Thursday, October 12, 2006

JUST WATCHED the BBC's Ancient Rome – The Rise and Fall Of An Empire: Rebellion, which tells the story of the Great Revolt against Rome in Judea in the late 60s CE. It's based on Josephus' narrative and follows it pretty uncritically. But from a dramatic perspective that was probably the best way to handle it. I don't recall the detail's of Josephus' account well enough to have caught errors. I didn't notice any, but that doesn't mean there weren't some. In any case, the program gives a one-hour overview of Josephus' version of the Great Revolt, and anyone who knew nothing about the revolt would have a fair idea of what it was all about after watching the show. The acting was good and the portrayal of Josephus was sympathetic, but it left one with realistic reservations about him.

This is the first episode of the series I've watched, but next week's is on Constantine and I'll probably watch it too.

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