Pontius Pilate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pontius Pilate |
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| Prefect of Roman Judaea | |
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Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man"), Antonio Ciseri's depiction of Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem.
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| Born | unknown Italia, Roman Empire |
| Died | c. AD 37 Italia, Roman Empire |
| Spouse | Claudia Procula |
| Occupation | Roman governor of Judea |
Pontius Pilate ( or Latin: Pontius Pīlātus, Greek: Πόντιος Πιλάτος, Pontios Pīlātos) was the governor of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26 until 36.
He was the sixth Procurator of Judaea. In modern times he is best known as the man who presided over the Trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion.
Pilate appears in all four canonical Christian Gospels. Mark, showing Jesus to be innocent of plotting against Rome, portrays Pilate as extremely reluctant to execute Jesus. The Jewish hierarchy was responsible for his death. In Matthew, Pilate washes his hands of Jesus and reluctantly sends him to his death. In Luke, Pilate not only agrees that Jesus did not conspire against Rome but King Herod also finds nothing treasonous in Jesus' actions. In John, Jesus states: 'my kingdom is not of this world' when held by Pilate. (John 18:36)
Tacitus mentions in his Annales (15,44): "Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus".
Philo of Alexandria (Leg. ad Caj. 38) and Flavius Josephus (Antiq. 18:3, 4 and Bell. II:9, 2-4) also mention him.
Pilate's biographical details before and after his appointment to Judaea are unknown, but have been supplied by tradition, which include the detail that his wife's name was Procula (she is canonized as a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church).
Pilate's term serves as a reliable historical benchmark for Jesus' death.
Images for kids
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Map of the province of Judaea during Pilate's governorship in the first century CE.
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Print of Christus with Pontius Pilate. Made in the sixteenth century.
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Christ before Pilate, Mihály Munkácsy, 1881
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A remorseful Pilate prepares to kill himself. Engraving by G. Mochetti after B. Pinelli, early 19th century.
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The so-called Pilate Stone. The words [...]TIVS PILATVS[...] can be clearly seen on the second line.
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Bronze perutah minted by Pontius PilateReverse: Greek letters ΤΙΒΕΡΙΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ and date LIS (year 16 = AD 29/30) surrounding simpulum.Obverse: Greek letters ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ, three bound heads of barley, the outer two heads drooping.
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Mosaic of Christ before Pilate, Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, early sixth century. Pilate washes his hands in a bowl held by a figure on the right.
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Panel from the Magdeburg Ivories depicting Pilate at the Flagellation of Christ, German, tenth century
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Christ before Pilate on the Hildesheim cathedral doors (1015). A devil whispers in Pilate's ear as he judges Jesus.
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A depiction of Christ before Pilate from a thirteenth-century Bible moraliséee
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Nikolai Ge, What is truth?, 1890
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Christ before Pilate, 16th-17th century
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