Flavius Josephus' Self-Characterisation in First-Century Rome

A Historiographical Analysis of Autobiographical Discourse in the Judaean War

Series: 

Author:
Eelco Glas
The Jewish War describes the history of the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-70 CE). This study deals with one of this work's most intriguing features: why and how Flavius Josephus, its author, describes his own actions in the context of this conflict in such detail. Glas traces the thematic and rhetorical aspects of autobiographical discourse in War and uses contextual evidence to situate Josephus’ self-characterisation in a Flavian Roman setting. In doing so, he sheds new light on this Jewish writer’s historiographical methods and his deep knowledge and creative use of Graeco-Roman culture.
Copyright Year:
2024
E-Book (PDF)
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69764-5
Publication:
03 Jun 2024
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69763-8
Publication:
30 May 2024
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Eelco Glas, Ph.D. (2020, University of Groningen), is a postdoctoral fellow at Aarhus University. His research focuses on Jewish literary culture in the context of the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean.
"This “historiographical analysis of autobiographical discourse in the Judaean War” is welcome, not only as a valuable contribution to our deeper understanding of the fascinating narratives of Josephus themselves, but also as a clear reminder that Josephus’ writings belong within the corpus of Greek and Roman literature."
Willem den Hollander, in BMCR 2025.05.31
"Overall, EG has produced a valuable, perceptive and persuasive reading of the autobiographical element of the Jewish War which is extensively and carefully contextualised in the light of the broader literary culture of its age."
Jonathan Davies, in Histos 18 (2024)
"Nichtsdestoweniger legt die Arbeit von Glas wichtige Horizonte der Arbeitsweise des jüdischen Historikers und die Vielschichtigkeit seiner Aussageabsichten offen. Damit koloriert Glas erfolgreich eine der Facetten der Identität des Flavius Iosephus."
Christopher Decker, in H-Soz-Kult 24.03.2025
Historiography of Rome and Its Empire Series
Acknowledgments and Permissions

Introduction: Josephus’ Self-Fashioning as a Character in the Judaean War
 0.1 ‘There’s No Such Thing as Bad Publicity’
 0.2 Background, Aims, and Approach
 0.3 Outline and Scope of the Study

1 Character and Exemplarity: Reading the Judaean War within Greek and Roman Historiographic Traditions
 Introduction
 1.1 The Judaean War: Basic Observations
 1.2 Character and Rhetoric in Graeco-Roman Culture
 1.3 Character and Characterisation in Graeco-Roman Historiography
 1.4 Moral Character and the Purposes of Josephus’ Writings
 1.5 Rhetoric and the Presentation of Character in the War
 1.6 Conclusions

2 The Perspective of Josephus’ Self-Characterisation
 Introduction
 2.1 Josephus’ Self-Characterisation in the Judaean War: Outline and Compositional Framing
 2.2 Josephus and Autobiographical Practice in Flavian Rome
 2.3 The Prominence of Autobiographical Discourse in the Judaean War
 2.4 Conclusions

3 Josephus’ Virtues and the Moralising Nature of the War
 Introduction
 3.1 Josephus’ Art of Statesmanship: Beating Stasis in Galilee (BJ 2.569–646)
 3.2 Josephus’ Self-Portrayal and Graeco-Roman Models of Ideal Leadership
 3.3 Josephus’ Changing Fortunes
 3.4 Josephus’ Self-Characterisation and Roman Exemplary Discourse
 3.5 From Narrative Persona in the War to Public Persona in Rome

4 Josephus and the Decorum of Self-Praise
 Introduction
 4.1 Plutarch’s On Inoffensive Self-Praise
 4.2 Greeks and Romans on the Problem of Self-Praise (and Solutions for Practising it Anyway)
 4.3 Josephus’ Self-Fashioning as a Historian (Beyond the War)
 4.4 The Art of Moderating Self-Praise in the War
 4.5 Conclusions

5 Character Contested: Josephus’ Rhetoric of Self-Defence and Apology
 Introduction
 5.1 Josephus’ Use of Apology in the Jotapata Narrative: What Is at Stake?
 5.2 Apology and Self-Aggrandisement: Comparative Observations
 5.3 Apologetic Pretence in the Autobiographical Sections of the War
 5.4 Josephus’ Art of Survival and the Divine in the Cave of Jotapata (BJ 3.340–391)
 5.5 Josephus Nightly Dreams in the Cave of Jotapata (BJ 3.351–354)
 5.6 Conclusions

6 Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
This book will be of interest to students and specialists in ancient history, classical studies, and ancient Judaism, especially those interested in the cross-fertilisation between Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultures.
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