Olympic Games

Because of this, Herod departed even more from the ancestral customs and gradually corrupted the ancient way of life, which should have been inviolable, through the introduction of foreign practices. For this reason, we suffered considerable harm later, as the religious observances that had previously led the masses to piety were now neglected.

For he first established athletic contests to be celebrated every fifth year in honor of Caesar, and he built a theater in Jerusalem and then a huge amphitheater in the plain. Both were conspicuous for their extravagance but were contrary to the customs of the Jews, for the use and exhibition of such spectacles is not our tradition.

Every five years, he celebrated these festivals in a most splendid and remarkable way, making proclamations throughout the land and calling people together from every nation. The athletes and the rest of those competing for the prizes in these games were invited from every land, drawn by the hope of winning the prizes and the glory of victory. The most prominent people in their fields were assembled for these competitions, for there were very great rewards offered for victory, not only to those who performed in the gymnastic contests but also to those who played music and were referred to as thymelici, and he spared no effort in inducing all the people most famous for such exercises to come to this contest for victory. He also offered rewards of no small sum to those who entered the chariot races, whether they were drawn by two- or four-horse chariots, and to those who rode horses, imitating everything extravagant and magnificent in other nations in his ambition to give the most public show of his grandeur.

Surrounding the theater were inscriptions of the great acts of Caesar and trophies of the nations he had conquered in his wars, all made of the purest gold and silver. Nothing could be subservient to his design—whether precious garments or precious stones set in order—that was not on display during these games. He also supplied many wild beasts, including a large number of lions and other beasts that were either unusually strong or rare. These were supplied either for engaging in combat with one another or to be fought by men condemned to death. Foreigners were greatly surprised by the vast expenditure exhibited and delighted by the great dangers on display, but to the native [Judeans], this amounted to a dissolution of the customs that they venerated so greatly. It also seemed a case of brazen impiety to throw men to wild animals for the delight of spectators, and it seemed a case of no less impiety to exchange [the Judeans’] established practices for such foreign exercises. Yet it was the trophies that vexed the Jews the most, for as they imagined them to be images surrounded by armaments, they were extremely displeased by them, since it was not the custom of their country to pay honors to such images.

Translated by William Whiston, adapted byAaron Samuels.