Abstract

Jewish pilgrimage to Jerusalem was a massive phenomenon, especially in the last century of the Temple’s existence – the century that began with Herod the Great’s rise to power and ended with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 ce (Safrai 1981; Goodman 2007: 59–67; Hezser 2011: 374–388). This was a century in which, between the pax Romana that facilitated travel and Herod’s huge investment in the Temple and the city itself – Jerusalem became “by far the most famous city of the Orient” (Pliny, Natural History 5.70). Pilgrimage to it was safer, easier, and more attractive than ever before (Dyma 2009: 332–337).