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Pontius Pilate


I happened across this short article on what we do and don't know about the historical Pontius Pilate.  Good reading for Holy Saturday evening.

The author notes at the end that authors and artists have always been fascinated by Pilate.  One he doesn't mention--a favorite of mine--is the Swiss author and playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt, who wrote a short early play entitled Pilatus.  Dürrenmatt, who initially hoped to become a painter before turning to writing, also painted the image of Pilate above.  I don't believe there is an English version of the play, however.

The author also mentions various legends about what happened to Pilate, but not my own preferred favorite.  According to one story his corpse eventually found its last resting place in Lake Lucerne, at the base of Mount Pilatus, in Switzerland.  Several years ago, in 2013, my family spent a few weeks in Switzerland during the summer, and we wanted to take a special outing before we left, and also give our children a chance to go up a mountain.  So we took a boat ride across Lake Lucerne and then rode the cogwheel railway--the world's steepest!--up the side of Pilatus.  Our route was in fact the "Golden Round Trip" referred to in the Wikipedia article I linked to a few lines above.  It was quite an experience.


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