Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera

Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera (c. 22 BC – AD 40) was a Roman archer of the Cohors I Sagittariorum. He is most notable because of a suggestion (vita di Gesù, Craveri 1966) that he is to be identified with the Roman soldier "Panthera", whom the writer Celsus claimed [ [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/JewishJesus/celsus.html What Celsus said about Jesus' father] ] was the true father of Jesus. All information about Abdes Pantera's life comes from his tombstone, found in Bingerbrück, Germany in 1859.

Life

Abdes Pantera's tombstone was discovered during the construction of a railroad in Bingerbrück. It was part of a Roman grave field which contained several other monuments. It is presently kept in the "Schlossparkmuseum" in Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

The inscription (CIL XIII 7514) on the monument of Abdes Pantera reads::"Tib(erius) Iul(ius) Abdes Pantera":"Sidonia ann(orum) LXII":"stipen(diorum) XXXX miles exs(ignifer?)":"coh(orte) I sagittariorum":"h(ic) s(itus) e(st)"

:Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera:from Sidon, aged 62 years:served 40 years, former standard bearer(?):of the first cohort of archers:lies here

Judging from the text of the monument, Abdes Pantera was born in Sidonia, which is identified with Sidon in Phoenicia, and joined the Cohors I Sagittariorum (first cohort of archers). The meaning of his Syriac name "Abdes" is still disputed. Some scholars believe that it means "servant" (of Isis), while others believe that it was a genuine Syrian name. "Pantera" is the Latin name for panther. He probably obtained the Roman names Tiberius Iulius when receiving Roman citizenship after completing 25 years of service during the reign of emperor Tiberius between 19 and 37. The Cohors I Sagittariorum was stationed in Iudaea until 9, and in Bingen between 40 and 70. He served 40 years, was probably the standard bearer (signifer) of his cohort and was buried at the age of 62 in Germania Superior.

Jesus connection

The alleged connection to Jesus derives from the interpretation of a single statement by Celsus, an anti-Christian Greek philosopher quoted by Origen in "Contra Celsum". According to Origen, Celsus wrote:

:when she (Mary) was pregnant she was turned out of doors by the carpenter to whom she had been betrothed, as having been guilty of adultery, and that she bore a child to a certain soldier named Panthera.

A figure known as Yeshu ben Pandera is mentioned in the Tosefta, a secondary collection of Jewish oral law. Yeshu (Joshua) is Hebrew for Jesus. However there were many persons with the name of Yeshu. cite book| author = Claudia Setzer| title = Jewish Responses to Early Christians: History and Polemics, 30-150 C.E| publisher = Fortress Press| id = ISBN 080062680X]

The link between Celsus's Panthera and Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera was first suggested in Marcello Craveri's 1966 book "La vita di Gesù". [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20071222222525/http://members.fortunecity.de/bingium/grabstein.html Thesis in German (link from internet archive)] ] The connection depends on the assumption that Celsus' information about Jesus' illegitimacy was correct, and so a soldier with this name, living at the right period, might be the father. Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera's career would place him in Palestine as a young man around the time of Jesus' conception.cite book| author = Tabor, James D. | title = The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity| publisher = Simon & Schuster | year = 2006| id = ISBN 0743287231]

Scholars note that Celsus was antagonistic towards Christianity and there could have been a satirical connection between "Panther" and the word "Parthenon" meaning virgin.cite book| author = John Dominic Crossan | title = The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth| publisher = HarperOne | year = 2007| id = ISBN 0061430706] fact

References

* P.Haupt/S.Hornung, "Ein Mitglied der Heiligen Familie? Zur Rezeption eines römischen Soldatengrabsteines aus Bingerbrück", Kr. Mainz-Bingen. In: "Archäologische Informationen" 27/1, 2004, S.133-140.
* Marcello Craveri, "La vita di Gesù", Feltrinelli, Milano, 1966, 466 pp
* Origenes Adamantius, "Contra Celsum", AD 248

External links

* [http://www.romanarmy.com/cms/component/option,com_imagebase/task,view/cid,37/Itemid,94/ The tombstone and inscription]
* [http://members.fortunecity.de/bingium/grabstein.html Thesis in German]