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The Antagonists

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This is a great book well written and well researched even if it's just fiction. The history of two great peoples the Romans and the Jew's come to life here in a vivid walk thru what happened in 73 AD in Judea. The characters are as real you and me and you can see yourself standing along side them as the story unfolds. Read this it's great.

This is a historical character study of Eleazar Ben Yair and Flavius Silvia the opposing leaders respectively of the Siracii subgroup of the Jewish Zealots and the Roman Procurator of Judea and General of the elite Xth Roman Legion during the seige of Masada. Gann relied on the works of Josephus and archeological research to create his novel. We learn that contrary to popular belief there were survivors: an old woman and 5 children(including the son of Eleazar) under the age of 5. Josephus' writing comes from his interview with a survivor.

The back story is that the fortress had been built by Herod for his own use in the event of a Jewish revolt. After Herod's reign ended, the Zealots escaped Jerusalem and occuped Masada for 3 years prior to the seige. From there they conducted raids against the Romans until the Emperor Vespesian directed Flavius Silva to subdue the nuisance.

Gann picks up the story during the building of the ramp designed to access and penetrate the ramparts of Masada and most of the action here is during its building. Silva from a patrician Roman family is a widower who plans to retire to his newly constructed estate in Rome once the inevitable is accomplished. Delays in defeating Masada bring the Emperor's political pressure via Pomponius Falco a manipulative noble sent to Silva's camp. For his part Silva thinks the Emperor doesn't understand the complexity of the situation (sound familar?) and considers Falco an intruder.

Other characters to the story include Sheva a Jewess who is Silva's mistress, Abigal an old woman to whom Eleazar goes for advice, Ezra a warrior who surrenders to the Romans during the building of the ramp with the intention of facilitating Roman Legionnaires' disloyalty due to the extreme heat of the area.

The story alternates between Silva's viewpoint and Eleazar's. Each discusses his strategy with advisors. A late night negotiation between the two antagonists on the serpentine path to the top of Masada comes to naught.

Gann's excellent writing created an engrossing story. I was attracted to it because it is outside his normal subjects of flying and sailing. When published, the book was so well received that it was adapted to a movie starring Peter O'Toole and Peter Strauss.

Once the siege is completed Silva disappears from history, while a visit to Masada is part of an Isreali soldier's training.

Having seen the movie, "MASADA" starring Peter O'Toole, I wanted to read the book on which it was based. The author obviously thoroughly researched the period & does an amazing job of taking us to the site of both the Roman camp known for it's abuse, excesses,inefficiency and debauchery. The Jewish group challenged with the need to remain united, survived in an amazing way largely by the wisdom of their leader [maybe it was true in reality...]. The author doesn't spare us crudeness when applicable. He brought out aspects of Roman life which would never have occurred to me, such as reading famous Greek literature when they had time. Miriam Maranzenboim

Theres an old adage that victors write the history books. "The Antagonists" is a tale that confirms that old adage. Everyone has heard of the mighty Roman Empire that nearly conquered the world and imposed its rule wherever it went. What many people dont know that historians do is that Romans went to the Holy Land (Israel) and brutally subjugated its people, the Jews. They destroyed Jerusalem, massacred entire villages of thousands as symbols of Roman power, and lined the roads of Israel with crucifixes on which corpses were cruelly hung. In the midst of this Roman killing, some people would not give up no matter the cost and "The Antagonists" is their story, the story of a small group who escaped to a fortress known as Masada.

Masada itself is the name of a fortress built in Northern Israel by king Herod and it was old before the time of Jesus (It was built sometime between 37 to 4 B.C.E.). When the Romans came to Israel, the Jews had mixed opinions about how to deal with the Roman Empire. Thought was split between quite a few groups. The basic differences were between people who welcomed the Roman Empire because of the prosperity it could possibly bring and those who condemned the Roman Empire for its cultural depravity (Orgies, gladiatorial combat, sacrifice, etc.). Eventually the Romans made the decision easy by imposing crippling taxes on the people and religious oppression. This was the straw that broke the camels back and all the Jews no matter their political differences united. Unfortunately, their unification happened too late. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and razed the Great Temple from the Bible. The survivors fled north to a fortress known as Masada.

"The Antagonists," the book by Ernest Gann, is also known by the title Masada, tells the story of this small group of 960 Jews who defied the Roman Empire by refusing to give in to Roman demands. It tells the story of Elazer Ben Yair, leader of the Jews, and Flavius Silva, general of Romes elite Tenth Legion. It tells the story of how Elazer and his small group decided to commit suicide when it became apparent the Roman army would soon breach the walls of Masada. This mass suicide rocked the ancient world, and many peoples oppressed by the Roman Empire took heart in the symbol of a small people who never gave in. The alternative to giving in facing the fortresss defenders was hardly more attractive than death. Once the Romans defeated them, the men could expect to be sold off as slaves or crucified, and the women would be condemned to slavery and prostitution.

Much of the basis of the story is historical thanks to the saved accounts of a Jew turned traitor to Masadas defenders: Flavius Josephus. Josephus as he is better known wrote a history book known as The Jewish War that the Roman Emperor Vespasian had commissioned. As the adage goes, victors write the history books, and Vespasian commissioned Flavius to write a history book that extolled his accomplishments as Roman Emperor including the conquering of Masada. For the Romans, commissioning a person who had actually witnessed the history he was extolling was highly unusual. Most Roman history books were written by men who lived hundreds of years after the events being retold. The Jewish Wars tells the tale of the siege of Masada from the Romans vantage, but includes details that, to this day, have been useful to archeologists exploring Masadas ruins. Ernest Gann used The Jewish Wars in addition to other references to write his historical fiction novel of the siege of Masada.

I recommend reading Yigal Yadins (one of the archeologists who has explored Masada) book Masada, Flavius Josephus The Jewish Wars, as well as trying to rent the 1981 ABC television series Masada, which starred Peter OToole. The screenplay of the 1981 ABC television series was made using Masada or "the Antagonists," the novel by Ernest Gann. The television series was very well done and I enjoyed it very much.

I highly recommend the novel Masada or The Antagonists as it is also known. It is a wonderful novel of fascinating historical fiction.

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan