Josephus and the Signifying Body

In the midst of the recent resurgence of interest in ancient Jewish and Christian perceptions of the body, Josephus has not yet received sustained attention. This brief article redresses that lack, and argues that Josephus evinces a certain consciousness of the body as cultural signifier. While physiognomics per se are not a keen interest of Josephus, he does portray the bodily in such a way that he signifies to the audience the nobility or otherwise of the actor in his narrative. The topoi and strategies he employs work alongside his more explicit rhetorical strategies to saturate his history with evaluative language and lend eloquence to the corporeal.