Executing John the Baptist

[Maiorianus]

Going back to the speculator, the word might actually, a contrario, constitute a hint for the datation of the Gospel. If, as it seems, the equites speculatores of the Praetorian Guard started to be used as imperial bodyguards by Otho (69 CE - and here I think to the discussion of the issue in Rose Mary Sheldon's Intelligence Activities in Ancient Rome) and if Mark refers to a speculator as the bodyguard of a king in order ot be understood by his Latin-speaking audience, this might move us towards the upper limit of the 65-70 CE range.

I find it hard to believe that the new meaning of a Latin word surfaces for the first time in a Greek text, written by someone whose first language was (probably) Aramaic...

Is this really the way it sounds? Then sorry for the confusion. What I meant is:

a. the first clearly recorded employment of Praetorian speculatores as bodyguards starts with Otho;

b. Mark uses spekoulator to mean "bodyguard of a king";

c. We may assume that he's using the term because it was clear to his audience that a speculator was a bodyguard for a senior leader. Should check more carefully if he really was the first one to do so, but even then he was only stating a fact, ie that a speculator in his days was a bodyguard.

By the way, this is not the only Latinism Mark uses and this is why Bible scholars think that he was addressing a Latin-speaking audience. In fact, he also uses kenturion, praitorion (for praetorium), kodrantes (for quadrantes) and a few more.

And we should not forget that one of the few biographical notes we have about Mark is that he was the "interpretor" of Peter. We don't know whether this means that Mark was providing interpretation in Greek/Latin for Peter or only that he "interpreted" his thought by transferring it in his Gospel, but the close association with Peter would point to Mark having been in Rome, so he may well have had first-hand knowledge (and sight) of the Praetorian speculatores in their roles as bodyguards...