Effeminacy in the Shadow of Empire
The Politics of Transgressive Gender in Josephus's Bellum Judaicum
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5348903 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jason Von Ehrenkrook (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 145-163 |
| Publication date | 2011-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Jewish Quarterly Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-6682 • E-ISSN: 1553-0604 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/jqr.2011.0015 |
| OpenAlex | W2051495981 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 17 |
As has long been recognized, Judaean tyranny, especially that associated with the revolutionary faction led by John of Gischala, plays a central role in Bellum Judaicum, functioning as an infectious disease that ultimately bears responsibility for the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Among the litany of damnable vices associated with John and his band of followers, Josephus paints a particularly lurid picture of violent debauchery in B.J. 4.560-563, recounting a blood-drenched sexual rampage that includes a pointed accusation of cross-dressing and sexual passivity. In this article I argue that Josephus' portrayal of the Judaean rebels as effeminate objects of sexual penetration draws on a widespread tendency in Greco-Roman discourse to link perceived gender anomalies with an excessive and uncontrollable lust for power, deploying gender deviancy as a symbolic framework through which to define and disparage tyrants. This image of effeminate tyranny in B.J., although dubious as a source of reliable information for the Gischalan's exploits in Galilee and Judaea, taps into a resurgent moralizing impulse in Flavian Rome, offering an important glimpse into Josephus' own attempt to navigate the cultural and political anxieties of the capital city shortly after the tumultuous transition from the Julio-Claudian to Flavian regime
Ancient history · Art · Josephus · Judaism · Literature · Lust · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Psychoanalysis · Shadow (psychology) · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology
Making Sex
Mapping Gender in Ancient Religious Discourses
Before sexuality
Making Men
Rape in Antiquity
Thinking Men
The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome
Being Greek under Rome
Homosexualité et idéologie esclavagiste chez Cicéron
Active/Passive, Acts/Passions
Simulacra Gentium
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean
Sex and Difference in Ancient Greece and Rome
Martial's Sexual Attitudes
The Imperial Reliefs from the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias
John of Gischala
La famille et l'amour sous le Haut-Empire romain
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,63 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2025 (8) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |