Source edition
Philo Judaeus. Opera quae supersunt, Volume 6. Cohn, Leonard; Reiter, Siegfried, editors. Berlin: Reimer, 1915.
Source data
Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a historical narrative depicting the persecution of the Jewish population by Avilius Flaccus, the Roman governor of Egypt, and his subsequent downfall. Although Flaccus initially ruled successfully, anxiety over his position after the emperor's death led him to conspire with local agitators and initiate severe persecutions against the Jews in Alexandria. The hostility quickly escalated from the desecration of synagogues and deprivation of citizenship to brutal plundering and massacres, all condoned by the governor. However, divine justice soon intervened, leading to Flaccus's sudden arrest and banishment to the island of Andros. Stripped of his wealth and power, he fell into despair and was ultimately executed by imperial assassins, serving as a powerful testament to the divine retribution that protects the oppressed.