DIRECT 17the temple rather than carry through the project. They asked that he
delay until they could send an embassy to Rome. Such an embassy, Petronius knew, would be fatal for himself, so instead of allowing the
Jews to send it he again slowed up the sculptors while he wrote to
Gaius that the delay was occasioned by the desire to make the statue un
usually fine, and by the fear that a war just at harvest time,^54 in case the
Jews revolted, would curtail the supplies for the army.^55
Gaius was furious at the delay, but answered only that Petronius
should proceed at once now that the harvest was gathered.^56 Shortly
afterwards Agrippa, who knew nothing of the whole affair, arrived at
Rome. When Gaius told him the situation he fainted dead away (or
pretended to do so) and was carried to his house. As soon as he recov
ered he wrote a long letter (or Philo writes one for him) protesting
against putting up the statue. In the letter Agrippa recalls the favor and
honor shown the Jews by former emperors, the tested loyalty of the
Jews, the danger of inciting them because of their great numbers
throughout the Empire, and their sensitiveness as shown by their atti
tude toward Pilate's dedicatory shields. He ends with a personal appeal
that Gaius will not carry out what he, Agrippa, must consider an indig
nity to him personally.^57 Gaius was, or feigned to be, moved by this let
ter. He restored Herod Agrippa to favor and dispatched a letter to Pe
tronius telling him not to disturb the temple, but unfortunately adding
that any people who wanted to erect statues or altars to him anywhere
except in Jerusalem itself might do so, and Petronius was to protect
them from Jewish interference. Sane and generous a compromise as this
must have appeared to Romans, it only threw the whole matter back to
the riot of Jamnia and promised endless fighting in Palestine. Actually
fresh trouble so soon occurred that Gaius quickly lost patience and
again ordered that his statue, this time one to be made in Rome, be set
up in the Jewish temple. He planned to have this done while he was on
a journey to Egypt.^58
Here there appears to be another hiatus, for §§339-348 are a general
summary of Gaius' fickle character which has little to do with the fore
going. Indeed this section has likewise no immediate connection with
what follows. The story of Philo's own embassy was lost from sight
- Josephus makes it the time of planting: Antiq., XVIII, 272 (viii, 3); Bf, II, 200 (x, 5).
- Legat., 224-253. 56. Ibid., 254-260. 57. Ibid., 276-329.
- Ibid., 330-338.