Voting Station

Claudia (Pontius Pilate's Wife)

Please vote to return to collections.

Religious Figure

The Resume

    Unnamed in the Bible; sometimes identified as Claudia Procula or Claudia Procles
    Variously recognized as Saint Procula, Saint Proculla, and Saint Claudia
    According to the Apocryphal book, The Gospel of Nicodemus, was the granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus
    Referenced in only one sentence within the New Testament
    Sent a message to her husband asking him not to condemn Jesus Christ to death, obviously going unheeded (Matthew 27:19)
    Letter reportedly read: 'have nothing to do with that innocent man, because in a dream last night, I suffered much on account of him'
    Portrayed by Claudia Gerini in Mel Gibson's blockbuster, 'The Passion of the Christ' (2004)

Why she might be annoying:

    Biblical art tends to depict her whispering in her husband's ear.
    Barbara 'Mrs. Cleaver' Billingsley portrayed her in 'Day of Triumph.'
    It was not until the early 1600s that scholars started referring to her as Claudia (incidentally, the quintessential name for patrician socialites of Ancient Rome).
    The specifics of her dream are murky, but still made for an awful song in Andrew Lloyd Webber's overrated 'Jesus Christ, Superstar' -- except it was sung by her husband instead.
    She complicated an already difficult dilemma for her husband by urging him to risk a potential riot, and possibly his position and head, over a dream she had.
    Since Jesus was supposed to die for the sins of humanity as part of God's plan, wasn't she throwing a wrench into said plan by trying to obstruct his fate...? (But then, hindsight is 20/20, right?)
    As such, theologians over the centuries have framed her dream as, in fact, a concoction of Satan, who was intent on denying humanity salvation, prompting him to mess around with the head of Pilate's wife.
    Other than that, Mrs. Pilate, how did you enjoy the show? (Or better yet, just how many historical wives are there who tell their husbands not to go the Forum/Theater/Dallas because of their woman's intuition?)

Why she might not be annoying:

    She inspired a poem by Charlotte Bronte.
    A plethora of literature was yielded from a single passage concerning her in the New Testament.
    She may have been referenced by Paul of Tarsus in Corinthians.
    Some accounts contend that she remained in Judea and converted to Christianity in the years following the crucifixion.
    She is recognized as a Saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. (Feast date celebrated on October 27th and June 25th, respectively).
    Some legends explain her insistence on the sparing of Jesus as a result of her gratitude at his having healed her young son's crippled foot.
    A letter in Latin, purportedly sent 'from a little Gallic mountain town,' discovered in 1929, was determined to have been by her hand.
    Jeanne Crain, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Joan Leslie, Hope Lange, and even Angela Lansbury have all played her over the years.
    Little known fact is that she is featured in the famous Antonio Ciseri 'Trial' painting, depicting her husband and Jesus. But, she's usually cropped out of the image (she's off to the far right, and can be seen walking away in disgust).
    She is depicted as caring and sympathetic in Gibson's controversial 'Passion' film, even approaching the Virgin Mary and Magdalene to comfort them with clean sheets to clean Jesus' blood from the street (not documented but a nice touch, nonetheless).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 99 Votes: 47.47% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 19 Votes: 10.53% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 100 Votes: 51.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 192 Votes: 47.40% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 84 Votes: 55.95% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 34 Votes: 67.65% Annoying