A hebrew/Aramaic grafto

and Poppaeas alleged Jewish sympathy

t i B or g r l l & l s z l B e n k e
De p a r t me n t oF h i s t or y, u n i v e r s i t y oF p c s
De p a r t me n t oF h e B r e W s t u Di e s , e t vs l or n D u n i v e r s i t y
a Bs t r act scholarly research has been looking for evidence that would help to connect
villa A in Oplontis (torre Annunziata) to Poppaea sabina, second wife of Nero, to whom
Flavius Josephus referred as theosebs, that is, as a sympathizer with the Jews. Although
this connection as a hypothesis is widely supported, entirely convincing evidence has still
not been found. this paper will present a so far unpublished hebrew/Aramaic inscription
that the authors found accidentally in the villa, which may reinforce this long suspected
connection and contribute to our understanding of the life and general conditions of the
JewishdiasporalivinginCampaniapriorto79ce.hence,themaingoalofthisarticleisto
call the attention of the scholarly community to a still unknown grafto, inviting scholars
to contribute to its interpretation.
]evs in nrst-century Campania
AlthoughthepresenceofJewsinitalycanbetracedbacktotheMaccabean
period (i.e. the mid-second century Bce), italian Jewry grew to greater
importance after Pompey the Great conquered Jerusalem (63 Bce). the
Roman general brought back with him great numbers of Jewish prison-
ers of war who were subsequently sold as slaves. the majority of them,
however, were manumitted soon afterwards. the freed slaves were granted
Romancitizenship,andsettledbeyondthetiber(transtiberim,Phil.Leg.
155). in the imperial period Jews were dispersed throughout italy. After
Rome, the Jewish community in Puteoli (dicaearchia, the main port for
thetradebetweenitalyandtheOrient)wasthebestknownandperhapsthe
most important one (Ant. 17.2325; Bell. 2.1015; CiJ i 561 = Jiwe i 23,
gerusiarches).inCampania,Pompeiialsosuppliessomepiecesofevidenceof
Jewishpresence.
J
unfortunatelyforus,mostoftheJewishepitaphsfoundin
1. seeesp.MaryBeard,The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found(Cambridge,Mass.:Belknap
PressofharvarduniversityPress,2008).BeardarguesthathalfofPompeiispopulationwereslaves,
J ou r na l oF J e Wi s h s t u D i e s | v o l . l x i 1 | n o . 1 | s p r i n g 2 011
38 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
Campaniantownsandvillagescanbedatedtothelateantiquity(thirdfourth
centuries ce). however, there is an exception, the relatively well-known
funeraryinscriptionofClaudiaAsterwhichgoesasfollows:[Cl]audiaAster
/[h]ierosolymitana/[ca]ptiva.Curamegit/[ti.]ClaudiusAug(usti)libertus
/ [Pro?]culus. Rogo vos fac(iatis) / [prae]ter legem ne quis / [mi]hi titulum
deiciat cu/[ra]m agatis. Vixit annis / XXV (CiL X 1971 = CiJ 410 = Jiwe
i 26). Claudia, who was a freedwoman of ti. Claudius [Pro]culus (in turn
a freedman of the emperor himself
2
), had originally been called esther,
3

captured in Jerusalem and brought as a slave to italy or directly to Naples

whereherepitaphhasbeenfound.Consideringthehistoricalcircumstances,
she may have been captured, most probably, in 70 ce, when titus besieged
and occupied Jerusalem.
the most interesting pieces of evidence concerning Jewish presence in
Campania are the inscriptions and grafti found in places buried by the
volcaniceruptionin79ce,asthisdateprovidesusafrmterminus ante quemfor
allremnantsthathavecometolightinthosesettlements.inherculaneum,at
thehouseofthewoodenLararium(V.32)dellaCortediscoveredagrafto
with the name David (in Latin letters) ( JIWE i 41). the name Abdeus Liviae
whichcanbeinterpretedasservantofLiviaorObadiah/Abda,(freedman)
ofLivia,
4
occursonanumberofstampedtilesinherculaneum( JIWEi41).
instabiaethereisafnemarblesarcophagusdedicatedtoaprincipalis col(oniae)
Mis(enensis) called iulius Longinus by his wife iulia Maria (CIL iX p. 84. n.
966). we can rightly assume, as in the case of Claudia Aster, that the wife,
calledMaria,wasoriginallyaJewishslavewhohadbeenfreedandmarried
by her master iulius Longinus. the most important traces of Campanian
Jews come from the most excavated and largest town of the Vesuvian area:
Pompeii.
3
weknowofaJewishwinemerchantcalledIoudaikos(CILiV9757
= JIWE i 40). A certain M. Valerius Abinnericus was another merchant and
wine producer of freedman status (CIL iV 5630); some scholars, however,
manyofthemJewsbroughtfromisraelaftertheRomandestructionofthetempleinJerusalemin
70ce.MoreonPompeiisvestigesofpossibleJewishoriginlater.
2. Accordingtod.Noy( JIWEi26,p.45)Proculus(?)wasmanumittedbyClaudiusorNero.he
mayhavebeenJewishhimself,sincethereweremanyJewishfreedmeninitalyatthistime,seeG.
Fuks,wherehaveAlltheFreedmenGone?,JJS36(1985),pp.2532.
3. Contrah.solin,Judenundsyrerinderrmischenwelt,ANRW ii.29.2(NewYork:walter
deGruyter,1983),pp.587789,esp.648649;cf.d.Noy,JIWEi26,p.45.
4. s.treggiari,JobsinthehouseholdofLivia,PBSR43(1975),pp.4877.
5. J.B.Frey,LesJuifsPompei,RB42(1953),pp.36584.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 39
doubtthatthecognomenwasaLatinisedformofthehebrewnameAbner.
6

there are several Jewish names written on the walls of Pompeian houses:
Maria, employee (or slave) of the textile shop of a certain M. terentius
eudoxus (Vi. xiii. 6) (CIL iV 1507); Martha, a slave in the household of A.
Rustius Verus (iX. viii. 6) (CIL iV 3763, 5244);
7
a second Maria, another
slaveinthethermopolium AsellinaeontheViadellAbbondanza(iX.ii.2)(CIL
iV 7866); and, fnally, a third Maria who served in the so-called house
of the Fourth style (i. viii. 17) (CIL iV 8224 ). Ancient hebrew/Aramaic
grafti have also been found in Pompeii, like the one discovered in the hall
annexed to the house of the Cryptoporticus (i. vi. 2). it was brought to
light by Moshe Ginsburger in 1931, subsequently copied by J.-B. Frey, and
fnally published by M. della Corte. unfortunately, the text has not been
satifactorily deciphered and it has almost entirely disappeared by now.
8

there are other signs indicating that Jews lived in signifcant number in
Pompeii prior to its destruction. A part of the grafti and even frescoes
echo names and themes from the hebrew Bible. Perhaps the most widely
known is the one found on the wall of a humble house (iX. i. 26), with a
clear reference to Genesis: Sodom[a] Gomor[a] (CIL iV 4976 = JIWE i 38).
the ominous words were written with large Latin letters, with charcoal,
1.8metresabovefoorlevel.(therearetwoinscriptionsinGreekwithLatin
letters alluding to the Book of Genesis, Megiste Genesis and Genesis (CIL iV
4300,4321),althoughtheycanbereadasallusionstoaGreeknameaswell.)
AuniqueandmostinterestingdocumentattestingJewishpresenceinPompeii
wasfoundinthevestibuleofamodesthouse(Xi.i.14).thecarefullycarved
inscription is clearly readable as HEREM, preceded by another word cut
in larger Latin letters: POI NI UM ( JIWE i 39).
9
there is almost a general
agreementamongscholarsthatthefrstwordisahebrewexpression(hRM)
transcribedinLatincharacters,viz.banorcurse;whiletheotherwordis
6. solin,Judenundsyrer,p.676(heclassifesthisnameonlyassemitischeName),cf.AE1958,
278;CILVi29329.
7. MarthawasnotexclusivelyJewishbutacommonsemiticname;cf.solin,Judenundsyrer,
pp. 6347;IJO i, App. 1314. (we would like to thank our anonymous reviewers for calling our
attentiontothisandotherimportantdistinctions.)
8. M.dellaCorte,Fabiuseupor,princepslibertinorumeglielementigiudaiciinPompeii,AAP
N.s.3(194950),p.347.
9. C.Giordanoandi.Kahn,ilCherembiblicoinPompeiantica,RAAN49(1974),pp.16776.
Paradoxically,thisinscriptionwasacceptedbyh.solinastheonlyfrmevidenceofJewsatPompeii
(solin,Judenundsyrer,p.727),butaccordingtod.Noy,itsJewishauthorshipisuncertain( JIWE
i39,p.59).
40 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
theLatinformoftheGreeknounpoin meaningpunishment(cf.Lat.poena).
J0

A star with fve points (hotam Shelomo in hebrew) also belongs here, as the
pentagram was widely used by Jews as a magic symbol averting misfortune
andcalamities.
JJ
Finally,itisworthnotingthatin1882,attheexcavationof
house Viii. v. 24, a series of frescoes were discovered (now at the National
MuseumofNaples,inv.-No.113.197),whichoriginallyservedasthedecora-
tion of the garden. One of the caricature-like paintings clearly represents
the widely known judgement of salomon from the hebrew Bible (1 Kgs
3:1628).GiordanoandKahnthoughtthepicturewasaparodypaintedbyan
Alexandrian artist (or by a Pompeian painter who imitated an Alexandrian
model).
J2
Accordingtoanewinterpretationthisfrescoewasnotintendedas
a mockery directed against the Jews, but as a parody of Greek philosophy
represented in the bottom left corner by socrates and Aristotle.
J3
1he villa ot Poppaea at Oplontis
Oplontis, among all Vesuvian archaeological sites buried at the eruption
on 24 August 79 ce, ofers similarly to stabiae signifcant architectural
evidence of the Pompeii suburbs. the group of buildings found under the
modern town of torre Annunziata indeed seems to have formed a city
suburb,administrativelysubjecttothejurisdictionofPompeii,withitstypical
array of villas and a few public buildings (most of all, an uncovered spa in
Punta Oncino). the frst phase of the site dates to the second century Bce,
showing that Oplontis was occupied in the late samnite period before the
construction of Roman villas. in some parts of the settlement the villas are
ratherscattered,whileinotherpartstheyarecloselygroupedandconnected,
10. itisimportanttonote,however,thattherearediferentreadingsoftheword;cf.NoyinJIWE
i39.
11. Pentagrams with or without inscriptions were found in hiding caves in Judaea: J. Patrich
and R. Rubin, Les grote de el-Aleiliyat et la Laure de saint-Firmin, RB 91 (1984), pp. 3817; J.
Patrich,inscriptionsaramennesjuivesdanslsgrottesdel-Aleiliyat,RB92(1985),pp.26573;id.,
hideoutsintheJudeanwilderness:JewishRevolutionariesandChristianAsceticssoughtshelter
and Protection in Clifside Caves, BAR 15 (1989), pp. 3242. however, the pentagram appears
throughoutantiquityindiferentculturalandreligiouscontextsandwasnotanexclusively,oreven
particularly,Jewishsymbol;cf.C.J. deVogel,Pythagoras and Early Pythagoreanism: An Interpretation
of Neglected Evidence on the Philosopher Pythagoras(Assen:VanGorcum,1966),pp.2851.
12. C.Giordanoandi.Kahn,The Jews in Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and in the Cities of Campania
Felix, 3rd edition (Bardi, Roma, 2006), pp. 5760; cf. J. Gutmann, was there Biblical Art at
Pompeii?Antike Kunst15(1972),pp.1224.
13. t.Feder,solomon,socratesandAristotle,BAR34(2008),pp.326.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 41
leadingonetoinferthattherewasanurbanpatternthatwecanindeedregard
as a pagus of Pompeii: this would also explain its indication with a distinct
place name on the tabula Peutingeriana.
J4

several villas have been found in the Oplontis area, whether situated on
the seashore as villae maritimae, or further back on the slopes of the volcano;
amongthelatter,forexample,thevillaofL.Crassiustertiuswasabusiness
centre processing agricultural products, particularly wine and oil.
J3
More
importantly, Oplontis is remarkable for the so-called Villa A, a grandiose
and luxurious residential complex commonly known, since its exploration
led by Alfonso de Franciscis, as the Villa of Poppaea, and believed to be
partoftheextensivelandholdingsoftheimperialfamilyalongthecoastof
Campania.
J6
the villa is on the lower slopes of Vesuvius, where the tabula
PeutingerianalocatesOplontis,ashortdistancefromtheseaandnotfarfrom
thecoastroadthatmusthaveconnected,sincearchaictimes,thesettlements
of the southern part of the Gulf of Cumae.
Based on the analysis of mosaics, wall-paintings, masonry, and pottery
fnds, there were at least four, if not fve, stages of construction. the initial
construction dates to c.50 Bce; while a second phase to c.1 ce: the latter
involvedworkatthenorthernsideofthecentralcoreandmayhaveincluded
theconstructionofthebath.Athirdphase,datingtoafter45ce,mayhave
includedtherenovationofthebathcomplexandsectionsofthecentralaxis.
14. For the place name see de Franciscis, La villa romana di Oplontis, in Neue Forschungen in
Pompeji, ed. B. Andreae and h. Kyrieleis (Aurel Bongers, Recklinghausen, 1975), pp. 939; M.
Prosperi,Oplontis:suburbiodiPompeidallatabulaPeutingeriana,Antiqua4:15(Oct.dec.1979),
pp.216.seealsothedescriptionofthispartoftheGulfofNaplesgivenintheAugustanageby
thegeographerstrabo Geogr.5.247.
15. thisvillawasdiscoveredin1974,250metreseastoftheVillaofPoppaea,duringtheconstruc-
tionofaschool;anditwassubsequentlynameduponthefndingofabronzesealbearingthename
of L. Crassius tertius. For a detailed description of the villas at Oplontis, see w. F. Jashemski,
Recently excavated Gardens and Cultivated Land of the Villas at Boscoreale and Oplontis, in
Ancient Roman Villa Gardens. ed.elisabethBlairMacdougall(dumbartonOaks,washingtondC,
1987),pp.3375;forthevillaofL.Crassiustertius,esp.334.
16. For a detailed account on the villa, see A. de Franciscis, La villa romana di Oplontis, FA
1819(196364),p.7420;id.,LavillaromanadiOplontis,PP 153(1973),pp.45366;id.,Lavilla
romanadiOplontis(asinn.14),pp.939;s.deCaro,sculturedallavilladiPoppeadiOplontis,
CronPomp 2(1976),pp.184225;C.Malandrino,Oplontis (Lofredo,Napoli,1977);A.deFranciscis,
LadamadiOplonti,inEikones, Studien zum Griechischen und Rmischen Bildnis: Festschrift Hans Jucker
zum Sechzigsten Geburtstag Gewidmet,BeiheftAntikeKunst12(Francke,Bern,1980),pp.11517;w.
F.Jashemski,The Gardens of Pompeii(Caratzas,NewRochelle,NY,1979),vol.i.pp.289314;s.de
Caro,thesculpturesoftheVillaofPoppaeaatOplontis:APreliminaryReport,inAncient Roman
Villa Gardens. ed. e. Blair Macdougall (dumbarton Oaks, washington dC, 1987), pp. 77133;
Jashemski,RecentlyexcavatedGardens(asinn.15).
4 2 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
Afourthstage,mostprobablybetween50and60ce,involvedthereduction
of the swimming pool and included the construction of the eastern wing.
theffthphaseconstitutedworkunderwayatthetimeoftheeruption:the
oldest part of the complex, which dates from the mid-frst century ce, was
beingexpandedin79ce.
J7
this,insomescholarsview,confrmsthePoppaea
hypothesis: in fact, the complex seems to have been transferred (after Pop-
paeas death?) to a new owner who ordered some reconstruction.
J8

the villa was partially explored in the nineteenth century, beginning in

theBourbonperiod,butitscompleteexcavationandcarefuldocumentation
was only carried out between 1964 and 1984, by Alfonso de Franciscis and
stefanodeCaro.thenewOplontisProject,sponsoredbytheuniversityof
texas (Austin), began in 2005. unfortunately, an estimated 60 per cent of
thevillastillliesuncovered.Mostfnds,includingnumerousmarblestatues,
are still held in stores, awaiting accurate treatment.
A comprehensive description of the complex would lead us far beyond
the limits of this paper. sufce it to indicate its dimensions here: it extends
for about 130 meters in length and 110 meters in width, smaller only than
the magnifcent Villa of Papyri in herculaneum, which extends on about
5,600 square metres, as opposed to the about 5000 square-metre area of the
villa in Oplontis.
J9
Evidence tor the villas attribution to Poppaea
AlfonsodeFrancisciswhowasinchargeoftheexcavationandrestoration
ofthevillaprovidedafrstthoroughdescriptiononthebuildings,which,
as he believed and expressed in several studies, in its last but one period of
ownership may have belonged to Poppaea sabina, emperor Neros ill-fated
wife.
20
hearguedthatafterPoppaeasdeaththevillafellundernewowner-
ship,andthereitremaineduntilitwasburiedbytheeruption.deFranciscis
17. M.L.thomasandJ.R.Clarke,theOplontisProject20056:ObservationsontheConstruc-
tionhistoryofVillaAattorreAnnunziata(ArchaeologicalReportsandNotes),JRA20(2007),
pp.22232.
18. MoreontheattributiontoPoppaeasabinalater.
19. Forvillasinitalyingeneral,seeA.G.McKay,Houses, Villas, and Palaces in the Roman World
(Cornell,ithacaN.Y.,1975);d.e.Johnston,Roman Villas, shireArchaeology11 (shire,Aylesbury,
1983);J.t.smith,Roman villas: a Study in Social Structure (Routledge,London,1997);A.Marzano,ed.
Roman Villas in Central Italy: A Social and Economic Study, ColumbiastudiesintheClassicaltradition
30(Brill,LeidenBoston,2007).
20. seehisworkslistedinn.16.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 43
basedhisattributiononaseriesofconvergentpiecesofevidencediscovered
in and around the villa.
Firstly, an amphora bears, on its neck, the painted inscription Secundo
Poppeae (of secundus, [servant or freedman] of Poppaea).
2J
One might
supposethattheamphorawasdestinedtobetransportedawayfromthevilla,
andthusthenameintheinscriptionmightindicateanaddresseeinsomeother
place. however, de Franciscis contended that the amphora itself had been
produced in hispania,
22
and delivered to Oplontis, for a certain secundus,
who may have been a libertine procurator of Poppaea. the assumption that
a certain secundus lived in the villa was also confrmed by the discovery
of the same name, in the form of SIICVN, in a grafto on the bottom of
a late italic terra sigillata plate (according to a widespread custom in the era)
foundamongthefurnishings.
23
itappearstobewellfounded,therefore,that
a certain Poppaea owned slaves in the villa, but she could be of course any
woman of that gens, not necessarily Poppaea Augusta.
Moreover, a wine-jar stamp was also discovered here, reading C. Arriani
[A]mphionis.thestampmayberelatedtoawaxtabletfoundinherculaneum,
dated with the consuls to 63 ce, which reads In Pompeiano in fglinis Arrianis
Poppaeae Aug(ustae). the publishers of the tablet interpreted it as a clear
evidence indicating that Poppaea Augusta must have had a landed property
in the Pompeian area.
24

Anindirectpieceofevidencefortheattributionwasthemagnifcenceof
thevillathatclearlysuggeststhatitoncebelongedtoawealthyindividualof
high esteem: the exquisite positioning of its porticoes, reaching out, on the
one side, towards the seashore, and facing, on the other, frst the vines and
thentheforestsonthefrstslopesofMountVesuvius;theunusualdimensions
of thenatatio;the elaborately alignedfowerbeds, realaswell aspainted, for
thedelightofthosewhowanderedaboutinthequarterofotiumadjacentto
it,allseemtoconfrmdeFranciscisideathatthevillaformedtheproperty
21. Asfortheepigraphicalmaterialpreservedinthevilla,werelyonA.deFranciscis,Beryllos
e la villa di Poppea ad Oplontis, in Studies in Classical Art and Archaeology. A Tribute to P. H. von
Blanckenhagen.edd.G.KopckeandM.B.Moore( J.J.Augustin,NewYork,1979),pp.2314.
22. essadifabbricaspagnola,deFranciscis,Berylloselavilla(asinn.21),p.231.
23. Ofcourse,sinceSecundus asothernamesthatderiveex casu nascentium wasamongthemost
frequentlyusednamesintheinferiorclassesofRomansociety,theinscriptionsontheamphoraand
thepotwaremayindicatetwodiferentindividuals.
24. V.ArangioRuizandG.PuglieseCarratelli,tabulaeherculanenses,PP 9(1954),pp.5474,
7687.
4 4 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
oftheempressherself.
23
Moreover,thevillaappearstohavebeenuninhabited
attheeruption,orinhabitedonlybysomewhowereinchargeofguarding
it. As was noted above, some works of reconstruction had started prior to
theeruption,butatthesametime,unlikemanyhousesinPompeii,thevilla
shows no signs of serious damage due to the earthquake in the year 62 ce.
its abandoned state, therefore, was due to another reason, which may have
been the death of its owner, Poppaea sabina, in 65 ce.
the complex, moreover, presents a number of analogies with Pompeian
housesthatclearlyorreputedlywereinthepropertyofthegens Poppaea,such
asthehouseoftheAmorinidoratiandsupposedlythatofMenander,
the most remarkable common features being the grafti in Greek and the
marbleportraitsasdecorationsofthegardens.
26
infact,thegens Poppaeahad
considerablepropertiesinCampaniaandhadacloserelationshipwiththecity
of Pompeii: references to Poppaea herself are frequently found in Pompeii,
in acclamations in which the Pompeians praise him and her husband, thus
leading us to the conclusion that she took an active role in supporting the
Vesuviantown,probablyinissuesrelatedtothecoloniesfoundedbyNeroin
Campaniaandtothesettlementofveteransoldiersintheregion.
27
Moreover,
agraftointhehouseofJuliusPolybius(iX.xiii.13.)documentedatribute
of highly valuable pearls and emeralds Poppaea ofered to the Pompeian
VenusonoccasionofherhusbandsvisittoPompeii.
28
Finally,inthehouse
of Caecilius Jucundus (V. i. 26.) two wax tablets
29
mention the name of a
certain Poppaea Prisci liberta Note, beyond doubt a libertina of tertius Priscus,
dispensator of Poppaea.
30
A further piece of possible evidence indicated by de Franciscis is highly
conjectural, and was subsequently rejected by the italian scholar himself: in
his1979studydeFranciscispointsout,amongthe45sculpturesthathadbeen
25. ForanaccuratedescriptionofthevillaanditssurroundingsseeJashemski,Recentlyexcavated
Gardens(asinn.15);anddeCaro,thesculpturesoftheVilla.
26. these two prestigious buildings bear inscriptions connecting them to diferent members of
thisgens; intheformer,forexample,graftiidentifytheownerasCn.Poppeushabitusarelative
ofPoppaeasabina.
27. L.Fergola,ed.,Oplontis e le sue ville (Flavius,Pompeii,2004),pp.8082.
28. For the detailed description of the house with extensive bibliography, see www.stoa.org/
projects/ph/house?id=15, which does not mention the grafto. For the grafto, see C. Giordano,
iscrizionigraftiedipintinellacasadiC.GiulioPolibio,RAAN50(1975),p.22.n.5.
29. thearchiveisdatedbetween15and62ceandwasorginallypublishedinCILiV.themodern
editionofthetablets:J.Andreau,Les afaires de Monsieur Jucundus.Collectiondecolefranaisede
Rome19(colefranaisedeRome,Rome,1974),nos.154and155.
30. CILiV3340,155(79ce),cf.CILXi5418.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 45
foundinthevillabythen,
3J
amarbleportraitofaladythathebelievedmay
haverepresentedPoppaeasabina.
32
however,inanarticlepublishedoneyear
later, he recanted his hypothesis, and retreated to a more cautious position,
assertingthattheportraitmayhaverepresentedamemberofthegens Poppaea.
33

infact,wecanreconstruct,withameasureofuncertainty,theiconography
oftheempress,basedoncoinsmintedintheeasternpartoftheempireanda
gemthatportraysOtho,NeroandPoppaea:theOplontisportraitisdiferent
fromallthesebothforthehairstyleandforthefacialfeaturesitdepicts.
34

Gramti ot the villa that have received publication

so far the most interesting and most controversial vestige of the villa
has been the so-called Beryllos grafto, found in the corridor leading to
the latrine, on the plaster painted in the latest period, that is, subsequent
to the earthquake of 62 ce. the grafto reads, in two lines, MNHCHI /
BHPYOC
33
(Figure 1).Onitsright,itiscrossedbyanothergraftoofwhat
appearstobethecontours,perhapsacaricature,ofahumanhead;whileon
the left we read, in two lines, DRACO/NVS.
in de Franciscis view, the Beryllos mentioned in the grafto may have
been Neros paidagogos, who was later in charge of the emperors Greek
correspondence (epi tn Hellenikn epistoln = ab epistulis Graecis), viz. Neros
freedmansecretarywhowasemployedindiplomaticdealingsrelatedtothe
east. According to Flavius Josephus, Beryllos had a share in the anti-Jewish
repression that was introduced by Porcius Festus, procurator of Judaea in
6062 ce, immediately or shortly after he succeeded Felix. According to
31. sees.deCarosaccurateaccount:thesculpturesoftheVilla,p.87.
32. PresumibilmenterappresentaPoppeasabina,deFranciscis,Berylloselavilla,p.232.
33. Resta quindi anche qui grande perplessit nellidentifcazione della dama di Oplontis, e
sembra onesto sospendere ogni giudizio defnitivo, proponendo soltanto che la dama sia stata
personadellafamigliachepossedevaechefrequentavalavillastessa,A.deFranciscis,Ladamadi
Oplonti,p.117,pl.55.
34. infact,thehairstylerepresentedinthemarbleportraitwasfashionableespeciallyduringthe
reignoftiberius,anditcanbeconsideredasadevelopmentofthehairstylewewitnessalreadyin
someportraitsofLivia,andespeciallytypicaloftheportaitsofAntoniatheYounger.infact,de
FranciscisbelievesthatitisAntoniatheYoungerwhomtheOplontisportraitresemblesthemost
(especiallytwoportraitsofhersheldintheCopenhagenNyCarlsbergGlyptotek),seedeFranciscis,
LadamadiOplonti,pp.11516.
35. Grafti in Greek are not at all surprising in this region as Oplontis was close to centres of
GreekculturelikeNeapolisandPuteoli,andthusthevillamayhavehadGreek-speakinginhabitants
whetherthesewerecitizens,libertinesorslaves.
46 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
Flavius Josephus,

the leaders of the syrians who lived in Caesarea Maritima

paid Beryllos a considerable sum of money to persuade him to make Nero
todeclaretheJews isopoliteianullandvoidNerosepistle, then,provedto
be the starting point of the vicissitudes for the Jews, frst leading to violent
riotsinthetown,andlater(inAugust66ce)totheJewsfull-scaleuprising,
culminatingintheannihilationofJudaeaandthedestructionofthetemple
by titus in 70 ce. with Josephus words, when the Jews of Cesarea were
informed of the contents of this epistle to the syrians, they were more
disorderly than before, till a war was kindled.
36

deFranciscisproposedthattheOplontisgraftoreferredtothisBeryllos,
and it had a tone of threat or warning, rather than that of a prayer or ac-
clamation:letBeryllosremember,andnotletBeryllosrememberus.
37
the
italian historian, in fact keeping in mind Poppaeas alleged philosemitism
recorded by Flavius Josephus
38
believed that Jews were ofered shelter in
Poppaeas estates, and under the protection of the empress they even felt
encouraged to threaten Neros ab epistulis Graecis by scratching on the wall
36. Ant.20.183185.inanearlierphaseofphilologicalresearch,somescholarssuggestedthatthe
BerylloswefndintheAntiquitieshadtobecorrectedtoBurrus,andreferredtosextusAfranius
Burrus, Neros praeceptor, but their view did not gain ground among scholars; see e. Katterfeld,
BeryllosBurrus,Berliner Philologische Wochenschrift33(1913),p.59;F.Millar,emperorsatwork,
JRS5(1967),pp.919,esp.15.
37. deFranciscis,Berylloselavilla,p.233:cheBeryllossiricordi,enonBeryllossiricordi
dinoi.
38. Ant.20.195,seemoreonthisbelow.
Figure 1 the Beryllos and draconus inscription published by de Franciscis.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 47
intimidatingnoticesagainsthim,oneofthechiefarchitectsoftheanti-Jewish
repression in Judaea. his theory is certainly supported by the chronology
of the events narrated by Josephus in the Antiquities which took place
in the years when Poppaea had a great infuence on Nero as well as by
the supposed date of origin of the inscription (which seems to have been
produced after 62). however, it was later challenged by other scholars who
pointedoutthattheI(aniota subscriptum)nexttotheHinthefrstwordwas
inscribed with a much thinner point and with a more superfcial incision,
and thus, in all probability, at a completely diferent moment.
39
therefore,
the correct reading of the frst word is MNHCH ( pass. aor. subj. sing. 2. of
mimnsk,remember),andthiswaytheinscriptionbecomesjustoneofthe
many formulary texts of those persons who leave their own names on the
wallsasarecord.
40
thenameBeryllos,infact,wasquitewidespreadamong
theslaves,totheextentthatthehistoricalrecordsthathavecomedowntous
from Rome attest 41 slaves or servants who bore this name it is not at all
surprising,then,toencounteritinaluxuriousresidencecertainlyinhabited
by a large number of servants.
4J

inthesameinscriptionisalsoclearlylegiblethenameofacertainDraconus,
apparently another servant, who even seems to have been portrayed in a
caricaturerightnexttotheBeryllosinscription.interestinglyenough,above
the frst half of the name Draco/nus there are some scratches which seem
to be hebrew letters, viz. a daleth, a res and a kaph disorderly placed one
next to the other. these are the root letters of the name Draco in hebrew
(dRK). de Franciscis did not notice that these could be actual letters; he
copied them together with the caricature as part of the fgurative elements
that accompany the grafto.
itisworthnoting,moreover,thatinthevillathereisaclearpredominance
of Greek inscriptions, like the one that remembers, with word endings that
seem to refect the infuence of Oscan dialects, a person whose name seems
39. see,forexample,Fergola,Oplontis e le sue ville,pp.845.
40. Mnsthappearstobethetranslationofashortenedformofatypicalsemiticblessingformula,
the full form of which is may [so-and-so] be remembered before the God [so-and-so]. Both the
shorterandlongerversionsarefoundoninscriptionsbysemiticpeoplessuchasPhoenicians,he-
brews,Nabateans,andsyrians.thegrammaticallysurprisingGreekrenderingmaybeexplainedby
thefactthatGreekdidnothaveasimpleverbformtoconveythemeaningtoberemembered.
41. h.solin,Die griechische Personennamen in Rom. Ein Namenbuch.CiLAuctarium,seriesNova.
secondrevisededition(walterdeGruyter,NewYorkandBerlin,2003),vol.iii.pp.122021.
48 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
to be Agelis, female slave of C. Camerius, and the names of Proco[p]e and
Anatole, whose names are also clearly of Greek or oriental origin.
Another Greek inscription found in the villa was connected by stefano
de Caro to the cult of Cybele or more accurately for a Roman context,
the Magna Mater.
42
it reads , which de Caro
explained as an exclamation to the sacred animal of the goddess, the lion,
sometimes identifed with Attis, her lover: ga[i]eis kal[l]iereis hagie lis; you
rejoice, you give favourable auspices, o sacred lion; or reading the second
word as kalhiereis, you rejoice in good sacrifces, oh sacred lion.
43
de
Caro ventured the conclusion that the grafti must have been produced by
a worshipper or worshippers of the Cybele/Magna Mater, presumably an
oriental slave of the villa who must have taken the short exclamation from
aliturgicalorliterarycontext,unknowntoday,butprobablywidelyknown
in frst-century ce Anatolia.
44

1he nev Hebrev/Aramaic gramto

thesofarunpublishedgraftoisinthenortheasterncornerofthebuilding,
moreprecisely,onthenorthernwalloftheporticoborderingthenatatio a
swimming pool 61 metres long and 17 metres wide from the west. (Figure
2) we are indebted to stefano de Caro for the description of this part of
the building:
43
theeasternwingismainlyaservicequarter.itisorganizedaroundacentral
peristylewithaninnergardenandalittlecascadefountain.itincludesalarge
hallwithalararium,manystorerooms,androomsforslavesontheupper
foor.thearrangementofthenortwesterncornerisparticularlyinteresting,
withasmallbutfunctionalbathconsistingoflatrinaandalittlecalidarium.
Originally, the piscina had been even larger, as the last stage of recon-
struction involved the addition of a large new quarter east of the natatio,
that made it necessary to narrow the pool.
46
in fact, the sector afected by
42. s.deCaro,ungraftoealtretestimonianzedelcultodellaMagnaMaternellavillaRomana
di Oplontis, in Studia Pompeiana et Classica in Honor of W. F. Jashemski, ed. R. i. Curtis (Caratzas,
NewRochelle,NY,1988),vol.i.pp.8996.
43. hisreadingintheoriginalarticlegoasfollows:tuesulti,tudaifaustipresagi,osacroleone,
andtuesultiperibuonisacrifci,osacroleone;deCaro, ungrafto,pp.9091.
44. deCaro, ungrafto,pp.923.
45. deCaro,thesculpturesoftheVilla,pp.7980.
46. deCaro,thesculpturesoftheVilla,p.85.thiseasternquarterisstillinaccessibleforvisitors,
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 49
the last expansion of the villa centres around the pool: a portico originally
stoodalongthewesternsideofthetub,ontowhichaseriesofdiferentkinds
of rooms opened, and whose inner wall was decorated in fourth style on a
whitebackground,withafewsuperblyexecuteddecorativedetails(landscape
paintings, plant and animal elements). the work of remodelling the villa
involved rebuilding the roof and removing the columns, which were not
found in their original places but stored in another part of the building.
it was at the end of this corridor that our hebrew/Aramaic inscription
was scratched into the white ground-colour of the wall decorated in fourth
style(Figure 3).Aframescratchedintothewallenclosesthetext;
47
itslowest
point is 112 cm above the pavement (there is a 34 cm high concrete layer
abovethepavement,andthusthegraftoisonlyataheightof78cmonthe
section of the wall decorated with frescoes). the left side of the frame is 77
cm from the longitudinal wall of the roofed portico. the maximum width
of the frame enclosing the text is 16 cm; its maximum height is 14 cm; the
average size of the letters is 0.81 cm. the letters were scratched into the
andonlypartiallyuncovered.
47. AbiblingualhebrewGreekgraftofromthefourth-ffthcenturyfoundinthesynagogueat
Chresonnesuswasalsoencircledwithaframe,seeIJOiBs2;e.eshel,AhebrewGraftofroma
synagogueinCrimea,JSQ5(1998),pp.28999.(wearegratefultothelateProf.hananeshelfor
callingourattentiontothispublication.)
Figure 2 the section of the wall, in the portico bordering the swimming pool at
Oplontis villa A, on which the hebrew/Aramaic grafto was scratched.
50 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
white plaster with a pointed object (e.g. needle or stylus); or more plausibly,
withdiferentpointedobjects,andonsubsequentoccasions,astheletterson
the right side difer not only in size and character type from those on the
left side, but are also scratched less deeply into the plaster.
in the whole grafto, the direction of writing is inclined in an angle of
about45degreesinrelationtothehorizontal.thereasonforthiswasperhaps
thatthosewhoscratchedthelettersonthewall,didsosittingonabench,in
a crooked position. Brick benches have been preserved all along the nearby
corridor linking the piscina with the residential area, and one can rightfully
suspectthatwoodenbencheswereplacedalongtheroofedporticoaswell,a
fewmetresfromthepool,wherebatherscouldfndthenearestshade.espe-
ciallysoatthenorthernwalloftheporticowherethegraftoisfoundwith
itspassage-wayleadingtooneofthelatrinesofthevilla:abenchherecould
alsoaccommodatethosewhowerewaitingfortheirturninthetoilet.
Althoughthetextanditsframeareinaclearlyvisiblespot,tothebestof
our knowledge it has not caught the eye of any expert, and it has not been
referred to in any publication so far. One of the reasons for the apparent
lack of interest might be the rough-and-ready work of its author(s); in fact,
themessyandcarelesswritingstylemakesthegraftoappearasmeaningless
scrawl, and only experienced eyes notice the hebrew characters.
Figure 3 the newly found hebrew/
Aramaic grafto.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 51
Most of the letters, by the way, display a great deal of similarity with
thoseofthefrst-centuryceossuarygraftifoundinandaroundJerusalem,
48

aswellaswiththoseofthegraftidiscoveredintherefugecavesoftheBar
Kokhba revolt,
49
and most recently, in september 2009, similar characters
have been found at the excavations of Mount Zion in a ten-line Aramaic
text scratched on a stone vessel.
30

unfortunately,wehavebeenunabletodetectacoherenttextintheOplon-
tis grafto. the section of the wall with the rough-and-ready inscription
appearsrathertohavefunctionedeitherasamessageboard,orawhiteboard
for writing practice, or both. At least two diferent hands are recognisable:
ascratchy,angularhandwritingintheupperrightthirdoftheframedarea;
and a second manus employing roundish, cursive characters.
in the overlapping, tangled arrays of letters we could distinguish a few
names:YQwB(Yaakov);Yhwd(Yehud);Yw(Yeshu);LwY(Levi),MRM
(Miriam)andprobablyFeli[x],withLatinletters.severalcommonwordsalso
appear to be discernible. Most of all, on the left side, 5 fnal mems, together
withacontinuouszigzaglineofabuttinglameds,appeartohavebeenused
asaclosingrowpattern,andcanberegardedasadesignevokingtheword
LwM(shalom),commonlyusedinaline-endingpositioninossuaryengrav-
ingsandgrafti:
3J
theauthor,oroneoftheauthors,ofthisOplontisgrafto
mayhavewantedthewritingtolooklikeotherhebrew/Aramaictextshe/she
was familiar with. the very same word, shalom, is also legible, though not
without some amount of creativityfrom the reader, in its complete form in
the bottom left corner of the grafto. the word MY (meay, my bowels)
appearstobeincluded,evokingabiblicalreference(Ps.40:9b).thewordd
(shed) in the right edge of the grafto may refer to the lord or master of
thehouse.undertheworddcanbeeasilydiscerniblethreelettersofhG
(haga) to argue, to deduct, to murmur, and at the bottom in the middle
the word dh (edah) assembly, prayer meeting. the word LwN (lashon),
48. MostofthesewerecollectedbyL.Y.Rahmani,A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of
the State of Israel(theisraelAntiquitiesAuthority,theisraelAcademyofsciencesandhumanities,
Jerusalem,1994).
49. seetheworkscitedinn.9.
50. news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090909code-biblical-cup.html. Prof. stephen
Pfann (university of holy Land) is now working on the inscription.we are indebted for this
informationtoProf.shimonGibson(universityofNorthCarolina),directoroftheexcavationsat
MtZion.
51. e.g.L.Y.Rahmani,AramaicinscriptioninthetombofJason,IEJ17(1967),pp.10111.
52 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
language,alsoappearsinthemiddleoftheinscription.unfortunately,these
commonwordsandpersonalnamesdonotformacohesivetext.wewould
venture to assume that one or two persons were taught hebrew/Aramaic,
using the wall as a kind of noteboard. we also found a fve-pointed star
(hotam Shelomo),atypicalJewishapotropaicsymbol,amongthegraftiofthe
villa, which so far has not captured the attention of scholars: it is found in
the sections called hospitalia, beyond the northern end of the porticus beside
the swimming pool
32
(Figure 4).
Poppaeas ]evish sympathy
OurmainsourceconcerningPoppaeasvita moresqueistacituswhodoesnot
even want to veil his detestation and contempt towards the empress (6265
ce). he calls Poppaeas death a joyful event (mortem laetam, Ann. 16.7.1),
becausehershamelessnessandcruelty(ob inpudicitiam eius saevitiamque).this
characterization is in accord with tacitus earlier statements, which were
clearlybiasedagainstPoppaea(e.g.tac.Ann.13.45;14.1).theRoman-Jewish
52. N.Avigadandh.Geva,Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem(israelexploration
society,Jerusalem,2000),vol.i.p.258;Patrich,inscriptionsaramennes(asinn.11),p.270;there
weretwopentagramsfoundbesidethefamous POINIUM / CHEREM graftoatPompeiiaswell
( JIWEi39).
Figure 4 Five-pointed star, a typical
Jewish apotropaic symbol, scratched
into a wall in the villa.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 53
historian,FlaviusJosephus,however,tellsusofadiferentPoppaea.heattests
that as an empress (6265 ce) she at least twice successfully interceded on
behalf of the Jews. when a Jewish embassy asked Nero not to tear down
thewallthattheyhadbuiltinthetempleenclosuretoblockKingAgrippa
ii from viewing the sacrifces, Nero consented as a favour to Poppaea who
was a god-fearer (theosebs) and who pleaded on behalf of the Jews (Ant.
20.189195).(thisepisodemayhavetakenplaceduringthegovernorshipof
Porcius Festus in 59/6062 ce, but we do not know the precise date.
33
) For
thesakeofacompletepicture,wemustaddthatPoppaeadetainedthehigh
priestishmaelandthetempletreasurerhilkiyaashostages(homreusontas par
heaut kateschen, Ant. 20.195). this would seem to contradict her favourable
attitude toward them comments L. h. Feldman unless we suppose that
she detained them not as hostages but as teachers in order to have further
instruction about Jewish practices.
34
Poppaeas other recorded intervention
on the Jews behalf can be dated to 63/64 ce. in that year, another Jewish
embassy to Rome was led by Joseph ben Mattityahu, the later Flavius
Josephus (Vita 16). the legatio came to the emperor to intervene in the case
of some Jewish priests who had been imprisoned and sent to Rome several
years earlier by Festus predecessor, the procurator Antonius Felix (5259/60
ce). thanks to Poppaeas good service (euergesia), the priests were released
and Josephus was able to return to his country loaded with gifts from the
empress herself (Vita 16).
these two events are undisputed by historians. the expression quoted
above, theosebs gar n (viz. Poppaea), however, is a matter of controversy.
what is the exact meaning of theosebs in this context?
33
Can we trans-
late it literally as god-fearer, without any further explanation? Or is it a
technical term meaning Jewish sympathizer, Judaizer, or the so-called
Gottesfrchtige,thatis,gentileswhoattendedthesynagogueregularlyand
adopted some Jewish customs such as the sabbath observance, dietary laws,
moral obligations etc., but they never became full members of the Jewish
community in the way proselytes did? Or does it simply mean a pious or
devout gentile (eusebs)? According to e.M. smallwood, All that Josephus
53. t.Rajak,Josephus: The Historian and his Society(duckworth,London,1983),p.39.
54. L.h.Feldman,Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World(PrincetonuniversityPress,Princeton,NJ,
1993),p.352.
55. M.h.williams,Theosebs gar ntheJewishtendenciesofPoppaeasabina,JThS39(1988),
pp.97111.
54 | J our na l oF J e Wi s h s t uDi e s
meansisthatPoppaeawasareligious(superstitious?)womanwhopersuaded
Nero that other peoples religious prejudices deserved respect, and perhaps
remindedhimthatJewishreligiouslibertywasprotectedbyRomanlaw.
indeed, her portrayal by classical historians belies any idea of acceptance of
theJewishmoralcode.
36
wethinkM.h.williamswasrightbyemphasizing
that to be a theosebs (in its non-technical meaning) does not automatically
mean acceptance of the strict moral code of Judaism. For example, Queen
Berenice,sisterofKingAgrippaii(withwhomshelived,accordingtogossip,
inanincestuousrelationship)andafterthreeshortlivedmarriagessometime
between 41 and 43 ce lover of emperor titus, took her ancestral religion
seriously. On the eve of the Jewish revolt in 66 she dwelt in Jerusalem, in
ordertoperformavowwhichshehadmadetoGod;foritisusualwiththose
thathadbeeneitherafictedwithadistemper,orwithanyotherdistresses,
to make vows; and for thirty days before they are to ofer their sacrifces,
to abstain from wine, and to shave the hair of their head. which things
Bernice was now performing, and stood barefoot before Floruss tribunal,
andbesoughthim[tosparetheJews](Bell. 2.313314).Anotherexampleisof
Cornelius,acenturioofthecohors ItalicastationedatCaesareawellbeforethe
outbreak of the Jewish revolt. According to Acts 10:1 (NiV) he and all his
familyweredevoutandGod-fearing(eusebs kai phobumenos ton Theon)who
prayed to God regularly. he appears to have had no difculty reconciling
his duties qua centurion, which must have involved participation in pagan
rituals, with his frequent attendance at the local synagogue worshipping
the Jewish God.
37
(Another God-fearing Roman soldier in the New testa-
ment is the centurio at Capernaum who according to the Jews loves
our nation and has built our synagogue, Luke 7:5.) Our third example is
almostcontemporarytotheeventsrecordedbyFlaviusJosephus.theearliest
Jewish synagogue in Asia Minor is attested in an inscription dedicated to
its founder, Julia severa (CIJ 766 = IJudO ii 168), who is well known from
numismatic and epigraphic evidence. she was archiereia of the imperial cult
at Acmonia for at least three terms of ofce during Neros reign, and was
also an agnothets. it is impossible to determine whether she was a Jewess.
AccordingtoP.trebilco,Juliasevera wasagentilesympathiser, apagan
56. e. M. smallwood, The Jews under Roman Rule (Brill, Leiden, 1981), p. 278. n. 79; ead., the
AllegedJewishsympathiesofPoppaeasabina,JThS10(1959),pp.32935.
57. williams,Theosebsgar n,p.104.
a he Br e W/a r a ma i c gr a F F i t o | 55
who was favourably disposed towards the Jews and built a synagogue as
their patroness.
38

Naturally,asanempress,Poppaeasabinamusthavealsobeenloyaltothe
pagancultsoftheRomanstate.
39
Forheritwasoutofquestiontoregularly
attend a synagogue or to keep the sabbath or dietary laws, let alone the
prohibition of idolatry. in fact, her sympathy for the Jews may have been
motivatedbyherattractiontowardseasternwisdomandmysticismingeneral.
Moreover, tacitus tells us that Poppaea surrounded herself with mathematici
and astrologers as her counsellors (Hist. 1.22). some of them we know by
name: Ptolemy seleucus, Othos astrologer (suet. Otho 4); and Leonidas
of Alexandria who turned from astronomy to poetry.
60
in sum, Poppaea
sabina, who was a devotee of astrology (and probably many other kinds of
occult practices), might have been attracted by the reputation for wisdom
and excellence of astronomy, as well as by the magic and occult practices
commonly attributed to the Jews.
6J
thehebrewgraftoinvillaAatOplontisindicatesthattherewereJews,
eitheramongtheservants,oramongtheguests,inthecountryestatewhich
was presumably in possession of the empress; that is, she may have wished
tobeinthecompanyofJewsinherprivateresidence.ifso,shewasperhaps
more interested in Jewish teachings and customs than one would assume
basedonothersources,andinhercasebeingatheosebs alsoinvolved,beyond
providingsupporttotheJewishcauseoncertainoccasions,awillingnessto
know Judaism better.
58. P. R. trebilco, Jewish Communities in Asia Minor (Cambridge university Press, Cambridge,
1991),pp.5860.
59. williams,Theosebsgar n,p.103.herstatueswereerectedontheCapitol(Ann.14.61,15.23),
and her name became linked in ofcial prayers and sacrifces with its guardian deities ([Iunoni]
Poppaeae Augustae,CILVi2043).
60. seee.A.hemelrijk,Matrona docta. Educated Woman in the Roman lite from Cornelia to Julia Domna
(Routledge,LondonandNewYork,1999),p.115.
61. Feldman,Jew and Gentile,pp. 2019,336,37981.