Populus Liber
* historical figure
() deceased
Priestesses
Aliyah: (16 CE) the youngest of the priestesses, Aliyah ran away from home rather than have her bat mitzvah. (17)
Aurelia: (c. 11 BCE) the assistant chief healer, who hails from Egypt. (44)
Claudia: (c. 9 BCE) one of the priestesses who has mixed Roman and Jewish blood. (24)
Hadas: (10 CE) chief healer; the only Gentile[1] the Jews will see. (23)
Julia: (5 CE) High Priestess of the Temple of Isis, Jerusalem and a second generation Jerusalemite.[2] (28)
Livia: (7 CE) the maiden; Julia’s second. Unlike Julia, Livia was born in Rome. (26)
Sabrina: (11 CE) one of the priestesses who has mixed Roman and Jewish blood. (22)
Tatiana: (12 CE) one of the priestesses who has mixed Roman and Jewish blood. (21)
Ziva: (6 CE) priestess who is best at interpreting dreams.[3] (27)
Romans
*Pontius Pilatus: (c. 21 BCE) a member of the Pontii clan, Pilatus was the Roman prefect in charge of Judea from 26 – 36 CE.[4] (53)
*Drusilla Claudia Procula: (9 BCE) his wife, a distant relation of Emperor Tiberius.[5] (47)
Mihalis: Claudia’s chamberlain.
Caius: Claudia’s master of the wardrobe.
Calista: Claudia’s slave in charge of cosmetics.
Nadia: Claudia’s jeweler.
Melinda: Claudia’s hairstylist.
Mikel: administrator in the prefect’s absence.
Jacobus: centurion in the prefect’s personal guard.
Lucius: a scribe who works for Domus Pilatus.
Constantina: wife of Lucius.
Analenya: (c. 9 BCE) chief priestess of Jerusalem’s College of Vestals. (32)
Gaia Julia Gregoria: Julia’s full Roman name.
Gaia Minerva Claudia: (11 BCE – c. 33 CE) Julia’s mother. If Minerva is still alive, she has probably moved back to Rome. (49)
(Gaia Paulina Severide): (45 BCE – c. 7 CE) Julia’s grandmother, who got the format of her surname changed after rendering great services to the Old Republic. Paulina retired in Jerusalem at age 45.[6] (83)
Jews
*Yeshua ben Miriam: (1 BCE – 33 CE) teacher and healer who stirs the interest of the Sanhedrin. (33)
*Caiaphas: (26 BCE) high priest and leader of the Sanhedrin. (64)
*Mary Magdalene: (10 CE) follower of Yeshua, sometimes known as the thirteenth disciple. (23)
[1] Hadas is culturally a Jew, but since she joined the Temple of Isis, she has been considered a Gentile.
[2] Like Hadas, Julia is Jewish only by descent.
[3] A fourth Jew-to-Gentile.
[4] I could not find any historical information referring to the ages of Pontius and Claudia, so I set them for the purposes of this novel.
[5] Claudia has been referred to biblically and historically as “Claudia Procula”. It is unknown if she had a prenomen.
[6] Formerly “Gaia Paulina Severina”.
