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Pontius Pilate: the biography of an invented man by Ann Wroe is an interesting 'biography' on the figure: > The foil to Jesus, the defiant antihero of the East

Pontius Pilate: the biography of an invented man by Ann Wroe is an interesting 'biography' on the figure: > The foil to Jesus, the defiant antihero of the Easter story, mocking, skeptical Pilate is a historical figure who haunts our imagination. For some he is a saint, for others the embodiment of human weakness, an archetypal politician willing to sacrifice one man for the sake of stability. In this dazzlingly conceived biography, a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize, Ann Wroe brings man and myth to life. Working from classical sources, she plunges us into the world of biblical Judaea under the reign of the erratic and licentious emperor Tiberius and lets us see the trial of Jesus, in all its confusion, from the point of view of his executioner. * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/490449.Pontius_Pilate https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/490449.Pontius_Pilate Tries to reconstruct, using records about the lives other Roman governors and notable government types, what kind of person Pilate could/may have been.

dpeck 5y ago
| the defiant antihero of the Easter story That feels like quite a stretch. Pilate is an important figure in the story, but antihero? He largely is the state actor “just trying to keep the peace” and giving in to the religious leaders to make that happen. Seems more like a real politik type of character of his day than anything to my memory. Keep the tax revenue flowing, don’t require more legions to be brought in, keep your governorship.
- antognini 5y ago
  I've always found it interesting that the Nicene Creed, which is recited by millions of Catholics around the globe every Sunday, mentions only three people: Jesus, Mary, and Pontius Pilate.
  - humanrebar 5y ago
    Adherents of the Nicene Creed also consider God the Father and the Holy Spirit to be people as well.
    - tsimionescu 5y ago
      I don't think God the Father and the Holy Spirit are considered "people" though they are considered "persons". "People" seems to imply "human beings" to me, and only God the Son is considered to have been a human being by most Christians (as Jesus, of course).
      - humanrebar 5y ago
        They're not considered humans, no, but they're considered to have distinct identities, personalities, etc. Figuring out whether all that counts as personhood might be splitting hairs. As far as the Nicene Creed goes, adherents believe five persons (unique agents) are mentioned, and it's not especially long, so I'm not sure there's much to read into the Pilate reference. It could be in there to imply historicity.
coldtea 5y ago
>For some he is a saint He might be a "realist" politician for some, but he has never been considered a saint for anybody. Also neither "antihero", nor "defiant". He had the power of life and death, and he yielded it to a mob with a shrug, something neither anti-heroic, nor defiant.
- kasey_junk 5y ago
  The actual article you are commenting on states he was sainted by the Coptic church…
  - pyuser583 5y ago
    There’s an extra-scriptural tradition Pilate’s wife converted to Christianity, and then converted her husband. No creed celebrates Pilate as Saint for his actions in scriptures.

dpeck 5y ago

| the defiant antihero of the Easter story That feels like quite a stretch. Pilate is an important figure in the story, but antihero? He largely is the state actor “just trying to keep the peace” and giving in to the religious leaders to make that happen. Seems more like a real politik type of character of his day than anything to my memory. Keep the tax revenue flowing, don’t require more legions to be brought in, keep your governorship.

antognini 5y ago
I've always found it interesting that the Nicene Creed, which is recited by millions of Catholics around the globe every Sunday, mentions only three people: Jesus, Mary, and Pontius Pilate.
- humanrebar 5y ago
  Adherents of the Nicene Creed also consider God the Father and the Holy Spirit to be people as well.
  - tsimionescu 5y ago
    I don't think God the Father and the Holy Spirit are considered "people" though they are considered "persons". "People" seems to imply "human beings" to me, and only God the Son is considered to have been a human being by most Christians (as Jesus, of course).
    - humanrebar 5y ago
      They're not considered humans, no, but they're considered to have distinct identities, personalities, etc. Figuring out whether all that counts as personhood might be splitting hairs. As far as the Nicene Creed goes, adherents believe five persons (unique agents) are mentioned, and it's not especially long, so I'm not sure there's much to read into the Pilate reference. It could be in there to imply historicity.

coldtea 5y ago

>For some he is a saint He might be a "realist" politician for some, but he has never been considered a saint for anybody. Also neither "antihero", nor "defiant". He had the power of life and death, and he yielded it to a mob with a shrug, something neither anti-heroic, nor defiant.

kasey_junk 5y ago
The actual article you are commenting on states he was sainted by the Coptic church…
- pyuser583 5y ago
  There’s an extra-scriptural tradition Pilate’s wife converted to Christianity, and then converted her husband. No creed celebrates Pilate as Saint for his actions in scriptures.