“Predicting” Cosmic War: The Oniad Sibyl of Oracula Sibyllina 5

In his discussion of the Egyptian-Cyrenean Jewish uprising of 114/115-117 CE, Cassius Dio estimates the Cyrenean Jews killed 220,000 of their neighboring Greeks, with the Egyptian Jews slaying a similar number of Greeks in Egypt. While he likely exaggerated his numbers, scholars do agree that this revolt, known as the Diaspora Revolt, was of no small consequence. Jewish revolutionaries had initial success, overrunning entire Greek communities and cities in its earliest phases, but the tides of war shifted following increased Roman intervention. In subsequent phases, the Roman military, with local Egyptian and Greek aid, virtually eradicated all Jewish life in Egypt and Cyrene. Despite the momentous sociocultural significance of this result, very little is known about the Jewish participants. This presentation will argue that the Jewish pseudo-oracular text, Oracula Sibyllina 5, belongs to one Egyptian Jewish community that participated in the uprising, the Oniad community. This community lived in and around an Egyptian city, Leontopolis, had their own temple, and recognized an ex-Jerusalem high priest, Onias III, as their founder. This presentation will recite Oracula Sibyllina 5 as the Oniad community's interpretation of world history, in light of their initial successes in the uprising, and as their justification for their involvement. In describing the text itself, this presentation will take an intertextual approach, drawing attention to its recontextualization of Greco-Roman myths, rumors involving Roman elites, Roman Sibylline literature, Egyptian oracles, and Jewish material to construct a uniquely Oniad Sibyl. The presentation will close by reflecting on the significance of this cultural engagement for Diaspora Revolt scholarship.