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Plot Outline
In the Roman province of Judaea in ad 26, the new tribune, Messala,
arrives from Rome with his lieutenant, Drusus, to take command of the
garrison at Jerusalem. While his father was governor, Messala grew up in
the city and now returns to his childhood home with new military authority
and adult ambitions. He replaces the weary Sextus, the previous commander,
who briefs Messala on the many problems of the troublesome
city: the people are “drunk with religion,” and there are wild men preaching
in the desert, feeding the fever for a Messiah who will lead them to “an
anti-Roman paradise.” Messala is confident he can restore order with the
help of the new incoming governor, Valerius Gratus. A centurion arrives
to tell Messala he has a visitor: Judah Ben-Hur, a local aristocrat, and
Messala’s close boyhood companion, arrives to pay his respects. In the
long spear-studded armory room, the old friends share a warm embrace
and reminisce fondly about the times of their youth, agreeing that they
are “still close in every way.” Messala asks Judah for his help in managing
the rebellious people of Jerusalem, but when Judah suggests withdrawing
the Roman legions, Messala scoffs at the idea and praises the power and
destiny of Roman civilization. Messala warns Judah that the people of
Judaea are in danger if they do not obey Rome, and Judah promises to
speak out against violence.
The next day, Messala visits the villa of the Hur family, where he enjoyed
many days as a boy. There to greet him are Judah’s mother, Miriam,
and his sister, Tirzah, who has harbored romantic feelings for Messala
since she was a girl. Messala flirts with the lovely Tirzah, and gives her
a gift: a gem-studded brooch from Libya. After regaling them with tales
of his military campaigns, Messala is led out to the stables, where Judah
gives him a fine Arabian horse. Messala asks Judah if he has thought about
their earlier discussion, and when Judah replies that he has spoken to a
few men, Messala insists on knowing the names of those who are against
Roman rule. An intense argument ensues, where Messala invites Judah to
be a collaborator in Roman rule, but Judah refuses to betray his people.
Messala demands to know whether Judah is for him or against him, so
when the answer comes, “If that is the choice, then I am against you,”
Messala storms away from the villa. Soon after, Judah meets a caravan
with his trading goods from Antioch led by Simonides, his chief steward.
Simonides has also brought Esther, his daughter by a slave woman in the
house of Hur, to ask her master’s permission to marry. When Judah sees
Esther, her tranquil beauty captivates him, and he grants Esther her freedom
60 BEN-HUR (1959)