A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion

by Gary M Burge

  Each time Tullus moved through the central courtyard, he found himself glancing in Livia’s direction. She was like an unresolved dream that he worked hard to hold on to, to reenter, but that he knew might easily slip away. But he was also wary. Appius returned to the villa regularly and unexpectedly. And Tullus’s impulse was to conceal this dream as much as it was to explore it.

  7

  Capernaum

  Gaius saw Livia’s pregnancy as an omen. Whenever the gods gave fertility to a family, it meant rich blessing was on them. Gaius even found an oracle who was passing through the country and paid the woman to provide a prophecy. He was assured that the pregnancy was indeed an omen, a sign from the gods that all would be well. The oracle told Gaius that the gods were pleased with his master Appius and all his household.

  Then she hesitated—for the slightest moment—and Gaius saw it. But the cloud seemed to pass, and the oracle repeated her glowing report.

  Within a week the support troops from Caesarea had departed, and the small contingent of soldiers stationed in Capernaum had found permanent quarters on the edge of the village. However, Gaius noticed that Appius had decided to remain home. He seemed attached to his new villa and took pride in unpacking his collection. He even purchased a sculpture that he had seen in Caesarea and made it a centerpiece in the newly refurbished courtyard. The merchant said that it was a replica from Rome and extremely well done. It was a depiction of a deer desperately fighting for its life as five hunting dogs savaged its body. Appius liked it. Tullus did not. In Tullus’s mind the Roman comfort with violence was peculiar and disturbing.

  Oracles

  The Greeks and Romans believed that the gods participated directly in human affairs. Their wishes could be known and their judgments understood. Oracle comes from the Latin meaning “to speak” (orare) and refers to priests or prophets generally located at temples where the gods could be consulted. The oracles at Delphi were perhaps the most famous oracles in the ancient world.

  Figure 7.1. On the left in this wall painting an augur holding his symbolic curved wand is interpreting the meaning of the flight of birds

  But there were others who had specialized knowledge of the gods’ will, such as an augur. An augur was a person who could interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. These “seers” were very common throughout the Roman era, and few major decisions were made without consulting them. Birds flew high in the sky, and since this was near to where the gods resided, their patterns could convey what they saw. Sometimes the augurs would listen to the sounds of birds and interpret them. When they examined birds, this was called reading the “auspices” (Latin auspicium, “bird watching”), and the report from them could either be good or bad (hence, our English terms auspicious and inauspicious).

  Gaius also felt that the pregnancy was clarifying. It clarified Appius’s attachment to Livia, particularly since Appius seemed genuinely pleased by her condition—otherwise he could have forced her to destroy it. Appius’s pleasure also helped relieve Livia’s anxiety. She had satisfied Appius and was contributing to the household. But, above all, the anticipated birth clarified Tullus’s feelings toward Livia. He was unmistakably drawn to her—she knew it, Gaius knew it, and Appius suspected it. But Tullus now embraced this truth with courage: Livia belongs to Appius. She is carrying his child.

  Eventually Tullus grew to be one of Livia’s friends—someone she could confide in, someone able to understand her needs, something that Appius barely did.

  Tullus now found that he had become a diplomat, standing between the leaders of Capernaum and Appius, whose diplomatic skills were untended. Tullus reminded himself that Appius was a soldier, and were it not for his injury, he would never take a post such as this. He wanted to be with the legion, but he had decided it was his good fortune to continue in service to the emperor even though he was incapable of fighting.

  Tullus found that in Capernaum there were two audiences he needed to understand. There were the religious leaders of the village—elders, they called themselves—and there was a tax collector who had purchased the concession of tax collection from the provincial leaders in Caesarea some years ago. Both of these groups learned early that Tullus was Appius’s most trusted assistant and that any successful connection to the Roman would have to come through this young man. The tax collector lived in Sepphoris and so was rarely available, except for his small band of men who were constantly registering property in the area.

  The Jewish elders were the real managers of the village.

  It was early in the first month in Capernaum that Tullus and Marcus met a delegation of Jewish elders approaching the villa. They were older men with full beards and long hair, wearing distinctive Jewish dress. Tullus found their appearance amusing, reminding him of the villagers in Emesa where he had grown up. Since he had joined Appius, however, Tullus had become “modern,” and with Livia’s help he had taken to wearing the newer togas. His hair was short, and he would never wear a beard.

  “Welcome and peace be on you,” said the man who clearly was the leader of this group. He bowed generously, as did each of the other three elders standing with him. They were speaking Greek with a heavy local accent. Many of their sentences were hardly Greek at all, but Tullus could piece together their intentions. In Emesa he had studied dialects as a part of his school curriculum. Now it served him well.

  Capernaum

  Capernaum (Hebrew Kfar Nahum, or “Nahum’s Village”) was a small fishing village on the north coast of the Sea of Galilee. And as a fishing village, it reflected the life of dozens of poor villages around this large freshwater sea.

  Figure 7.2. The remains of a first-century boat discovered in the mud of the Sea of Galilee in 1986

  Villages in this area were especially fortunate, since freshwater springs arise within the lake, and the fish are plentiful. A nearby site (first mentioned in the fourth century) is called Tabgah, from the Greek heptapegon, or “seven springs.”

  Ships netted fish daily, and these were pulled into holding ponds built adjacent to the village’s harbor. Recently, when the level of the sea has been low during drought, researchers located the remains of these harbors not only at Capernaum but also elsewhere. One year the Israeli kibbutz Nof Ginosar discovered an ancient fishing vessel buried in the lakeshore sand. After intense study and effort, it was recovered and preserved. See jesusboat.com.

  No doubt Capernaum was the most important of the villages along this Galilee coast. The main road that crossed through Galilee in this region ran through Capernaum. And this made it a convenient taxation point for Rome (Mt 9:9). This explains why there was a detachment of Roman soldiers in the village (Mt 8:5-9) and various officials representing regional rule (Jn 4:46). Jesus recognized the importance of the village as well. After his departure from Nazareth the village became the base of his own ministry in Galilee. In ­Matthew 9:1 Capernaum is referred to as “his own city” (ESV). Peter and Andrew (originally from Bethsaida, just east of the village) also lived there (Jn 1:44; Mk 1:29). Because Jesus frequented the village, many miracles were done there (cf. Mk 2:1-12), which led him to chide the city for its lack of faith given all that God had done for it (Mt 11:23).

  The site (Arabic Talhum) had been abandoned for almost a thousand years and lay desolate. In the mid-nineteenth century a local Bedouin tribe (the Semekiyeh) camped on the site. But monumental ruins of what would turn out to be the synagogue were found on the surface; in 1894 and in 1894 the Franciscans purchased it, and excavations began in earnest. Today the first-century village has been uncovered, as well as a partially reconstructed fourth-century synagogue. This white limestone synagogue likely stands over a black basalt first-century synagogue that was the site of one of Jesus’ first healings.

  “We knew you were coming, and we are delighted to have you.” The elders were working hard to make light talk, to ingratiate themselves, to build a bridge, it was apparent, and Tullus admired their efforts. Marcus seemed less receptive.
He stood firmly with his arms folded.

  “No bandits or thieves will dare step foot in Capernaum again!” At this each of them laughed, including Tullus. They all needed the moment of relief. But Marcus simply looked at them with apparent disdain.

  Tullus knew that he could not invite them into the villa’s public rooms or atrium. Marcus had told him of the Jewish objections to what they called idolatry. So, to avoid any awkwardness, Tullus did not extend an invitation. But through the gate the fearsome statue of the deer and the dogs was visible. The deer was defenseless and seemed as if it were screeching into the air as dogs hung from its neck. Tullus saw the elders look at the statue and register their disgust. And he wondered if his own thoughts were the same as theirs. This is what Romans do. Who would erect such a thing in their household? It did not help that the Jews viewed dogs as unclean.

  “How can we help you settle in, my friends?”

  “We have done well with our housing and our camp. But we will need better quarters for our troops.” Marcus was well aware of the needs of the soldiers, and since this would be a long stay, he wanted to improve their situation.

  “We have households that might be willing to part with rooms, for we are very poor people.”

  “And they will be poorer before we leave,” Marcus quipped. “The needs of the emperor will determine where we live. Can we expect your full cooperation?”

  Immediately they stiffened. Marcus had drawn a line and made clear that the Romans were not guests, they were conquerors. The awkward courtesies of the elders suddenly went cold.

  “And what is your will with us in our land, young man?” One of the elders, who looked easily seventy, expressed no fear. He had a silver beard that Tullus thought made him look like a prophet. He stood erect and looked Marcus directly in the eye. Tullus noticed he was taller than Marcus. Almost forty years separated them.

  “We own your land.” Marcus seemed to be overreaching, asserting authority that was out of place, pushing these men, whom someday he may need as allies. Tullus knew things had taken a wrong turn.

  The Deer and the Dogs

  Figure 7.3. First-century Roman statue of a deer attacked by dogs

  This is a Roman sculpture that was found in the ruins of Herculaneum, a Roman city destroyed along with Pompeii in A.D. 79 when the volcano Vesuvius erupted. The sculpture is astonishing for the artistic skill of the sculptor and the violence of the image. It underscores the ease with which

  Romans welcomed such shocking scenes of cruelty in their homes.

  The Jewish elders believed, as did their entire culture, that dogs were unclean. In this period they were scavengers, not pets, and could be used as negative examples. Even Jesus does this (Mt 7:6; 15:26). Paul too uses “dog” as a slur (Phil 3:2; compare 2 Pet 2:22; Rev 22:15). That Appius would give pride of place to a violent scene such as this would have been shocking to the elders.

  “With all respect, God owns this land.” Tullus was astonished at the elder’s boldness. His voice did not waver. It was as if he made a pronouncement, seeming accustomed to audiences. He looked at the young Roman as he might an impertinent student. At some level, Tullus admired him. The elder had no fear. He was not angry. He did not threaten any physical resistance. It was his will. Tullus thought his will was like granite. “And many who have come here before you with armies have found their grip on the land . . . well, uncomfortable. Difficult. But while you are here, you are most welcome.” The elder did not flinch from Marcus’s stare. His courtesies had now become weapons. Neither man moved. Only a slight breeze fluttered the elder’s robes. Even his beard seemed to stiffen.

  “Yours is no god we recognize or honor. Look around you, old man, and you will see that our gods have succeeded where your god has failed.” Marcus was unnerving everyone, above all Tullus. What in the world is Marcus thinking? Does he really think he speaks for Appius? For Rome? Whatever Marcus’s views, Tullus sensed with growing alarm that his own alliances were confused. He felt sympathy for the Jews and distrust for Marcus, the man to whom he had entrusted his life.

  “We have been in this land over one thousand years. And you? You were born . . . when? And Rome was just a hill with some sheep—what, one hundred years ago?” The elder was willing to elevate this little war. Tullus knew it had to stop. He had seen Marcus’s temper and his willingness to strike before he thought. Here in a remote village, where no one would know or report the rogue behavior of legionnaires, there was little restraining him.

  “And has it never occurred to you why no soldiers have ever stayed in Capernaum permanently? And what happened to the last Gentiles who tried to occupy us? And what may happen to you?” Now it was the elder inflaming the tension, challenging Marcus, seeing whether he was capable of standing up to him.

  Judas and the Greek Wars

  Figure 7.4. Alexander the Great

  The Greek conquest of Judea came with the arrival of Alexander the Great and his armies in the fourth century B.C. This was followed by a series of Greek rulers, first from Egypt, then from Syria. By the second century B.C., the severity of their rule inspired a full rebellion called the Maccabean Revolt. The rebellion was led by the son of a priest named Judas son of Matthias, nicknamed Judas Maccabaeus (“Judas the Hammer”). Judas’s successes against the Greeks were swift and led to the establishment of Jewish dynasties in Jerusalem by midcentury. However, internal divisions erupted within seventy-five years, and soon Jewish contingents were killing one another and sabotaging Jerusalem regularly. The conflict did not end until the Roman general Pompey conquered Judea in 63 B.C.

  “Perhaps you can show us the village,” Tullus inserted. It was an odd thing to say, and he felt it was obvious that he was awkwardly trying to defuse the scene. But the only ones who welcomed the overture were the three silent elders, who looked truly frightened by how quickly things had fallen apart. Marcus and the other elder were squaring off. The elder could see the young man trying hard to assert himself, to prove he was in control. The elder had decided he didn’t respect or fear him. But the elder would lose in this encounter, even though he had the greater stature.

  “Seriously. Let us walk to the markets.” Tullus stepped forward, while Marcus shot him an angry look. Tullus had robbed him of the moment that he wanted. So Marcus looked the elder over from head to toe, turned his back on him and began walking back to the Roman camp.

  Tullus and the elders walked away from Appius’s villa and soon found themselves near the coast of the lake, where families had set up small stalls and a variety of things were sold: foodstuffs, textiles, tools. Nearby were holding ponds for fish that had been netted and hauled in from the sea. Three small fishing vessels were tied up near the water’s edge, moored by stone anchors. The main road that connected Capernaum to the rest of Galilee passed right before them.

  The elder’s tone and posture had relaxed once they left the villa. But Tullus understood: This man hates the Romans and might well sabotage any efforts they make to control this place.

  “So how long have you lived here?” Tullus and the elder were walking ahead of the other elders. Everywhere they went, people stopped and stared. Tullus saw their looks not as springing from curiosity and welcome but as distancing, apprehensive. One woman reflexively pulled her child closer as they passed. Tullus didn’t like being feared.

  The elder stopped at the water’s edge. “My family has been in Capernaum for many generations. My ancestors came here from Judea during the civil wars before the Romans arrived. They were escaping the terrors of Jerusalem.”

  “Civil wars?”

  “When Jewish rule in Jerusalem was sovereign, after the defeat of the Greeks. When Judas led us to victory. But within a generation, families in Jerusalem were fighting for power. My fathers led us away, and so here we are in Galilee.”

  “And when Rome came, did they not put an end to the bloodshed? Do I not understand that Rome’s conquest of Jerusalem was no conquest at all? But that the city was easily given over to the
m?”

  “We traded freedom for safety. But at what price? Now Rome and its rulers take our wealth and strip us of our future. And they profane the land. They profane the land! ” Tullus could see the elder rising to the moment again, ready to argue, but then deliberately bring himself down as he spoke:

  “Behold, O Lord, and raise up for them their king, the Son of David, at the appointed time which you, O God, did choose, that he may reign over Israel your servant. And gird him with strength, that he may shatter unrighteous rulers, and may cleanse Jerusalem from the gentiles that trample her down in destruction. Wisely and righteously let him expel sinners from the inheritance, and destroy the sinner’s pride as a potter’s vessel. With a rod of iron may he break in pieces all their resources. Let him destroy the lawless gentiles by the word of his mouth” (Pss. Sol. 17:21-24).1

  The elder paused and said, “But you speak of Rome as if she were your master, young one.” Tullus suddenly reddened. He stopped walking. Without realizing it, he had spoken of the empire as not his own, as a force he served, as an army to which he too was subordinate.

  He felt unmasked.

  “You are not one of them, are you?” This was not the direction Tullus had wanted to take. He could not “side” with those whom Appius occupied. He could not become an ally of the army’s enemy. He dare not betray Rome. Or Marcus.

  Unclean Gentiles

  In our story Tobias represents a sentiment held strongly by the Jews of this era: the land of Judea was God’s gift to them, and Gentiles, particularly the Romans, were making it impure simply by being there. The purity of Judea—preserved for one race, the children of Abraham—was the common basis of resistance to Rome as well as other invaders. In the Psalms of Solomon, written a century earlier, we have urgent prayers for the Messiah to cleanse Judea of “those who trample her down.”