credoconsolans
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2005
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- Texas
- Basic Beliefs
- neopagan leaning toward moral relativism
In anticipation of the soap-opera-ish miniseries "The DoveKeepers" based on the book by Alice Hoffman,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3656138/
the Smithsonian Channel ran a documentary on the siege at Masada.
Anyone else see it?
I've read a few things about Masada over the years, nothing flattering.
That the main occupants were murderous rebels, basically the Hebrew Taliban, not content with attacking the Romans, chose to prey upon their fellow Jews, so as to intimidate or kill anyone who disagreed with their war against the Romans.
That when the time came to decide to commit mass suicide, only the men made the decision, since the women's opinion carried no weight. I can't imagine the horror of the women when their husbands told them what had been decided. Not surprising that the only survivors found were women who didn't have man in charge of them. They chose survival. I'm sure many other women would have as well...had they been given a choice.
Come to find out, according to this documentary, there is only one extant reference to the siege and that's Josephus! A man whose 'history' is dubious at times. One reference only.
So, no one else can corroborate the mass suicide, and so far no bodies of mass suicide have been found (the documentary says this is probably because the Romans burned their dead...as the camera panned over the plain near Masada and the Dead Sea showing not a single tree for hundreds of miles...)
So no mass graves, no corroborating testimony on the mass suicide, nothing but a legend and Josephus' word.
The Israelis found remains, a decade or so ago near Masada, and despite the bones being buried with the remains of a pig (pagan practice) decided it was one of the 'freedom' fighters of Masada, draped the body in the Israeli flag and buried it with honors.
This documentary indicated the bones of other people were found in a cave in the cliffside, but it is not known how they died, due to Israeli/Hebrew traditions about re-burying a body quickly.
The documentary also pointed out that it was unlikely the 900 people taking shelter in Masada were only Sicarii and their families, other Jews fleeing the Romans had probably taken shelter there too, and they had different ideas and traditions than the Sicarii.
I wonder that if the mass suicide is true, which it doesn't look like it was, it was less an honorable escape while giving the Romans a slap to the face, than a 1st century ce Jonestown.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3656138/
the Smithsonian Channel ran a documentary on the siege at Masada.
Anyone else see it?
I've read a few things about Masada over the years, nothing flattering.
That the main occupants were murderous rebels, basically the Hebrew Taliban, not content with attacking the Romans, chose to prey upon their fellow Jews, so as to intimidate or kill anyone who disagreed with their war against the Romans.
That when the time came to decide to commit mass suicide, only the men made the decision, since the women's opinion carried no weight. I can't imagine the horror of the women when their husbands told them what had been decided. Not surprising that the only survivors found were women who didn't have man in charge of them. They chose survival. I'm sure many other women would have as well...had they been given a choice.
Come to find out, according to this documentary, there is only one extant reference to the siege and that's Josephus! A man whose 'history' is dubious at times. One reference only.
So, no one else can corroborate the mass suicide, and so far no bodies of mass suicide have been found (the documentary says this is probably because the Romans burned their dead...as the camera panned over the plain near Masada and the Dead Sea showing not a single tree for hundreds of miles...)
So no mass graves, no corroborating testimony on the mass suicide, nothing but a legend and Josephus' word.
The Israelis found remains, a decade or so ago near Masada, and despite the bones being buried with the remains of a pig (pagan practice) decided it was one of the 'freedom' fighters of Masada, draped the body in the Israeli flag and buried it with honors.
This documentary indicated the bones of other people were found in a cave in the cliffside, but it is not known how they died, due to Israeli/Hebrew traditions about re-burying a body quickly.
The documentary also pointed out that it was unlikely the 900 people taking shelter in Masada were only Sicarii and their families, other Jews fleeing the Romans had probably taken shelter there too, and they had different ideas and traditions than the Sicarii.
I wonder that if the mass suicide is true, which it doesn't look like it was, it was less an honorable escape while giving the Romans a slap to the face, than a 1st century ce Jonestown.