Episode Eighteen: Activities on the Island of Capri; Sect of the Nazorean in Jerusalem

Tiberius and the imperial court continue to engage in unusual behavior on Capri. After Gaius's pregnant wife dies, he begins an affair, promising to marry the woman if and when he becomes princeps. Tiberius gives his favorite adolescent boy a nickname and promotes the boy's father to higher office. The sect of the Nazorean continues to grow in Jerusalem.   SHOWNOTES Lucius Vitellius visited Gaius. Lucius and his three brothers, Publius, Aulus, and Quintus, came from an equestrian family. Their father, the procurator Publius Vitellius of Nuceria, was a Roman knight and a steward of Augustus’ property. Nuceria was situated at the foot of Mount Albino, about 20 km from Neapolis (modern day Naples). Gaius had a specially built track for chariot racing called the Gaianum. The Gaianum was east of the Via Triumphalis, about 300 m from where the Mausoleum of Hadrian would be built nearly 80 years later. Ultimately the construction of Saint Peter’s eliminated all traces of the Gaianum. (Lawrence Richardson, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome [Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992], p. 180). Philip, Herod Antipas’ half-brother, passed away in 34 CE. Tiberius distributed his lands, the territories north and east of the river Jordan (Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, and the nation of the Bataneans), to the Roman province of Syria. Those of the sect of the Nazorean prayed that God might send the Messiah, the one already appointed, Jesus, who is in heaven and must remain there until the time of universal restoration, spoken of by the prophets (Acts 3:12-26). Simon of Cyrene and his two sons, Rufus and Alexander (Mark 15:21). Cyrene was a Greek city in eastern Libya (cf. Acts 2:10). Joseph of Arimathea (Matt 27:57-60; Mark 15:43-46; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38). The Pharisee Nicodemus (John 3:1-21; 7:50-51; 19:39-42)