at Antioch. Pontius Pilate replaces Valerius Gratus as procurator (prefect), and releases Judah's mother and sister from imprisonment in a Roman prison. Thord is a Northman hired by Messala to kill Judah; he double-crosses Messala and lets Judah live. Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Christ, and King of the Jews; He is the son of Mary. Mary is the mother of Jesus and wife of Joseph of Nazareth. Joseph of Nazareth is a Jewish carpenter, husband of Mary, and the foster father of Jesus Christ. John the Nazarite is a disciple of Christ. Major themes Ben-Hur is a tale of vengeance and spiritual forgiveness that includes themes of Christian redemption and God's benevolence through the compassion of strangers. A popular theme with readers during Gilded Age America, when the novel was first published, was the idea of achieving prosperity through piety. In Ben-Hur, this is portrayed through Judah's rise from poverty to great wealth, the challenges he faces to his virtuous nature, and the rich rewards he receives, both materially and spiritually, for his efforts. Style Wallace's adventure story is told from the perspective of Judah Ben-Hur. On occasion, the author speaks directly to his readers. Wallace understood that Christians would be skeptical of a fictional story on Christ's life, so he was careful not to offend them in his writing. Ben-Hur "maintains a respect for the underlying principles of Judaism and Christianity". In his memoirs, Wallace wrote: Wallace only used dialogue from the King James Bible for Jesus's words. He also created realistic scenes involving Jesus and the main fictional character of Judah, and included a detailed physical description of the Christ, which was not typical of 19th-century biblical fiction. In Wallace's story, Judah "saw a face he never forgot ... the face of a boy about his own age, shaded by locks of yellowish bright chestnut hair; a face lighted by dark-blue eyes, at the time so soft, so appealing, so full of love and holy purpose, that they had all the power of command and will." The historical novel is filled with romantic and heroic action, including meticulously detailed and realistic descriptions of its landscapes and characters. Wallace strove for accuracy in his descriptions, including several memorable action scenes, the most famous of which was the chariot race at Antioch. Wallace devoted four pages of the novel to a detailed description of the