Now Herod was a very active man and soon found a field for his energy.
When, therefore, he found that Hezekias, leader of the robbers, overran the adjoining parts of Syria with a great band of men, he caught him and slew him and many more of the robbers. This exploit was especially pleasing to the Syrians, so that songs were sung in Herod"s commendation both in the villages and in the cities, because he had secured peace for them and had preserved their possessions.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 11:1, 4]
At this time a mighty war arose among the Romans after the treacherous murder of Caesar by Ca.s.sius and Brutus. Accordingly Ca.s.sius came into Syria and a.s.sumed command of the army, and went about exacting tribute of the cities to such a degree that they were not able to endure it. During the war between Ca.s.sius and Brutus on the one side, against the younger Caesar (Augustus) and Antony on the other, Ca.s.sius and Murcus gathered an army out of Syria. And because Herod had furnished a great part of the necessities, they made him procurator of all Syria and gave him an army of infantry and cavalry. Ca.s.sius promised him also that after the war was over he would make him king of Judea. But it so happened that the power and hopes of his son became the cause of Antipater"s destruction. For inasmuch as a certain Malichus was afraid of this, he bribed one of the king"s cup-bearers to give a poisoned potion to Antipater. Thus he became a sacrifice to Malichus"s wickedness and died after the feast.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 11:6, 12:3]
Herod, however, avenged himself upon Malichus. And those who hitherto did not favor him now joined him because of his marriage into the family of Hyrca.n.u.s, for he had formerly married a wife from his own country of n.o.ble blood, Doris by name, who bore to him Antipater. Now he planned to marry Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus and the grandson of Hyrca.n.u.s.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 12:4, 5]
But when Caesar and Antony had slain Ca.s.sius near Philippi and Caesar had gone to Italy and Antony to Asia, the great men of the Jews came and accused Phasaelus and Herod that they held the government by force and that Hyrca.n.u.s had nothing more than an honorable name. Herod appeared ready to answer this accusation, and having made Antony his friend by the large sums of money which he gave him, influenced him not to listen to the charges spoken against him by enemies. After this a hundred of the princ.i.p.al men among the Jews came to Antony at Daphne near Antioch and accused Phasaelus and Herod. But Ma.s.sala opposed them and defended the brothers with the help of Hyrca.n.u.s. When Antony had heard both sides, he asked Hyrca.n.u.s which party was best fitted to govern. Hyrca.n.u.s replied that Herod and his party were the best fitted. Therefore Antony appointed the brothers tetrarchs, and intrusted to them the rulership of Judea.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 13:1a, Jos. Ant. XIV, 13:10]
Now two years after, when Barzaphanes, a Parthian governor, and Pacorus, the king"s son, had captured Syria, they were persuaded by the promise of a thousand talents and five hundred women to bring back Antigonus to his kingdom and to turn Hyrca.n.u.s out of it. Thus Antigonus was brought back into Judea by the king of the Parthians, and received Hyrca.n.u.s and Phasaelus as prisoners. Being afraid that Hyrca.n.u.s, who was under the guard of the Parthians, might have his kingdom restored to him by the mult.i.tude, Antigonus cut off his ears and thereby guarded against the possibility that the high priesthood would ever come to him again, inasmuch as he was maimed, and the law required that this dignity should belong to none but those who had all their members intact. Phasaelus, perceiving that he was to be put to death, dashed his head against a great stone and thereby took away his own life.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 13:7, 8c, 14:1b, 2]
Herod, however, went off by night, taking those nearest related to him. As soon as the Parthians perceived it, they pursued after him, but when at every a.s.sault he had slain a great many of them, he came to the stronghold of Masada, and there he left eight hundred of his men to guard the women, and provisions sufficient for a siege; but he himself hastened to Petra in Arabia. He was not able, however, to find any friendship among the Arabians, for their king sent to him and commanded him to turn back immediately from the country. So when Herod found that the Arabians were his enemies, he turned back to Egypt. And when he came to Pelusium, he could not obtain pa.s.sage from those who lay with the fleet. Therefore he besought their captains to let him go with them. So out of respect for the fame and rank of the man they carried him to Alexandria. And when he came to the city, he was received with great splendor by Cleopatra, who hoped he might be persuaded to be the commander of her forces in the expedition she was about to undertake. But he rejected the queen"s entreaty and sailed for Rome, where first of all he went to Antony and laid before him the calamities that had overtaken himself and his family.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 14:4]
Thereupon Antony"s pity was aroused because of the change that had come about in Herod"s affairs, so he then resolved to have him made king of the Jews. Herod found Caesar even more ready than Antony because he recalled the campaigns through which he had gone with Herod"s father, Antipater, in Egypt, and his hospitable treatment and good will in all things.
Besides he recognized the energy of Herod. Accordingly he called the senate together. There Messala, and after him Atratinus, introduced Herod to them and gave a full account of his father"s merits and of his own good will to the Romans. Antony also came in and told them that it was to their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king. So they all gave their votes for it. And when the senate disbanded, Antony and Caesar went out with Herod between them. Antony also made a feast for Herod on the first day of his reign.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 15:3a,b, 4, 16:1]
Herod then sailed from Italy and came to Ptolemais. And as soon as he had a.s.sembled a considerable army of foreigners and of his own countrymen, he marched through Galilee against Antigonus. The number of his forces increased each day as he went along, and all Galilee with few exceptions joined him. After this Herod took Joppa, and then he marched to Masada to free his kinsmen. Then he marched to Jerusalem, where the soldiers who were with the Roman general Silo joined his own, as did many from the city because they feared his power. Herod did not lie idle, but seized Idumea and held it with two thousand footmen and four hundred hors.e.m.e.n. He also removed his mother and all his kinsmen, who had been at Masada, to Samaria. And when he had settled them securely, he marched to capture the remaining parts of Galilee, and to drive away the garrisons of Antigonus.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 17:1]
In the meantime Herod"s fortunes in Judea were not in a favorable condition. He had left his brother Joseph with full authority, but had commanded him to make no attacks against Antigonus until his return. But as soon as Joseph heard that his brother was at a great distance, he disregarded the command he had received and marched toward Jericho with five cohorts. But when his enemies attacked him in the mountains and in a place where it was difficult to pa.s.s, he was killed as he was fighting bravely in the battle, and all the Roman cohorts were destroyed.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 17:8, 9]
Now near the end of winter Herod marched to Jerusalem and brought his army up to its wall. This was the third year after he had been made king at Rome. So he pitched his camp before the temple, for on that side it might be besieged and there Pompey had formerly captured the city. Accordingly he divided the work among the army and laid waste the suburbs, and gave orders to raise three mounds and to build towers upon these mounds. But he himself went to Samaria to marry the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, who had been betrothed to him before. And when he was thus married, he came back to Jerusalem with a greater army.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 18:1, 2c, 4a]
Now the mult.i.tude of the Jews who were in the city were divided into several factions. For the people that crowded about the temple, being the weaker party, became fanatical and raved wildly over the situation. But some of the bolder men gathered together in companies, and began robbing in many different ways and especially plundering the provisions that were about the city, so that no food was left over for the horses or the men.
After a siege of five months some of Herod"s chosen men ventured upon the wall and fell into the city. They first captured the environs of the temple, and as the army poured in there was a slaughter of vast mult.i.tudes everywhere, on account of the rage in which the Romans were because of the length of the siege, and because the Jews who were about Herod were eager that none of their opponents should remain. Thereupon Herod made those who were on his side still more his friends by the honors he conferred upon them; but those of Antigonus"s party he slew.
I. The Fruitless Struggle against Rome. The first quarter century of Roman rule was in many ways the most complex in Israel"s intricate history. There were three chief actors in the drama: (1) Rome, represented first by the leaders of the Republic and later by Pompey, Caesar, and their successors; (2) the popular Jewish party led by Aristobulus and his son Alexander, and Antigonus; and (3) Antipater, supported by his able sons Phasaelus and Herod. Rome"s general policy was to allow the Jews as much freedom as possible, but above all to hold Palestine under firm control, for it lay on the eastern border and faced Parthia, the one foe that had successfully defied the powerful mistress of the Mediterranean.
The popular Jewish party bitterly resented Rome"s interference. True, the Pharisees welcomed the relief from civil war, but they could not hold the majority of the people in leash. The inoffensive Hyrca.n.u.s was left in possession of the high-priesthood and from time to time was elevated to positions of nominal civil authority, but he was little more than the plaything of circ.u.mstance and party intrigue. The ambitions of Aristobulus and his sons kept Palestine in a state of constant political ferment.
Three times in five years they stirred the Jews to rebellion against Rome.
The first rebellion was in 57 B.C. and was led by Alexander. He was ultimately driven by the Roman general to Alexandria, the fortress that overlooks the middle-Jordan Valley, and was finally forced to surrender.
The three great fortresses, Alexandria, Machaerus, and Hyrcanium, were thrown down, and the Jewish state was divided into five districts. Each of these was under a local council consisting of the leading citizens. These reported directly to the Roman proconsul. To neutralize still further the Jewish national spirit, the h.e.l.lenic cities in and about Palestine were restored, given a large measure of independence, and placed directly under the control of Rome"s representative in the East.
The second rebellion followed quickly and was led by Aristobulus. He was soon obliged, however, to take refuge in the fortress of Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea, where he was captured and sent back again as a captive to Rome. The third rebellion was led by Alexander. It was more formidable, and in the end more disastrous, for the Jews were signally defeated in a battle near Mount Tabor. The only permanent results of these uprisings were the intensifying of Jewish hatred of Roman rule and the increasing of Rome"s suspicion of this rebellious people. It was this suspicion that made it possible for the high-priestly party at a later time to force the Roman governor Pilate to put to death one whom he recognized to be an inoffensive Galilean peasant simply because he was accused of having a.s.sumed the historic t.i.tle, King of the Jews.
II. Antipater"s Policy. Through the troublesome first quarter-century of Roman rule Antipater and his family prospered because they were able at every turn in the political fortunes of Syria to make themselves increasingly useful to Rome. At many critical periods he was able to save the Jews from calamity and to secure for them valuable privileges. There is a certain basis for Josephus"s over-enthusiastic a.s.sertion that he was "a man distinguished for his piety, justice, and love of his country"
(Jos. Ant. XIV, 11:4c).
Although Hyrca.n.u.s was but a tool in Antipater"s hands, he never attempted to depose him, and apparently always treated him with respect. To steer successfully through the stormy period during which Rome made the transition from the republican to the monarchical form of government was a difficult task. When Cra.s.sus came as the representative of the First Triumvirate, Antipater"s gifts and tact were not sufficient to prevent the Roman from plundering the treasures of the temple.
Fortunately for the peace of Judea, during the civil war that followed between Pompey and Caesar, the deposed Jewish king Aristobulus and his son Alexander were both put to death. After the decisive battle of Pharsalia in 48 B.C. Antipater quickly espoused the cause of Caesar, and performed valuable services for him at a time when the great Roman was threatened by overwhelming forces. By his influence with the people of Syria and Egypt and by his personal acts of bravery he won the favors that Caesar heaped upon him and upon the Jewish people. The old territorial division inst.i.tuted by Gabinius was abolished, Hyrca.n.u.s was confirmed in the high-priesthood, and Antipater was made procurator of Judea. Joppa was restored to the Jewish state, the gerusia, the chief a.s.sembly of the Jews, was given certain of its old judicial rights, and permission was granted to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The Jews were also freed from the duty of supporting Roman soldiers and of serving the Roman legions. The tribute was also in part remitted on the sabbatical year, and the Jews of Palestine and throughout the Roman Empire were confirmed in their religious privileges. Thus Caesar proved himself a friend of the Jews and established precedents to which they frequently appealed in later crises.
III. Herod"s Early Record. Among the many rewards conferred upon Antipater was the appointment of his son Phasaelus as governor of Jerusalem and his younger son Herod as governor of Galilee. Thus while still a young man Herod was given an opportunity to demonstrate his ability and energy. He at once took measures to put down the robber bands that infested Galilee, and executed their leader, Hezekias. He won thereby the grat.i.tude of the Galileans and the approval of Rome. Hyrca.n.u.s and the sanhedrin at Jerusalem, however, viewed this a.s.sumption of authority with suspicion and alarm. When Herod was summoned before them, he appeared in full military armor and was accompanied by a military following. Provoked by his boldness, the sanhedrin would have sentenced him to death had not the local Roman governor interfered. The action of the sanhedrin aroused Herod"s spirit of revenge, and before long, gathering his forces, he marched against Jerusalem and would have put to death the Jewish leaders had not his father dissuaded him.
The a.s.sa.s.sination of Caesar in 44 B.C., followed by the battle of Philippi in 42, changed the political horizon of Palestine. Antipater and his sons, however, following their usual policy, pledged in succession their loyalty to Ca.s.sius and Antony, with the result that greater honors were conferred upon them. It was at this crisis that Malichus, a certain Jewish n.o.ble, inspired by jealousy and suspicion, treacherously murdered his rival, Antipater. Herod retaliated by instigating the a.s.sa.s.sination of the murderer, but soon a series of calamities swept over Judea which threatened to obliterate completely the house of Antipater.
IV. The Parthian Conquest. During the struggle between Antony and the a.s.sa.s.sins of Julius Caesar Rome"s eastern outposts were left exposed.
Their old foes, the Parthians, improved this opportunity to seize northern Syria. Encouraged by the presence of the Parthians, Antigonus, the younger son of Aristobulus, in 41 B.C. entered Palestine. With the aid of the Parthians and of the Jews who were opposed to Herod he ultimately succeeded in establishing himself as king. Antipater and Herod"s brother Phasaelus became the victims of the Parthian treachery, and Herod after many adventures succeeded in escaping with his family to the strong fortress of Masada at the southwestern end of the Dead Sea. Leaving them under the care of his brother Joseph, Herod after many discouragements and vicissitudes finally found his way to Rome. Unfortunately for the cause of Jewish independence, Antigonus lacked the essential qualities of leadership. Instead of arousing the loyalty of his subjects his chief concern was to take vengeance upon Herod"s followers and upon all who had supported the house of Antipater.
V. Herod Made King of the Jews. Herod went to Rome to urge the appointment of Aristobulus III, the grandson of Hyrca.n.u.s and the brother of Herod"s betrothed wife Mariamne, as king of Judea. Antony and Octavian, to whom he appealed, were rightly suspicious of the survivors of the Maccabean house and appreciative of the services of Herod and his father Antipater. Therefore, to his complete surprise, they offered him the kingship, and their nomination was speedily confirmed by the senate.
History presents no stranger nor more dramatic sight than Herod, the Idumean, accompanied by Antony and Octavian, going to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill to offer sacrifices in connection with his a.s.sumption of the historic t.i.tle, King of the Jews. At first it was an empty t.i.tle, but the energy of Herod and the resources of Rome sufficed in time to make it real. In the spring of 39 B.C. Herod landed at Ptolemais and with the apathetic aid of the Roman generals in Palestine began to organize the Jews who rallied about him. Marching down the Mediterranean coast, he succeeded at last in relieving his family, who were besieged at Masada. Idumea and Galilee were then brought into subjection, and after two years of fighting he won an important battle at Isana, a little north of Bethel, which gave him possession of all of Judea except Jerusalem. The final contest for the capital city continued through several months, for Antigonus and his followers realized that they could expect little mercy from Herod and the Romans. Thousands of Jews were slaughtered, but at last the temple itself was captured, and Herod was in fact as well as in name King of the Jews. Antigonus pled in vain for mercy. Departing from their usual policy of clemency toward native rulers, the Romans caused him first to be scourged as a common criminal and then ignominiously beheaded. Thus the Maccabean dynasty, which had risen in glory, went down in shame, a signal ill.u.s.tration of the eternal principle that selfish ambitions and unrestrained pa.s.sions in an individual or family sooner or later bring disgrace and destruction. While the siege of Jerusalem was still in progress, Herod went north to Samaria and there consummated his long-delayed marriage with Mariamne, the daughter of Hyrca.n.u.s, thus in part attracting to himself the loyalty which the Jews had bestowed so lavishly and disastrously upon the unworthy sons of Alexander Janneus.
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 a.s.sistance 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 grat.i.tude 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 n.o.ble spirit. I therefore a.s.sure 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 seash.o.r.e 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, Hyrca.n.u.s, 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 Hyrca.n.u.s 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 a.s.sembled mult.i.tude 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 a.s.sured 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 pa.s.sion 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 pa.s.sion was over, he repented for what he had done; and indeed his pa.s.sionate 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.