Section CXVIII. HEROD'S POLICY AND REIGN
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 19:1, 2a] Now when the war about Actium broke out, Herod prepared to come to the assistance of Antony, but he was treacherously hindered from sharing the dangers of Antony by Cleopatra, for she persuaded Antony to intrust the war against the Arabians to Herod. This plan, however, proved of advantage to Herod, for he defeated the army of the Arabians, although it offered him strong resistance.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 20:1] Now Herod was immediately concerned about his entire fortunes because of his friendship with Antony, who had been defeated at Actium by Caesar [Augustus]. Herod, however, resolved to face the danger: so he sailed to Rhodes where Caesar was then staying, and came to him without his diadem and in the dress and guise of a private person, but in the spirit of a king. And he concealed nothing of the truth, but spoke straight out as follows: "O Caesar, I was made king of the Jews by Antony. I confess that I have been useful to him, nor will I conceal this added fact, that you would certainly have found me in arms, and so showing my gratitude to him, had not the Arabians hindered me. I have been overcome with Antony, and sharing the same fortune as his, I have laid aside my diadem. Now I have come to you fixing my hopes of safety upon your virtue, and I ask that you will consider how faithful a friend, and not whose friend, I have been."
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 20:2] Caesar answered him as follows: "Nay, you shall not only be safe, but you shall reign more firmly than before, for you are worthy to reign over many subjects because of the steadfastness of your friendship. Endeavor to be equally constant in your friendship to me in the hour of my success, since I have the brightest hopes because of your noble spirit. I therefore assure you that I will confirm the kingdom to you by decree. I will also endeavor to do you some further kindness hereafter, that you may not miss Antony."
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 20:3b-4a] After this, when Caesar went to Egypt through Syria, Herod received him lavishly and royally. It was, therefore, the opinion both of Caesar and his soldiers that Herod's kingdom was too small a return for what he had done. For this reason, when Caesar had returned from Egypt, he added to Herod's other honors, and also made an addition to his kingdom by giving him not only the country which had been taken from him by Cleopatra, but also Gadara, Hippos, and Samaria, and also the coast cities Gaza, Anthedon, Joppa, and Straton's Tower. He also made him a present of four hundred Gauls as a body-guard, which had before belonged to Cleopatra. Moreover he added to his kingdom Trachonitis and the adjacent Batanea, and the district of Auranitis.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:13] Now Herod had a body suited to his soul and was ever a most excellent hunter, in which sport he generally had great success owing to his skill in riding, for in one day he once captured forty wild beasts. He was also a warrior such as could not be withstood. Many also marvelled at his skill in his exercises when they saw him throwing the javelin and shooting the arrow straight to the mark. In addition to these advantages of mind and body, fortune was also very favorable to him, for he seldom failed in war, and when he failed, he was not himself the cause, but it happened either through the treachery of some one or else through the rashness of his own soldiers.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:1b, 4a] Herod also built for himself at Jerusalem in the upper city a palace, which contained two very large and most beautiful apartments to which not even the temple could be compared. One apartment he named Caesareum and the other Agrippeum [after his friends Caesar Augustus and Agrippa]. But he did not preserve their memory by particular buildings only and the names given them, but his generosity also went as far as entire cities. For when he had built a most beautiful wall over two miles long about a city in the district of Samaria and had brought six thousand inhabitants into it and had allotted to them a most fertile territory and in the midst of this city had erected a large temple to Augustus, he called the city Sebaste [from Sebastus, the Greek of Augustus]. And when Augustus had bestowed upon him additional territory, he built there also a temple of white marble in his honor near the fountains of the Jordan. The place is called Panium. The king erected other buildings at Jericho and named them after the same friends. In general there was not any place in his kingdom suited to the purpose that was allowed to remain without something in Augustus's honor.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:6a-8a] And when he observed that there was a city by the seaside that was much decayed, called Straton's Tower, and that the place, because of its fair situation, was capable of great improvements, through his love of honor he rebuilt it all of white stone and adorned it with magnificent palaces and in it showed his natural munificence. For all the seashore between Dora and Egypt (between which places the city is situated) had no good harbor, so that every one who sailed to Phoenicia from Egypt was obliged to toss about in the sea because of the south wind that threatened them. But the king by great expense and liberality overcame nature and built a harbor larger than was the Piraeus, and in its recesses built other deep roadsteads. He let down stones into one hundred and twenty-one feet of water. And when the part below the sea was filled up, he extended the wall which was already above the sea until it was two hundred feet long. The entrance to the harbor was on the north, because the north wind was there the most gentle of all the winds. At the mouth of the harbor on each side were three colossi supported by pillars. And the houses, also built of white stone, were close to the harbor, and the narrow streets of the city led down to it, being built at equal distances from one another. And opposite the entrance of the harbor upon an elevation was the temple of Caesar Augustus, excellent both for beauty and size, and in it was a colossal statue of Caesar Augustus as big as the Olympian Zeus, which it was made to resemble, and a statue of Rome as big at that of Hera at Argos. And he dedicated the city to the province, and the harbor to those who sailed there. But the honor of founding the city he ascribed to Caesar Augustus and accordingly called it Caesarea. He also built other edifices, the amphitheater, the theater, and market-place in a manner worthy of that name.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:9a-10a] Herod was also a lover of his father, for he built as a memorial of his father a city in the finest plain that was in his kingdom [the lower Jordan valley], which had rivers and trees in abundance, and called it Antipatris. He also fortified a citadel that lay above Jericho and was very strong and handsome, and dedicated it to his mother, and called it Cypros. Moreover, he dedicated a tower at Jerusalem to his brother Phasaelus. He also built another city in the valley which leads north from Jericho and named it Phasaelis. As a memorial for himself he built a fortress upon a mountain toward Arabia and called it after himself Herodium.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:11a] And when he had built so much, he showed the greatness of his soul to many foreign cities. He built gymnasiums at Tripolis, Damascus, and Ptolemais. He built a wall around Byblus, and arcades, colonnades, temples, and market-places at Berytus and Tyre, and theaters at Sidon and Damascus. He also built an aqueduct for those Laodiceans, who lived by the seaside; and for the inhabitants of Ascalon he built baths and costly fountains, as also encircling colonnades that were admirable for their workmanship and size.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 22:1a, c-2b] Herod, however, began to be unhappy on account of his wife, of whom he was very fond. For when he attained the kingship, he divorced her whom he had married when he was a private person, a native of Jerusalem by the name of Doris, and married Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus. Because of Mariamne disturbances arose in his family, and that very soon, but chiefly after his return from Rome. For the sake of his sons by Mariamne he banished Antipater, the son of Doris. After this he slew his wife's grandfather, Hyrcanus, when he returned to him out of Parthia, on suspicion of plotting against him. Now of the five children which Herod had by Mariamne two of them were daughters and three were sons. The youngest of these sons died while he was being educated at Rome, but the two elder sons he treated as princes because of their mother's honorable rank and because they had been born after he became king. But what was stronger than all this was the love he bore to Mariamne.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 22:2c-4] But Mariamne's hatred toward him was as great as his love for her. She, indeed, had a just cause for indignation for what he had done, while her freedom of speech was the result of his affection for her. So she openly reproached him for what he had done to her grandfather Hyrcanus and to her brother Aristobulus. For he had not spared this Aristobulus, though he was but a lad, for after he had given him the high priesthood at the age of seventeen, Herod caused him to be slain immediately after he had conferred that honor upon him; for when Aristobulus had put on the holy garments and had approached to the altar at a festival, the assembled multitude wept for joy. Thereupon the lad was sent by night to Jericho, and there in a swimming-pool at Herod's command was held under water by the Gauls until he was drowned. For these reasons Mariamne reproached Herod, and railed at his sister and his mother most abusively. He was dumb on account of his affection for her, but the women were vexed exceedingly at her and charged her with being false to him, for they thought that this would be most likely to arouse Herod's anger. When, therefore, he was about to take a journey abroad, he intrusted his wife to Joseph, his sister Salome's husband. He also gave him a secret injunction that, if Antony should slay him [Herod], Joseph should slay Mariamne. But Joseph without any evil intention and in order to demonstrate the king's love for his wife disclosed this secret to her. And when Herod came back, and when they talked together, he confirmed his love to her by many oaths and assured her that he had never loved any other woman as he had her. "To be sure," said she, "you proved your love to me by the injunctions you gave Joseph when you commanded him to kill me!" When Herod heard that this secret was discovered, he was like a distracted man, and said that Joseph would never have disclosed his injunction unless he had seduced her. Made insane by his passion and leaping out of bed, he ran about the palace in a wild manner. Meantime his sister Salome improved the opportunity for false accusations and to confirm the suspicion about Joseph. So in his ungovernable jealousy and rage Herod commanded both of them to be slain immediately. But as soon as his passion was over, he repented for what he had done; and indeed his passionate desire for Mariamne was so ardent that he could not think that she was dead, but in his distress he talked to her as if she were still alive.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 23:1a, d, 2a, c-3a] Now Mariamne's sons inherited their mother's hate; and when they considered the greatness of Herod's crime toward her, they were as suspicious of their father as of an enemy. This state of theirs increased as they grew to be men. And when Herod had been poisoned with calumnies against them, he recalled Antipater, his son by Doris, from exile as a defence against his other sons, and began to treat him in every way with more distinction than them. But these sons were not able to bear this change, for when they saw Antipater, who was the son of a private woman, advanced, the nobility of their own birth made them unable to restrain their indignation. For Antipater was already publicly named in his father's will as his successor. The two weapons which he employed against his brothers were flattery and calumny, whereby he brought matters privately to such a point that the king thought of putting his sons to death. So Herod dragged Alexander with him as far as Rome and charged him before Augustus with attempting to poison him, but Alexander very ably cleared himself of the calumnies laid against him and brought Augustus to the point of rejecting the accusation and of reconciling Herod to his sons at once. After this the king returned from Rome and seemed to have acquitted his sons of these charges, but still he was not without some suspicion of them, for Antipater, who was the cause of the hatred, accompanied them. But he did not openly show his enmity toward them, for he stood in awe of the one who had reconciled them. But the dissensions between the brothers still accompanied them, and the suspicions they had of one another grew worse.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 24:1a, 27:1, 2a, 6b] Alexander and Aristobulus were much vexed that the privilege of the first-born was confirmed to Antipater, and Antipater was very angry because his brothers were to succeed him. Moreover, Salome incited Herod's cruelty against his sons, for Aristobulus was desirous of bringing her who was his mother-in-law and aunt into the same dangers as himself. So he sent to her to advise her to save herself, and told her that the king was preparing to put her to death. Then Salome came running to the king and informed him of the warning. Thereupon Herod could restrain himself no longer, but caused both of his sons to be bound, and kept them apart from one another, and speedily sent to Augustus written charges against them. Augustus was greatly troubled in regard to the young men, but he did not think he ought to take from a father the power over his sons. So he wrote back to him, and gave him full authority over his sons, and said he would do well to make an examination of the plot by means of a common council consisting of his own kinsmen and the governors of his province, and if his sons were found guilty to put them to death. With these directions Herod complied. Then he sent his sons to Sebaste and ordered them there to be strangled, and his orders being executed immediately, he commanded their bodies to be brought to the fortress of Alexandrium.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 28:1a, 29:2c] But an unconquerable hatred against Antipater rose up in the nation now that he had an indisputable title to the succession, because they well knew that he was the person who had contrived all the calumnies against his brothers. Later he secured permission by means of his Italian friends to go and live at Rome. For when they wrote that it was proper for Antipater to be sent to Augustus after some time, Herod made no delay but sent him with a splendid retinue and a large amount of money, and gave him his testament to carry in which Antipater was inscribed as king.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 30:5a, 31:1a] And after the death of Herod's brother Pheroras, the king devoted himself to examining his son Antipater's steward; and upon torturing him he learned that Antipater had sent for a potion of deadly poison for him from Egypt, and that the uncle of Antipater had received it from him and delivered it to Pheroras, for Antipater had charged him to destroy his father the king, while [Antipater] was at Rome, and so free him from the suspicion of doing it himself. Antipater's freedman was also brought to trial, and he was the concluding proof of Antipater's designs. This man came and brought another deadly potion of the poison of asps and of other serpents, that if the first potion did not accomplish its end, Pheroras and his wife might be armed with this also against the king.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 33:1, 7, 8a] Now Herod's illness became more and more severe because his various ailments attacked him in his old age and when he was in a melancholy state, for he was already almost seventy years of age and was depressed by the calamities that had happened to him in connection with his children, so that he had no pleasure in life even when he was in health. The fact that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, and he preferred to destroy him, not incidentally but by crushing him completely. When letters came from his ambassadors at Rome containing the information that Antipater was condemned to death, Herod for a little while was restored to cheerfulness; but presently being overcome by his pains, he endeavored to anticipate destiny, and this because he was weakened by want of food and by a convulsive cough. Accordingly he took an apple and asked for a knife, for he used to pare his apples before eating them. He then looked around to see that there was no one to hinder him and lifted up his right hand as if to stab himself. But Achiabus, his cousin, ran up to him and, holding his hand, hindered him from so doing. Immediately a great lamentation was raised in the palace, as if the king was dying, and as soon as Antipater heard that, he took courage and with joy in his looks besought his keepers for a sum of money to loose him and let him go. But the head keeper of the prison not only prevented that but also ran and told the king what his design was. Thereupon the king cried louder than his disease could well bear, and immediately sent some of his body-guards and had Antipater slain. He also gave orders to have him buried at Hyrcanium, and altered his testament again and therein made Archelaus, his eldest son, and the brother of Antipas, his successor, and made Antipas tetrarch. Herod, after surviving the death of his son only five days, died, having reigned thirty-four years, since he had obtained control of affairs; but it was thirty-seven years since he had been made king by the Romans.
I. Herod's Character. The character of Herod is comparatively easy to understand, for it is elemental and one that constantly recurs in history. We in America are familiar with this type which is represented by our unscrupulous captains of industry or political bosses—energetic, physically strong, shrewd, relentless toward all who threaten to thwart their plans, skilful in organization, not troubled about the rightness of their methods, provided they escape the toils of the law, able to command men and successfully to carry through large policies. They are not without their personal attractions, for it is instinctive to admire that which is big and able to achieve. Many of them also make permanent contributions to the upbuilding of the nation. Oriental history is also full of analogies: Nebuchadrezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, and in more recent times Mohammed Ali of Egypt. Herod was largely the product of his inheritance and training. His father, Antipater, had taught him to regard the Jews with secret but well-concealed contempt, and to hate Aristobulus and his ambitious sons. His religion was loyalty to Rome, for this meant wealth and success. He delighted in public approval, and his ambition was to be known as a great builder. As is true with this type of man, he was a natural tyrant. Power was his ruling passion, and he regarded with extreme suspicion any who might take it from him. In this respect the contemporary rulers of the Roman Empire set an example which he was not slow to follow. His Idumean and Arabian blood coursed hot and fierce through his veins. It was an age when moral standards were exceedingly low, and Herod never learned to rule his passions. The Oriental institution of the harem gave him full license, and he lived and loved as he fought and reigned—vehemently. Such a man is especially susceptible to the weaknesses and crimes that come from jealousy, and the influences of his family and court intensified these fatal faults.
Herod is not without his attractive qualities. A man who is able to execute on a large scale and win the title Great is never commonplace. In giving Palestine the benefits of a strong and stable government he performed a real service. In his love for Mariamne and for the sons she bore him he was mastered by a passion that for a time ennobled him. Like every man, moreover, who fails to taste the joys of disinterested service for his fellow-men, Herod paid the bitter penalty for his own unrestrained selfishness. He awakes pity rather than denunciation. He never found life, because he never learned to lose his life in the service of his people.
II. His Attitude toward Rome. Herod's policy was loyalty at any cost to the man who at the moment ruled Rome. During the first part of his reign Antony's power on the eastern Mediterranean was still in the ascendancy. Notwithstanding the powerful intrigues of Cleopatra, Herod succeeded in retaining the favor of his patron. When the battle of Actium in 32 B.C. revealed Antony's weakness, Herod forthwith cast off his allegiance, and his treachery was one of the chief forces that drove Antony to suicide. Octavian, who henceforth under the title of Augustus attained to the complete control of Rome, recognized in Herod a valuable servant. Herod's title as king of the Jews was confirmed, and Augustus gradually increased his territory until it included practically all of Palestine with the exception of certain Greek cities along the coast and east of the Jordan. Herod's task was to preserve peace in the land thus intrusted to him and to guard the eastern border of the empire against its Parthian foes. This task he faithfully performed.
III. His Building Activity. The spirit and policy of Augustus were clearly reflected in Herod's court and kingdom. When his position was firmly established, Herod devoted himself to magnificent building enterprises. In Antioch, Athens, and Rhodes, he reared great public buildings. Jerusalem, his capital, was provided with a theatre and amphitheatre, and other buildings that characterize the Graeco-Roman cities of the period. The two crowning achievements of Herod's reign were the rebuilding of Samaria and Caesarea, as its port on the Mediterranean coast. Both of these cities were renamed in honor of his patron Augustus. On the acropolis of Samaria he built a huge Roman temple, the foundations of which have recently been uncovered by the American excavators. The city itself was encircled by a colonnade, over a mile long, consisting of pillars sixteen feet in height. Caesarea, like Samaria, was adorned with magnificent public buildings, including a temple, a theatre, a palace, and an amphitheatre. The great breakwater two hundred feet wide that ran out into the open sea was one of the greatest achievements of that building age. By these acts Herod won still further the favor of Augustus and the admiration of the Eastern world.
IV. His Attitude toward His Subjects. The peace which Herod brought to Palestine was won at the point of the sword. The fear which he felt for his subjects was surpassed only by the fear which he inspired in them. He was unscrupulous and merciless in cutting down all possible rivals. The treacherous murder of Aristobulus III, the grandson of Hyrcanus, and last of all the murder of the inoffensive and maimed Hyrcanus, are among the darkest deeds in Herod's bloody reign. The power of the sanhedrin, the Jewish national representative body, was almost completely crushed. Following the policy of Augustus, Herod developed a complex system of spies, or espionage, so that, like an Oriental tyrant, he ruled his subjects by means of two armies, the spies who watched in secret and the soldiers who guarded them openly. His lavish building enterprises led him to load his people with an almost intolerable burden of taxation, and yet for the common people Herod's reign was one of comparative peace and prosperity. At last they were delivered from destructive wars and free to develop the great agricultural and commercial resources of the land. While outside of Judea Herod built heathen temples, he faithfully guarded the temple of Jerusalem, and was careful not to override the religious prejudices of his subjects. His measures to relieve their suffering in time of famine reveal a generosity which under better environment and training might have made him a benign ruler.
V. The Tragedy of His Domestic Life. The weakness of Herod's character is most glaringly revealed in his domestic life. Undoubtedly he loved the beautiful Maccabean princess, Mariamne, with all the passion of his violent nature. It was a type of love, however, which passes over easily into insensate jealousy. Accordingly, when he left Judea just before the battle of Actium, and later when he went to meet Octavian, he had his wife Mariamne shut up in a strong fortress. Unfortunately Herod, like most despots, was unable to command the services of loyal followers. The discovery of Herod's suspicions toward her aroused the imperious spirit of Mariamne. She was also the victim of the plots of his jealous family. Human history presents no greater tragedy than that of Herod putting to death the one woman whom he truly loved, and later a victim of his own suspicions and of the intrigues of his son Antipater, finally obtaining royal permission to put to death the two noble sons whom Mariamne had borne to him. It is difficult to find in all history a more pitiable sight than Herod in his old age, hated by most of his subjects, misled by the members of his own family, the murderer of those whom he loved best, finding his sole satisfaction in putting to death his son Antipater, who had betrayed him, and in planning in his last hours how he might by the murder of hundreds of his subjects arouse wide-spread lamentation.
VI. Effects of Herod's Reign. One of the chief results of Herod's policy and reign was the complete extinction of the Maccabean house. Herod's motive and method were thoroughly base, but for the Jewish people the result was beneficial, for it removed one of the most active causes of those suicidal rebellions that had resulted disastrously for the Jews and brought them under the suspicion and iron rule of Rome. With his heavy hand Herod also put a stop to the party strife that had undermined the native Jewish kingdom and brought loss and suffering to thousands of Jews. The Pharisees and Sadducees at last were taught the lesson of not resorting to arms, however widely they might differ. By removing the Pharisees from public life Herod directed their energies to developing their ceremonial regulations and to instructing the people. Thus the influence of the Pharisees became paramount with the great majority of the Jews. As Herod extended his rule over all Palestine, he brought into close relations the Jews scattered throughout its territory and so strengthened the bonds of race and religion. In building the temples he also emphasized the ceremonial side of their religious life and centralized it so that even the Jews of the dispersion henceforth paid their yearly temple tax, made frequent pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and regarded themselves as a part of the nation. Furthermore, Herod brought peace and prosperity to his people and gave the Jews an honorable place in the rôle of nations. Thus, while his career is marked by many unpardonable crimes, he proved on the whole an upbuilder and a friend rather than a foe of the Jews.