Pontius Pilate Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Early life=== The sources give no indication of Pilate's life prior to his becoming governor of Judaea.{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|p=121}} His [[praenomen]] (first name) is unknown;{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|p=16}} his [[cognomen]] ''Pilatus'' might mean "skilled with the javelin ({{Lang|la|[[pilum]]|italics=yes}})", but it could also refer to the {{Lang|la|[[Pileus (hat)|pileus]]|italics=yes}} or [[Phrygian cap]], possibly indicating that one of Pilate's ancestors was a [[Ancient Roman freedmen|freedman]].{{sfn|Demandt|2012|pp=47–48}} If it means "skilled with the javelin", it is possible that Pilate won the cognomen for himself while serving in the [[Military of ancient Rome|Roman military]];{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|p=121}} it is also possible that his father acquired the cognomen through military skill.{{sfn|Wroe|1999|p=16}} In the Gospels of Mark and John, Pilate is only called by his cognomen, which Marie-Joseph Ollivier takes to mean that this was the name by which he was generally known in common speech.{{sfn|Ollivier|1896|p=252}} The name [[Pontia gens|''Pontius'']] suggests that an ancestor of his came from [[Samnium]] in central, southern Italy, and he may have belonged to the family of [[Gavius Pontius]] and [[Pontius Telesinus]], two leaders of the [[Samnites]] in the third and first centuries BC, respectively, before their full incorporation to the [[Roman Republic]].{{sfn|Demandt|2012|pp=46–47}} Like all but one other governor of Judaea, Pilate was of the [[equites|equestrian order]], a middle rank of the Roman nobility.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=9}} As one of the attested Pontii, [[Pontius Aquila]] (an assassin of [[Julius Caesar]]) was a [[tribune of the plebs]]; the family must have originally been of [[plebeian]] origin and later became ennobled as equestrians.{{sfn|Demandt|2012|pp=46–47}} Pilate was likely educated, somewhat wealthy, and well-connected politically and socially.{{sfn|Carter|2003|p=15}} He was probably married, but the only extant reference to [[Pontius Pilate's wife|his wife]], in which she tells him not to interact with Jesus after she has had a disturbing dream ([[Matthew 27]]:19), is generally dismissed as legendary.{{sfnm|1a1=Bond|1y=1998|1p=197|2a1=Demandt|2y=2012|2pp=76–77|3a1=Lémonon|3y=2007|3p=167}} According to the ''[[Tres militiae|cursus honorum]]'' established by [[Augustus]] for office holders of equestrian rank, Pilate would have had a military command before becoming prefect of Judaea; historian [[Alexander Demandt]] speculates that this could have been with a legion stationed at the [[Rhine]] or [[Danube]].{{sfn|Demandt|2012|p=48}} Although it is therefore likely Pilate served in the military, it is nevertheless not certain.{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|pp=121–122}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page