istobulus,to whom the office of liigli-priest belonged by hereditary succession, appealed to Cleopatra to use her powerful influence with Antony, and Herod was thus compelled to depose Ananel, and to elevate Aristobulus to the high-priesthood. The increasing popularity of Aristobulus, added to the further intrigues of Alexan- dra, so excited the jealousy of Herod that he caused him to be drowned wliile bathing, and expressed great soiTow at the accident. See Aristobulus. Alexandra again appUed to Cleopatra, who at last persuaded Anto- ny to summon Herod to Laodicea to answer for his con- duct. Herod was obliged to obey, but was dismissed with the highest honors (Josephus, .4 nt. xv, 3, 1-8 ; comp. War, i, 22, 2). After the defeat of Antony at Actium, in B.C. 31, Herod had an audience at Rhodes with Octavius, who did not think that Antony was quite powerless while Herod continued his assistance to him (Josephus, War, i, 20, 1). Herod so conciliated him that he obtained security in his kingdom of Judtea, to which Octavius added Gadara, Samaria, and the mari- time cities Gaza and Joppa. Shortly after the regions of Trachonitis, Batanea, and Auranitis were given him (Josephus, A nt. xv, 5, 6, 7 ; 10, 1 ; War, i, 20, 3, 4 ; comp. Tacit. Hist, v, 9). Herod's domestic hfe was troubled by a long series of bloodshed. Hyrcanus, the grand- father of his wife j\lariamne, was put to death before his visit to Octavius, and Mariamne, to whom he was pas- sionately attached, fell a victim to his jealousy soon after his return. See Hyrcanus; Makiamne. His remorse for the deed is well described by Josephus, who says that Herod commanded his attendants always to speak of her as alive {Ant. xv, 7, 7 ; War, i, 22, 5). In B.C. 20, when Augustus visited Judrea in person, another extensive addition was made to his territories. The district of Paneas was taken away from its ruler ZenO' dorus for leagiung himself with the Arabs, and given to Herod. In retiu-n, Herod adorned this place by erecting a temple, which he dedicated to Augustus (Josephus, Ant. XV, 10, 3; War, i, 20, 4; Dion Cass, liv, 9). Not long after this, the death of his wife was followed by other atrocities. Alexander and Aristobulus, the sons of Mariamne, were put to death ; and at last, in B.C. 4, Herod ordered his eldest son, Antipater, to be killed. See Alexander ; Aristobulus ; Antipater. Herod's painful disease no doubt maddened him in his later years, and in anticipation of his own death he gave or- ders that the principal Jews, whom he had shut up iu the Hippodrome at Jericho, should immediately after his decease be put to death, that mourners might not be wanting at his funeral (Josephus, Ant. xvii, 6, 5). Near his death, too, he must have ordered the murder of the infants at Bethlehem, as recorded by Matthew (ii, 16-18). The number of children in a village must have been very fe^v, and Josephus has passed this story over unnoticed ; yet it is worthy of remark that he has given an account of a massacre bj' Ilerod of all the members of his famQy who had consented to what the Pharisees foretold, viz. that Herod's government should cease, and his posterity be deprived of the kingdom {Ant. xvii, 2, 4). A confused account of the massacre of the children and the murder of Antipater is given in Macrobius : "Augustus cum audisset inter pueros, quos in Swia Herodes, rex Judseorum, intra bimatum jussit interfici, filium quoque ejus occisum, ait : IMelius est Herodis7;or- cum ('? vv, swine) esse quani fdiinn (? v'wv, sony {Sat. ii, 4). Macrobius Uved in tlie otli century (c. A.D. 420), and the words intra Umatinn (a bimatu et infra, jMatt. ii, 16, Vulg.) seem to be borrowed; the story, too, is wrong, as Antipater was of age when he was executed (.\lford, ad loc). IMacrobius may have made some mis- take on account of Herod's wish to destroy the heir to the throne of David. The language of the evangelist leaves in complete micertainty the method in which the deed was effected {airoaTiiXaQ avtX\n>'). The scene of open and undisguised violence which has been conse- crated by Christian art is wholly at variance with what may be supposed to have been the historic reality.
Herod was married to no less than ten wives, by most of whom he had children. He died a few days before the Passover, B.C. 4, his death-bed being the scene of the most awful agonies in mind and body. According to the custom of the times, he made his sons the heirs to his kmgdom by a formal testament, leavmg its ratifica- tion to the Avill of the emperor. Augustus assenting to its main provisions, Archelaus became tetrarch of Ju- daja, Samaria, and Iduma;a; Philip, of Trachonitis and Iturtea ; and Herod Antipas, of Galilee and Pertea. His body was conveyed by his son Archelaus from Jericho, where he died, to Herodium, a city and fortress 200 sta- dia distant, and he was there buried with great pomp (Josephus, Ant. xvii, 8, 2; War, i, 38, 9).
On the extirpation of the Asmontean family, finding that there was then no one -who could interfere with him, Herod had introduced heathenish customs, such as plays, shows, and chariot-races, which the Jews con- demned as contrary to the laws of Moses (Josephus, ylnf. XV, 8, 1); and on the completion of the building of Caesarea he also introduced Olympic games and conse- crated them to Ca3sar, ordering them to be celebrated ev- ery fifth year (Josephus, Ant. xv, 9, 6 ; xvi, 5, 1). With regard to the prejudices of the Jews, Herod showed as great contempt for public opinion as in the execution of his personal vengeance. He signalized his elevation to the throne by offerings to the Capitoline Jupiter (Jost, Gescli. d. Judentlmms, i, 318), and suiTounded his person by foreign mercenaries, some of whom had formerly been in the service of Cleopatra (Josephus, ^jji'.xv, 7, 3; xvii, I, 1 ; 8, 3). His coins and those of his successors bore only Greek legends ; and he introduced heathen games even within the waUs of Jerusalem (Josephus, A nt. xv, 8, 1). He displayed ostentatiously his favor towards foreigners (Josephus, Ant. xvi, 5, 3), and oppressed the old Jewish aristocracy (Josephus, Ai^t. xv, 1, 1). The later Jewish traditions describe him as successively the servant of the Asmonieans and the Romans, and relate that one Rabbin only survived the persecution which he directed against them, purchasing his life by the loss of sight (Jost, i, 319, etc.).