Masada Revisited by Arthur Ziffer

Author:Arthur Ziffer [Ziffer, Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781462074389
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2011-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

SCENE 8

At rise: The next evening, after the Romans have captured Masada. The Roman commander, Flavius Silva, his second in command, Tiberius Julius Alexander, and Elazar ben Yair, commander of Masada, who has been taken alive, are talking.

SILVA

(Looking at ben Yair.) All the women and children were dead when we entered the stronghold, except for the two women and five children who hid in a cave. Why was that?

BEN YAIR

The men decided to dispatch their families so that none would be taken alive and suffer your notorious Roman cruelty, like the women being repeatedly raped and then they, if they were still alive, and their children sold into slavery to work in mines somewhere and never again see the light of day.

SILVA

What else would you expect? You kept us here for three years and killed over a thousand legionnaires before we finally won.

BEN YAIR

Why did you besiege us? We were no threat to Rome.

SILVA

Masada was the last Jewish stronghold, and it was necessary for Roman honor to conquer you.

BEN YAIR

So it was necessary for us to make sure our wives and children would not fall into your clutches by dispatching them, and then all the men fight and kill as many Romans legionnaires as they could.

TIBERIUS

Well you certainly did that.

SILVA

It is interesting that Rome has had the most problems at the two furthest ends of the empire, namely Britain in the West and Judaea here in the East, and I have been called upon to fight in both places.

TIBERIUS

Because you are Rome’s greatest general.

SILVA

Speaking of generals, and much as I regret the heavy toll you people took on us today, that was a magnificent defense you Jews put on.

TIBERIUS

Yes, you had a tight but expanding half-ring of swordsman around our breach in your wall and we could not get into formation and use our usual tactics, and our legionnaires were slaughtered as they came through the breach. Then when your half-ring had expanded enough under pressure that we finally could break through, your men quickly retreated in good order to the higher ground of a palace area where there were prepared stockpiles of bows and arrows as well as archers that covered the retreat; and your men’s skill with the bow and arrow continued the slaughter of us Romans. I have never seen such deadly accuracy.

BEN YAIR

Well, for one, we had three years to practice while you built your ramp to get up here; and, furthermore, during the time of the Maccabees, we Jews were known as the “People of the Bow.”

SILVA

I noticed that besides the men, you had some women who shot at us with the bow and arrow.

BEN YAIR

Yes, there were five women, expert as men with the bow and arrow, to be sure a little lighter bow than what the men use, except for one who was so strong she could shoot with the men’s heavier bow, who indicated that they wanted to fight with the men. Although these women started out on the palace level with the archers and were not part of the original half-ring around the breach.

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