Amazing images. I like the one with the woman standing by the boy on a donkey.
It might have been a lot busier in Bible times as the Romans were there, and the old Temple I imagine had much going on, in response. A time of business. Of various diverse people in one huge area. Fervour could spread quickly in terms of sending a message. I think it was a hectic time. Guaranteed, there would have been quieter times too. I imagine Our Lady to be more active and gentle-yet-strong so I know what you mean about “grittiness”. I like the statues of her when conveying movement in them, to convey her active faith. I believe Our Lady and the disciples would also have been educated, albeit possibly by remembrence, in the history of their people, Scripture, and been attentive to their religious practices.
Fun fact: unlike in some Jesus films, where Roman soldiers are these omnipresent baddies that will randomly raid villages and confiscate stuff and just start crucifying people left and right, it’s actually likely that the Romans had a minimal presence in the Holy Land at the time. Daily government was actually run by native officials and elders; the Romans preferred staying in the background and stepped in only when there was a threat to public security.
The Galilee was under Antipas’ jurisdiction: he had his own soldiers and he ran his own government. He paid tribute to Rome occasionally, kept things in line by keeping public order and defending his borders, and Rome would grant him some degree of autonomy in return (and some promise of protection against hypothetical enemies). I mean, he minted his own coins - one of the principal signs of ‘independence’. (Note, these coins were bronze rather than silver; essentially, they’re just small change. So the primary purpose of Antipas’ coins was political propaganda: it advertised that he was ‘autonomous’.) So the tax collectors in the Galilee we see in the gospels - such as Matthew/Levi - would actually be working directly for Antipas, rather than Rome as we often imagine. In fact, the ‘hekatontarch’ in Capernaum - whose servant Jesus heals - is probably not a Roman centurion, but an official in Antipas’ army. (Note that John’s closest parallel to the synoptic story of the centurion’s servant is the
royal official’s son.)
It’s kind of like the Soviet Union and its satellite states during the Cold War: Eastern Bloc countries established by the Soviets like East Germany, Hungary, or Poland all had their own ‘independent’ governments. They had to contribute to the Soviet Empire in various ways, but Moscow only intervened directly in these countries only very occasionally, when unrest or civil tumult got out of hand or when a brash government felt too independent. That’s the same tactic Romans used: as long as a client ruler ruled correctly (in Rome’s view), he was left in peace.
Down south in Judaea, daily government was left to Jewish authorities, who acted as the middlemen: for example, in Jerusalem it is the high priest and his circle of advisors. There were a few Roman soldiers in garrisons acting as token lookouts for trouble, but otherwise, cities, Jewish towns and villages were run by Jewish magistrates and elders, according to Jewish law. The Roman prefect only showed up in Jerusalem during the major pilgrimage festivals (such as Passover) to check for any potential unrest; for the rest of the year, he and most of his soldiers are in Caesarea-by-the-(Mediterranean) Sea (
Maritima) with other gentiles. Again, you have here a form of indirect rule: letting the natives run their own affairs.
Speaking of which, the 20s-30s were actually relatively ‘peaceful’. When we think of the 1st century and imagine all those Roman soldiers patrolling the streets, that’s actually a picture that would fit the 50s-60s, when the land was becoming dangerous and Jews were beginning to engage in a massive rebellion against the Romans, more than the time Jesus lived in. There was of course
the threat that some uprising might erupt (it was a sort of tense ‘peace’), but all in all, the first half of the 1st century was relatively better when you compare it to the latter half of the same century. A lot changed in the decade or two after Jesus.
