Is the Babylon of Revelation Rome or Jerusalem? 377 to Rev 17,6, and Jerusalem, not Rome, persecuted the OT prophets and Jesus’ disciples (23). (5) The perfect symmetry between Rev 17-18 and Rev 21 suggests that Babylon (Rev 17-18) is the symmetrical opposite of the holy Jerusalem (Rev 21) and, as such, is the terrestrial and corrupt Jerusalem (24). A third group of objections comes from the details of Rev 17: (6) The head wounded by the sword (13,14) or the Beast that “was, but is not” (17,8) cannot be identified with the Nero redivivus and redux, because such legend is posterior to the emperor Trajan (25). (7) The seven mountains (eJpta; o[rh) of Rev 17,9 cannot be interpreted as the seven hills of Rome, because Rome’s hills are called lovfoi by Greek writers, not o[rh, and Rome is always called eptalofo", never eJptavoro" (26). J v (8) The seven kings of Rev 17,9-10 cannot be interpreted as seven of the Roman emperors, because the counting is unsuccessful, either beginning from Julius Caesar, or Augustus, or Caligula, or Nero etc., and even omitting one, or two, or all the three emperors of the year 69 A.D., Galba, Otho and Vitellius (27). (23) Cf. MASSYNGBERDE FORD, Revelation, 286, 288 (“It was Jerusalem, not Rome, who slew the prophets”, “Jerusalem was traditionally the murderer of the prophets; cf. Matt 23,29-39”); A.J. BEAGLEY, The ‘Sitz im Leben’ of the Apocalypse with Particular Reference to the Role of Church’s Enemies (Berlin – New York 1987) 94: “[Rev 17,16 and 18,14] apply[] to Jerusalem more than to Rome… owe much to (…) Jesus’ denunciation of scribes and Pharisees and of Jerusalem which murders the prophets (Matt 23,29-38)”. (24) MASSYNGBERDE FORD, Revelation, 286. (25) BEAGLEY, The ‘Sitz im Leben’ of the Apocalypse, 74: “The view that Nero would actually return from the dead is of later origin, from the period following the death of Trajan, when Nero would have been close to 80 years old and could no longer easily be believed to be still alive”. It must be said, however, that a self- styled Nero redux appeared exactly in Asia Minor in 69 A.D., according to Tacitus, Hist. 2,1. (26) E. LUPIERI, L’Apocalisse di Giovanni (Milano 1999) 271: “Il termine o[ro" non è mai usato, nella letteratura greca anteriore a Giovanni, per indicare i ‘colli’ di Roma, per i quali è di solito usato il termine lovfo", anche nel composto eptalofo", tipico della propaganda di età imperiale per definire appunto la Roma J v dai sette colli. Negli autori latini, accanto a colles, troviamo anche montes e, nei poeti, arces, ma il fenomeno non sembra avere parallelo in greco”. (27) DE WATER, “Reconsidering the Beast from the Sea”, 254: “In a relentless effort to identify it with the pagan empire, many have attempted to line up its seven heads and seven horns with various Roman emperors. No one, however, has come up with a convincing match”.