Cassius Dio (AD 155 AD 235)
Dio's Roman History III
Dio's Roman History III
Dio's Roman History with an English Translation by Earnest Cary, Ph.D. on the basis of the version of Herbert Baldwin Foster, Ph.D. In Nine Volumes, III; London: William Heinemann; New York: The Macmillan CO. MCMXIV [1914].
Battle of c. 63 BC
Battle of c. 63 BC
"... [Page 142-144; Internally Page 125-127] Most of the city, to be sure, he took without any trouble, as he was received by the party of Hyrcanus; but the temple itself, which the other party had occupied, he captured only with difficulty. For it was on high ground and was fortified by a wall of its own, and if they had continued defending it on all days alike, he could not have got possession of it. As it was, they made an exception of what are called the days of Saturn, and by doing [Page 142-144; Internally Page 125-127; Greek text is inbetween; Page 126] no work at all on those days afforded the Romans an opportunity in this interval to batter down the wall. The latter, on learning of this superstitious awe of theirs, made no serious attempts the rest of the time, but on those days, when they came round in succession, assaulted most vigorously. Thus the defenders were captured on the day of Saturn, without making any defence, and all the wealth was plundered. The kingdom was given to Hyrcanus, and Aristobulus was carried away.
This was the course of events at that time in Palestine; for this is the name that has been given from of old to the whole country extending from Phoenicia to Egypt along the inner sea. They have also another name that they have acquired: the country has been named Judaea, and the people themselves Jews. I do not know how this title came to be given them, but it applies also to all the rest of mankind, although of alien race, who affect their customs. This class exists even among the Romans, and though often repressed has increased to a very great extent and has won its way to the right of freedom in its observances. They are distinguished from the rest of mankind in practically every detail of life, and especially by the fact that they do not honour any of the usual gods, but show extreme reverence for one particular divinity. They never had any statue of him even in Jerusalem itself, but believing him to be unnamable and invisible, they worship him in the most extravagant fashion on earth. They built to him a temple [Page 143-145; Internally Page 127-129; Greek text on Page 128] that was extremely large and beautiful, except in so far as it was open and roofless, 1 and likewise dedicated to him the day called the day of Saturn, on which, among many other most peculiar observances, they undertake no serious occupation. ..." [Pages 142-145; Internally Pages 125-129; Greek text is inbetween; Page 126,128] - https://archive.org/stream/L053Cassi.../n141/mode/1up
https://archive.org/stream/L053Cassi.../n143/mode/1up
https://archive.org/stream/L053Cassi...y+of+Saturn%22
This was the course of events at that time in Palestine; for this is the name that has been given from of old to the whole country extending from Phoenicia to Egypt along the inner sea. They have also another name that they have acquired: the country has been named Judaea, and the people themselves Jews. I do not know how this title came to be given them, but it applies also to all the rest of mankind, although of alien race, who affect their customs. This class exists even among the Romans, and though often repressed has increased to a very great extent and has won its way to the right of freedom in its observances. They are distinguished from the rest of mankind in practically every detail of life, and especially by the fact that they do not honour any of the usual gods, but show extreme reverence for one particular divinity. They never had any statue of him even in Jerusalem itself, but believing him to be unnamable and invisible, they worship him in the most extravagant fashion on earth. They built to him a temple [Page 143-145; Internally Page 127-129; Greek text on Page 128] that was extremely large and beautiful, except in so far as it was open and roofless, 1 and likewise dedicated to him the day called the day of Saturn, on which, among many other most peculiar observances, they undertake no serious occupation. ..." [Pages 142-145; Internally Pages 125-129; Greek text is inbetween; Page 126,128] - https://archive.org/stream/L053Cassi.../n141/mode/1up
https://archive.org/stream/L053Cassi.../n143/mode/1up
https://archive.org/stream/L053Cassi...y+of+Saturn%22
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