The Arch of Titus at Rome and the Fate of the God of Israel

Abstract

There is perhaps no more iconic image in Roman art than the spoils of Jerusalem panel on the arch of Titus at Rome, which memorialises a key moment in Vespasian and Titus’ triumphal parade of 71: the display of cultic vessels from the destroyed Jewish temple. In this paper I suggest that in the eyes of the Romans, the cultic vessels displayed in the spoils panel on the arch of Titus represented the God of Israel, captive and paraded through the streets of Rome. From the Roman point of view the destruction of the Jerusalem temple marked the end of the cult of the Jewish God, who was subjugated to Capitoline Jupiter. Hadrian’s reconstruction and dedication of Jerusalem to Capitoline Jupiter sixty years later represent the culmination of this process. In contrast, Josephus’ writings reaffirm a belief in the continued existence of the God of Israel and the anticipation of an eventual reestablishment of a sacrificial cult in the face of the contrary assumption among the Romans.