The New International Encyclopædia/Herod
HEROD, hĕr'od (Gk. Ἡρώδης, Hērōdēs) . The family name of a group of rulers in Palestine, derived from that of its most famous member, Herod the Great. The family had its origin in Antipater, an Idumean of honorable stock, whom Alexander Jannæus (B.C. 104-78) made governor of Idumea. The fact that the Idumeans had been subjugated to John Hyrcanus in B.C. 128, and compelled to embrace Judaism, is the only basis for the claim that the members of the Herodian line were Jews. In his power and influence, and apparently in his official position in Idumea, Antipater was succeeded by his son of the same name. The latter, with the sagacity which had become characteristic of the family, made the declining fortunes of the Asmonean rule and the rising fortunes of Rome serve his political interests until the real control of the country of the Jews rested in his hand — a control which he strengthened by appointing his two sons Phasael and Herod governors, respectively in Jerusalem and in Galilee. (1) Herod the Great. Son of Antipater and Cypros, an Arabian woman; reigned from B.C. 37 to 4. Upon the assassination of Antipater B.C. 43) there followed a period of intrigue and warfare on the part of the Asmonean Antigonus and the Parthians against the Herodian rule, which resulted in the death of Phasael and the escape of Herod to Rome. There in B.C. 30 he was made King of Judea by Antony, Octavius, and the Senate. It was not, however, until B.C. 37 that he succeeded in putting down the forces opposing him. The first years of his reign (B.C. 37-25) were troublous, owing to the hostility of the Sadducean and Pharisaic parties, and the enmity of the surviving members of the Asmonean house, who secured an ally in Cleopatra of Egypt. Herod ultimately prevailed, partly through murder and confiscation of property, partly through political cleverness and trickery, but mainly through the fall of Antony and Cleopatra before the forces of Octavius. The following years (B.C. 25-13) were prosperous. Herod was free to rule and to indulge his passion for building, the results of which showed themselves in the rehabilitation of such places as Strato's Fortress, and such cities as Samaria, Capharsaba, and Anthedon, renamed by him respectively Cæsarea Palestinæ (q.v.), Sebaste, Antipatris, and Agrippæum. At Jerusalem, Jericho, and Cæsarea he erected theatres, amphitheatres, and hippodromes for the Grecian games established in honor of Augustus. He rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem with the most lavish expenditure of wealth and careful regard for the religious scruples of the people. This munificence was extended even beyond his domains to cities in Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece. Herod also gratified his Hellenizing tastes by invitins and attaching to his Court Greek writers and teachers. With all this he was loyal to the people over whom he ruled, not only bestowing upon them substantial benefits at home, but securing for them large favors in some parts of the Diaspora and significant privileges from Rome. The last years of his reign (B.C. 13-4) were full of misery, occasioned by the ceaseless and complicated political intrigues within his household, which rendered him morbidly suspicious and inflamed his murderous passions to the worst. It was shortly before his death that Jesus was born. On his last visit to Rome Herod obtained consent of Augustus to dispose of his kingdom as he saw fit. A few hours before his death he made a will, in which he gave Judea, including Samaria and Idumea, to Archelaus, with the title of king; Galilee and Perea to Antipas, with the title of tetrarch; and Gaulanitis, Auranitis, Trachonitis, Batanea, and Panias to Philip, with the title of tetrarch. This will was practically confirmed by Augustus, and in spite of disturbances and disorders on the part of the people, who desired to be rid of the Herodian yoke, was ultimately put into effect. — (2) Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. Son of Herod the Great and Malthace, a Samarian woman; ruled from B.C. 4 to A.D. 6. Though given title of king by his father's will, Augustus withheld this from him, substituting that of ethnarch. He was the worst of Herod's surviving sons. Of his reign we have no details; but Josepbus describes it as violent and tyrannical. After nine years the Jews made such complaints against Archelaus that Augustus banished him to Vienne in Gaul. This accords with the statement of Matthew ii. 22, that Joseph on his return from Egypt with Mary and the Child Jesus, “When he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the room of his father Herod, was afraid to go thither, and . . . withdrew into the parts of Galilee.” — (3) Antipas (Herod Antipas), tetrarch of Galilee. Son of Herod the Great and the Samaritan Malthace, younger brother of Archelaus; ruled from B.C. 4 to A.D. 37. Though not much is known of his rule, he seems to have been able to govern his country and to have possessed the family passion for building. In Galilee he remade Sepphoris, afterwards called Dio-Cæsarea, and in Perea, Betharamptha, which he named Livias after the wife of Augustus, and in addition reared the magnificent capital which he named Tiberias, for the reigning Emperor. He seems to have had his father's craftiness, though he apparently lacked his diplomacy, as he certainly did his ability in war. The discarding of his first wife, daughter of the Arabian King Aretas, for Herodias, wife of his half-brother Herod Philip (Mark vi. 17; Matt. xiv. 3), not the tetrarch Philip, brought on a war with Aretas in which Antipas was routed. Later, through the persuasion of Herodias, he went to Rome and demanded of Caligula that he be favored, as Agrippa I. had just been, with the title of king. He was confronted, however, by charges from Agrippa himself, was deposed, and banished by the Emperor to Lugdunum (Lyons) in Gaul. This Antipas is the ‘Herod’ most frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Matt. xiv. 1; Luke iii. 1; xiii. 31; Acts xiii. 1 et al.). It was he who imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist (Mark vi. 14-29), and to whom Jesus was sent by Pilate (Luke xxiii. 7-15). — (4) Philip. Son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra, a woman of Jerusalem; ruled from B.C. 4 to A.D. 34. The country over which he ruled was north and east of the Sea of Galilee, consequently outside of strictly Jewish territory and inhabited by a predominantly non-Jewish population. It was owing to this fact that Philip was able to carry out a Hellenizing and Roman policy among his people. He had the family passion for building, and founded on the site of Paneas a city which he named Cæsarea, known as Cæsarea Philippi (q.v.), to distinguish it from the larger city on the coast. He also rebuilt Bethsaida, which he called Julias, in honor of the daughter of Augustus. Of his rule nothing is known beyond what may be inferred from Josephus's characterization of the man, as “a person of moderation and quietness” in the conduct of his life and government. He seems to have possessed none of the Herodian ambition, cruelty, or lust. He was married to Salome, the daughter of Herodias, and died without issue. — (5) Agrippa (Herod Agrippa). Son of Aristobulus, Herod the Great's son by Mariamne, granddaughter of Hyrcanus, and Bernice, daughter of Salome, Herod's sister, and Castobar; ruled from A.D. 37 to 44. His earlier years were spent in Rome, where he fell into spendthrift habits that finally compelled his retirement to Palestine. In the last years of Tiberius's reign he returned to Rome, and succeeded in securing the appointment by the Emperor to the care of his grandson. He had been friendly with Calipula in his early life, and shortly after the latter's accession received from him the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias (viz. Abilene) with the title of king, while the Senate added the honorary rank of prætor. In A.D. 40 he obtained the fortified tetrarchy of Antipas; and in the next year, when Claudius came to the throne, he was given by the Emperor, along with the honor of the consular rank, the additional territory of Judea and Samaria, thus finally securing the whole region over which his grandfather had ruled. The next three years constitute the real period of his rule. For the sake of peace he followed a pro-Jewish policy, which showed itself in a personal piety of almost Pharisaic legalism and an official furtherance of the interests of the Jews, which brought them to regard him as a brother and alienated from him the regard of the Roman element in his population and of the Roman troops in his domains. This Jewish favoritism, no doubt, was the cause of his persecution of the Christians (Acts xii. 1-19). The account of his death given by Josephus (Antiq. xviii. 6, 7) is in substantial agreement with that in Acts xii. 20-23. — (6) Agrippa II. (Herod Agrippa). Son of Agrippa I. and Cypros; ruled from A.D. 50 to about 100. Because of his extreme youth at the time of his father's death, Claudius was persuaded not to give him the succession. The whole of Palestine thus passed under direct Roman rule. In A.D. 50, however, two years after the death of his uncle Herod of Chaleis, he received the kingdom which had thus been vacated. This he surrendered in A.D. 53, receiving in return the former tetrarchy of Philip, together with that of Lysanias and the domains of Varus. In A.D. 56 Nero added to this the cities of Tiberias and Julias in Galilee and Tarichea in Perea, with surrounding lands and villages. Like all his family, he gave himself to building, improving his capital, Cæsarea Philippi, which he renamed Neronias, and architecturally adorning Berytus (Beirut) in Phœnicia. Unlike his father, he gave no special care to the interests of the Jews — manifesting, in fact, a general indifference to the religious questions of his time, though it was in his rule that the Temple at Jerusalem was finished. He tried to combine Hellenism and Judaism, and placed the effigies of the emperors on his coins. He strove to dissuade the Jews from their war with Rome, and manifested his loyalty to the Emperor even after his Galilean cities had deserted him. In return for this, after the war his territory was extended northward, while in A.D. 75 he had conferred upon him the prætorian rank. He left no children; in fact, it is doubtful whether he ever married. As far as record can be obtained, he died in the third year of Trajan's reign, A.D. 100. His rule was a feeble one. It was before this Agrippa and his sister Bernice that Paul was brought by Festus in Cæsarea, on the eve of his deportation to Rome, as narrated in Acts xxv. 13-xxvi. 32.