Mitleid wecken im flavischen Rom? Zur Plausibilisierung einer Intention des Josephus im Bellum Judaicum

In his historical work, the Bellum Judaicum, Josephus uses oratorical motifs for awakening pity in the ancient courtroom (and as discussed in ancient theories of tragedy) in order to stage the suffering that overcame the Jews as the (for the most part) undeserved fate of a noble people with whom readers can identify. On several levels, this essay argues that such a goal is plausible for a broad audience in Flavian Rome and is fundamentally connected with other intentions of the Bellum intended to be understood in the context of the development of spectacle and theater.