Masada myth

The Masada myth is the early Zionist retelling of the siege of Masada, and an Israeli national myth. The Masada myth depicts the Zealot defenders of Masada as national heroes in the First Jewish–Roman War, who killed themselves rather than surrendering to the Roman army. Josephus, the only written source for the event, had the Sicarii as the defenders of Masada using words to describe them that have been translated as "bandits", "terrorists" and "murderers", and recorded them killing their fellow Jews rather than fighting Romans. Josephus does describe a mass suicide, though many modern scholars doubt this account. Skeletons at the site were not all found in a single location as he described it. American Archaeologist Jodi Magness has written archaeology cannot prove or disprove the account of Josephus because the human remains found can be interpreted differently.

The modern myth version first emerged and was promoted in Mandatory Palestine and later Israel. Despite the modern academic consensus, popular accounts by figures like Yigal Yadin and Moshe Pearlman have perpetuated the myth, influencing public perception. In the myth narrative, the defenders of Masada were depicted as national symbols of heroism, freedom, and national dignity. This narrative emphasized Josephus's account, highlighting the defenders' courage and resistance while omitting the details of their violence against Jews, as well as certain elements of their final mass suicide. The early Zionist settlers wished to reconnect with ancient Jewish history, and thus used the Masada myth narrative to establish a sense of national heroism and to promote patriotism. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, and the reported role of a poem about Masada in inspiring the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the story's themes of resilience and isolation resonated with and circulated in Israeli public discourse, youth movements, and film media.

The widespread embrace of the Masada myth in Israel started waning in the late twentieth century. Israelis advocating for compromise in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process associated Masada's symbolism as an uncompromising last stand with right-wing nationalism, and the story became less prominent as a broad national symbol. The Masada myth's central role in Israeli collective memory has puzzled scholars due to its structural differences from other national myths: Josephus's account was not an origin myth, did not provide formative context, and was not heroic in nature. It has been described as "an extreme example of the construction of national memory", as it had no prior basis in Jewish collective memory.