot in Alexandria, slaughtering 50,000 Jews. He can be identified
through a logic puzzle as one of those who initiated the idea of cre-
ating the Gospels. 

TITUS FLAVIUS SABINUS Became consul in 82 C.E., married
Domitian's sister Domitilla, and was executed by Domitian. Suppos-
edly the father or uncle of Clemens. 

TITUS Titus Flavius Vespasianus (39-81 C.E.), the elder son
of Vespasian. After serving in Britain as a legate, he went as legate of
the 15 th legion to Judea under his father's command. After Vespasian
returned to Rome to be crowned emperor, Titus was left in com-
mand of the campaign in Judea. He directed the building of the siege
wall that surrounded Jerusalem and led to the fall of the city. On his
return to Rome he shared in his father's administration, and became
emperor on Vespasian's death in 79 C.E. Historians regard him as an
efficient, frugal administrator like his father. 

THEOPHRATUS Greek philosopher and botanist. Died in 287
C.E. Was chosen by Aristotle to succeed him in running the Lyceum.
Several of his unique botanical words were used by the first-century
C.E. Romans, probably by the botanist Pedanius Dioscorides, to cre-
ate aspects of the Flavian satire. 

VESPASIAN Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus (9-79 C.E.).
Born the son of a tax collector, he commanded a legion during the
invasion of Britain and developed expertise in siege warfare. This was
why he was asked by Nero to lead the force to put down the revolt
in Judea. On Nero's death the army united behind Vespasian to sup-
port him as emperor. He became emperor in December 69 C.E. and
is presented by historians as a fair and hard-working administrator.
From 71 C.E. until his death in 79 C.E. he governed with the assis-
tance of his son Titus, who succeeded him as emperor. 

WILLIAM WHISTON English clergyman, mathematician and
classical scholar (1667-1752). Succeeded Newton as Lucasian pro-
fessor of mathematics at Cambridge. Translated the works of Jose-
phus into English. Concluded that the various prophetic fulfillments
in Josephus proved that Jesus was the Messiah. 

ZACH ARIAS the son of Baruch. A minor character in War of
the Jews parodied in Matthew 23:35 as Zechari'ah, son of Barachi'ah,
who dies in a similar fashion.

Appendix 345

ZACCHAI Rabbi Yohanan ben Zacchai, described in the Tal-
mud as leaving Jerusalem at the time of the siege in a coffin, and
standing up to acclaim Vespasian, who awarded him the town of
Jamnia, or Yavneh, in order to establish Rabbinial Judaism. Suppos-
edly he applied the "star prophecy," or world-ruler prophecy, to Ves-
pasian exactly as Josephus also did. 

ZEALOTS Originally a Maccabean group, they organized
against Herod the Great (73-74 B.C.E.), and again under Judas of
Galilee c. 6 C.E. to resist a Roman census. After the destruction of
the temple the Zealots retreated to Masada where, according to Jose-
phus, many committed suicide to avoid capture.