15/08/2024
If anyone was unable to attend but would like to see the lecture, I now have audio and video recordings, both of which can be yours for £10. Get in touch if you're interested!
All of the canonical Gospels frequently mention the Roman military; it is key to the story. Yet, in Mark’s Gospel, specific references to the Roman legion come to the fore, and perhaps to one legion in particular: Legio X Fretensis. Its symbols are coded into the story of the demon ‘Legion,’ which is placed before the feeding of a ‘legion’ of 5000 men. Legionaries are involved in the torture and crucifixion of Christ, and then a statement by the centurion at the foot of the cross is at the very apex of the narrative, fulfilling the purpose set out at the start: declaring Jesus to be the son of a god – like Caesar himself. Questions over the potentially threatening nature of Jesus’ messiahship are also pervasive throughout, tying his relationship to the military to one of the core themes of the book. Probably written immediately following Vespasian’s war in Judea, which was led by none other than Legio X Fretensis, we must wonder: what is the function of the Roman legion in relation to the narrative and purpose of the Gospel of St. Mark?
Come to my lecture at London City Lit as part of Classics Week 2024, in conjunction with the British Museum, and find out!
https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/the-roman-legion-in-the-gospel-of-mark/rcd30-2324