Pontius Pilate facts for kids

Pontius Pilate
Prefect of Roman Judaea
Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man"), Antonio Ciseri's depiction of Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem.
Born	unknown
Birthplace	Italia, Roman Empire
Died	c. AD 37
Place of death	Italia, Roman Empire
Consort to	Claudia Procula

Pontius Pilate (/ˌpɒntʃəs ˈpaɪlət/ or /ˌpɒnti.əs ˈpaɪlət/; 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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  Limestone block discovered in 1961 with Pilate's tribute in Latin to Tiberius. The words [...]TIVS PILATVS[...] can be clearly seen on the second line.

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  Bronze prutah minted by Pontius PilateReverse: Greek letters ΤΙΒΕΡΙΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ (of Tiberius Caesar) and date LIS (year 16 = AD 29/30) surrounding simpulum (libation ladle).Obverse: Greek letters ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ (Julia, Caesar's (the Emperor's) (mother – Livia / Julia Augusta)), three bound heads of barley, the outer two heads drooping.

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  Christ before Pilate, Mihály Munkácsy, 1881

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  Nikolai Ge, Christ and Pilate ("What is truth?"), 1890.

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  Christ before Pilate, with Pilate washing his hands

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  Christ before Pilate, with Pilate washing his hands