Appendix E: Two Related Problems

1, The Banishment of Philosophers

Official Roman antipathy to rhetoric and philosophy dates back to the second century βce. (Suet., Rhet. 1). Rome came gradually and grudg­ ingly to accept rhetoric and rhetorical teachers, as well as philosophy and philosophers; but the two disciplines—all too often blended and con­ fused—were intermittently suspect under the empire, for under the cloak of rhetoric and philosophy political conspiracy often flourished. Para­ doxically, Vespasian—who first endowed chairs for professors of rhetoric in both Greek and Latin (Suet., Vespasian 18)—was the first emperor in the century to banish a class of intellectuals. Mucinianus—himself a philosopher!—persuaded the emperor to banish philosophers (Dio Cassius 55.13.1-2). It is clear that philosophers crept back into the city, for we find that Domitian again banished them (93 ce) both from Rome and all of Italy (Suet., Domitian 10.3; Dio Cassius 67.13.3). A few years later, Domitian also banished the rhetoricians.

2. Anti-semitism at Rome

Anti-semitism began with Tiberius, who banished the Jews from Rome (Suet., Tiberius 36); the policy was in clear contrast to that of Julius Caesar and Augustus, whom the Jews admired (Sueto, Julius 84.5; Philo, Embassy to Gaius 311 ff.). Caligula, who wished to set up a colossal statue of himself in the Temple at Jerusalem (see Appendix D) continued the policy. Claudius, too, may have banished the Jews (Suet., Claudius 25.4); Dio Cassius says that since the Jews had become so numerous in Rome, banishment was impractical, and so Claudius imposed many other restrictions on them (60.6.6-7). Anti-semitism seems to have ceased for a while but was resumed at the end of Domitian’s reign (95 ce) when converts to Judaism were killed or banished or had their property ex­ propriated (Dio Cassius 67.14.2).