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94-485: The symbol is of pre-Christian origin. It is found on copper coins minted by Herod I in 37 BC, interpreted as a tr ligature representing trikhalkon indicating the coin value. The staurogram was first used to abbreviate stauros ( σταυρός ), the Greek word for cross , in very early New Testament manuscripts such as 𝔓 , 𝔓 and 𝔓 , almost like a nomen sacrum , and may visually have represented Jesus on

188-619: A Jew and was considered as such by some, this religious identification was undermined by the decadent lifestyle of the Herodians , which would have earned them the antipathy of observant Jews. Herod later executed several members of his own family, including his wife Mariamne I. Herod's rule marked a new beginning in the history of Judea. Judea had been ruled autonomously by the Hasmonean kings from 140 until 63 BCE. The Hasmonean kings retained their titles, but became clients of Rome after

282-550: A bodyguard of 2,000 soldiers. Josephus describes various units of Herod's personal guard taking part in Herod's funeral, including the Doryphnoroi , and a Thracian , Celtic (probably Gallic ) and Germanic contingent. While the term Doryphnoroi does not have an ethnic connotation, the unit was probably composed of distinguished veteran soldiers and young men from the most influential Jewish families. Thracians had served in

376-680: A dream not to report back to Herod. Similarly, Joseph was warned in a dream that Herod intended to kill Jesus, so he and his family fled to Egypt. When Herod realized he had been outwitted, he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then moved to Nazareth in Galilee to avoid living under Herod's son Archelaus . Most modern biographers of Herod, and some biblical scholars, dismiss Matthew's story as

470-551: A dream that Herod wishes to find the child and kill him, and do not do so. Matthew continues: When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. This is followed by a reference to and quotation from the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 31:15 ) (Jeremiah 31:14 in

564-442: A historical incident, it is unsurprising that it was not recorded by other historical sources due to the likely limited scale of the violence. While France believed that Josephus would have mentioned the event had he been aware of it, France would not have been surprised if Joseph was ignorant of what would have been a minor episode of local violence. New Testament scholar Eugene Eung-Chun Park contested France's conclusion, saying that

658-408: A large palace, a race track, service quarters, and a monumental building whose function is still a mystery. Perhaps, says Ehud Netzer, who excavated the site, it is Herod's mausoleum . Next to it is a pool, almost twice as large as modern Olympic-size pools . On May 7, 2007, an Israeli team of archaeologists of Hebrew University, led by Netzer, announced they had discovered the tomb. The site

752-451: A literary device. Contemporary non-biblical sources, including Josephus and the surviving writings of Nicolaus of Damascus (who knew Herod personally), provide no corroboration for Matthew's account of the massacre, and it is not mentioned in the Gospel of Luke . Classical historian Michael Grant states "[t]he tale is not history but myth or folk-lore", while Peter Richardson notes that

846-860: A massive expansion project on the Temple Mount . In addition to fully rebuilding and enlarging the Second Jewish Temple , he artificially expanded the platform on which it stood, doubling it in size. Today's Western Wall formed part of the retaining perimeter wall of this platform. In addition, Herod also used the latest technology in hydraulic cement and underwater construction to build the harbor at Caesarea Maritima . While Herod's zeal for building transformed Judea, his motives were not selfless. Although he built fortresses ( Masada , Herodium , Alexandrium , Hyrcania , and Machaerus ) in which he and his family could take refuge in case of insurrection, these vast projects were also intended to gain

940-730: A mixed response from the Jewish populace. Although Herod considered himself king of the Jews, he let it be known that he also represented the non-Jews living in Judea, building temples for other religions outside of the Jewish areas of his kingdom. Many Jews questioned the authenticity of Herod's Judaism on account of his Idumean background and his infamous murders of members of his family. However, he generally respected traditional Jewish observances in his public life. For instance, he minted coins without human images to be used in Jewish areas and acknowledged

1034-552: A proposal that has received strong criticism from major Israeli archeologists. Macrobius (c. 400 CE), one of the last pagan writers in Rome, in his book Saturnalia , wrote: "When it was heard that, as part of the slaughter of boys up to two years old, Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered his own son to be killed, he [the Emperor Augustus] remarked, 'It is better to be Herod's pig [Gr. hys] than his son' [Gr. hyios]". This

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1128-802: A reminder of his tyrannical rule. While Herod the Great is described in the Christian Bible as the author of the Massacre of the Innocents , the remainder of the Biblical references to the "two Herods of the Bible" are all ascribed to Herod Antipas , Herod the Great's son. Upon Herod's death in 4 BCE, the Romans divided his kingdom among three of his sons and his sister: his son Herod Antipas received

1222-458: A severe famine that occurred in 25 BCE. Although he made many attempts at conforming to traditional Jewish laws, there were more instances where Herod was insensitive, which constitutes one of the major Jewish complaints of Herod as highlighted in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews . In Jerusalem, Herod introduced foreign forms of entertainment, and erected a golden eagle at the entrance of

1316-630: A small-scale massacre would have still "merited a remark by competent historians". Joan Taylor and Anthony Le Donne observe that Herod was a vindictive and harsh ruler, while it was common for Jews at the time to face becoming refugees, frequently in Egypt . Taylor argues that the Historical Jesus could indeed have been a refugee whose background shaped his teachings. James DG Dunn also views Herod's massacre as an action in line with his known character. The author appears to have modeled

1410-526: A vassal of the Roman Empire , expected to support the interests of his Roman patrons. Nonetheless, just when Herod obtained leadership in Judea, his rule faced two threats. The first threat came from his mother-in-law Alexandra, who sought to regain power for her family, the Hasmoneans, whose dynasty Herod had overthrown in 37 BCE (see Siege of Jerusalem ). In the same year, Cleopatra married

1504-431: A wife, Doris, and a young son, Antipater , and chose therefore to banish Doris and her child. Herod and Sosius, the governor of Syria, at the behest of Mark Antony, set out with a large army in 37 BCE and captured Jerusalem , Herod then sending Antigonus for execution to Mark Antony. From this moment, Herod took the role as sole ruler of Judea and the title of basileus (Βασιλεύς, "king") for himself, ushering in

1598-616: Is a story recounted in the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew ( 2:16 – 18 ) in which Herod the Great , king of Judea , orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem . Modern scholarship finds no evidence that it happened outside the passages in Matthew, though it is congruous with Herod's character. The Feast of the Holy Innocents , also known as Childermas ,

1692-567: Is celebrated in the Western Christian Churches on 28 December, the fourth day of Christmastide . In Eastern Christianity , the feast is celebrated on various dates , depending on the denomination. The Gospel of Matthew tells how the Magi visit Jerusalem to seek guidance as to where the king of the Jews has been born; King Herod directs them to Bethlehem and asks them to return to him and report, but they are warned in

1786-536: Is documented by Josephus , who writes, "And the body was carried two hundred furlongs , to Herodium, where he had given order to be buried." Professor Ehud Netzer , an archaeologist from the Hebrew University , read the writings of Josephus and focused his search on the vicinity of the pool and its surroundings. An article in the New York Times states, Lower Herodium consists of the remains of

1880-600: Is in danger and act to save him. Later in life, after Moses has to flee, like Jesus, he returns when those who sought his death are themselves dead. As a matter of understanding what the myth is trying to communicate, its lack of historicity is unsurprising given that gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than chronological timelines. The Byzantine Rite liturgy asserts 14,000 Holy Innocents, while an early Syrian list of saints asserts 64,000. Coptic sources assert 144,000 and that it took place on 29 December. Frederick George Holweck 's 1910 entry on

1974-723: Is located at the exact location given by Josephus, atop tunnels and water pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to Herodium , 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Jerusalem. The tomb contained a broken sarcophagus but no remains of a body. Not all scholars agree with Netzer: in an article for the Palestine Exploration Quarterly , archaeologist David Jacobson ( University of Oxford ) wrote that "these finds are not conclusive on their own and they also raise new questions." In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas also challenged

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2068-595: Is sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple. Today, only the four retaining walls remain standing, including the Western Wall . These walls created a flat platform (the Temple Mount) upon which the Temple was then constructed. Herod's other achievements include the development of water supplies for Jerusalem, building fortresses such as Masada and Herodium , and founding new cities such as Caesarea Maritima and

2162-639: Is traditionally sung a cappella . The 17th century Dutch Christmas song O Kerstnacht, schoner dan de dagen , while beginning with a reference to Christmas Night , is about the Massacre of the Innocents. In 1974, the Dutch progressive rock band Focus recorded the first two verses of the song for their album Hamburger Concerto . The theme of the "Massacre of the Innocents" has provided artists of many nationalities with opportunities to compose complicated depictions of massed bodies in violent action. It

2256-707: The Augusteum , a temple dedicated to Augustus. Herod's most famous and ambitious project was the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem which was undertaken so that he would "have a capital city worthy of his dignity and grandeur", and with this reconstruction Herod hoped to gain more support from the Jews. Recent findings suggest that the Temple Mount walls and Robinson's Arch may not have been completed until at least 20 years after his death, during

2350-536: The Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew . The carol refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants two years old and under in Bethlehem to be killed. The lyrics of this haunting carol represent a mother's lament for her doomed child. The author is unknown. The oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo in 1534, and the melody dates from 1591. The carol

2444-663: The Herodian dynasty and ending the Hasmonean Dynasty . Josephus reports this as being in the year of the consulship of Agrippa and Gallus (37 BCE), but also says that it was exactly 27 years after Jerusalem fell to Pompey, which would indicate 36 BCE. Cassius Dio also reports that in 37 "the Romans accomplished nothing worthy of note" in the area. According to Josephus, Herod ruled for 37 years, 34 of them after capturing Jerusalem. As some believe Herod's family were converts to Judaism, his religious commitment

2538-565: The Roman general and dictator Julius Caesar , who entrusted Antipater with the public affairs of Judea. Herod was appointed provincial governor of Galilee in c.  47 BCE , when he was about either 25 or 28 years old ( Greek original : "15 years of age"). There he faithfully farmed the taxes of that region for the Roman Senate , and he met with success in ridding that region of bandits. Antipater's elder son, Phasael , served in

2632-446: The consulship of Calvinus and Pollio (40 BCE), but Appian places it in 39 BCE. Herod went back to Judea to win his kingdom from Antigonus. Toward the end of the campaign against Antigonus, Herod married the granddaughter of Hyrcanus II, Mariamne (known as Mariamne I), who was also a niece of Antigonus. Herod did this in an attempt to secure his claim to the throne and gain some Jewish favor. However, Herod already had

2726-542: The renaissance and baroque , including Jacob Clemens non Papa , Giaches de Wert , and Heinrich Schütz (in German). Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed an oratorio, Caedes sanctorum innocentium , H.411, for soloists, chorus, two violins, and continuo (1683–1685). Today, the date of Holy Innocents' Day , also called the Feast of the Holy Innocents , or Childermas or Children's Mass , varies. The commemoration of

2820-567: The tetrarchy of Galilee and Peraea . Other family members of Herod the Great include Herod's son Herod Archelaus who became ethnarch of Judea, Samaria , and Idumea ; Herod's son Philip who became tetrarch of territories north and east of the Jordan River ; and Herod's sister Salome I , who was given a toparchy including the cities of Jabneh , Ashdod , and Phasaelis . Herod was born around 72 BCE in Idumea , south of Judea. He

2914-444: The 20th year of Tiberius (34 CE), which implies his accession as 4 BCE. Some scholars support the traditional date of 1 BCE for Herod's death. Yet others support 1 CE for the probable date of Herod's death. Filmer, for example, proposes that Herod died in 1 BCE, and that his heirs backdated their reigns to 4 or 3 BCE to assert an overlapping with Herod's rule, and bolster their own legitimacy. Based on

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3008-466: The 4 BCE date include the assertion that there was not nearly enough time between the eclipse on March 13 and Passover on April 10 for the recorded events surrounding Herod's death to have taken place. In 66 CE, Eleazar ben Hanania compiled the Megillat Taanit , which contains two unattributed entries for cause of festivity: 7 Kislev and 2 Shevat. A later Scholion (commentary) on

3102-569: The Greek word being 100 , represented by Rho as a Greek numeral . The two letters tau and rho can be found separately (not in ligature) as symbols already on early Christian ossuaries . Tertullian ( Contra Marcionem 3.22) explains the Tau as a symbol of salvation by identification with the sign which in Ezekiel 9:4 was marked on the forehead of the saved ones. The rho by itself can refer to Christ as Messiah because Abraham , taken as symbol of

3196-581: The Hasmonean king, who had once summoned Herod to stand trial for murder, but Herod was restrained from doing so by the intervention of his father and his elder brother. In 41 BCE, the Roman leader Mark Antony named Herod and his brother Phasael as tetrarchs . They were placed in this role to support Hyrcanus II. In 40 BCE Antigonus , Hyrcanus' nephew, took the Judean throne from his uncle with

3290-520: The Hebrew Bible): "Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: A voice is heard in Ramah , weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." ( Matthew 2:17 – 18 ). The relevance of this to the massacre is not immediately apparent, as Jeremiah's next verses go on to speak of hope and restoration. The historicity of

3384-577: The Innocents , in an unusual vertical format, is at Bologna. The Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens painted the theme more than once. One version, now in Munich, was engraved and reproduced as a painting as far away as colonial Peru. The communion motet for the Feast of the Holy Innocents is the text from Matthew 2:18 (citing Jeremiah 31:15) Vox in Rama . This was set polyphonically by a number of composers of

3478-623: The Innocents also provided a comparison of ancient brutalities with the brutalities of the early modern period , during the period of religious wars that followed the Reformation ;– Bruegel's versions show the soldiers carrying banners with the Habsburg double-headed eagle. The 1590 version by Cornelis van Haarlem also seems to reflect the violence of the Dutch Revolt . Guido Reni 's early (1611) Massacre of

3572-518: The Innocents. Fulgentius of Ruspe (6th century) gives a homily De Epiphania, deque Innocentum nece et muneribus magorum ("On Epiphany, and on the murder of the Innocents and the gifts of the Magi"). From the time of Charlemagne , Sicarius of Bethlehem was venerated at Brantôme, Dordogne as one of the purported victims of the Massacre. In the Middle Ages , especially north of the Alps ,

3666-429: The Jewish and non-Jewish people of his kingdom had to be balanced with satisfying Augustus' aim to spread the culture, architecture and values of Rome throughout his empire. The sway of Augustus and the Roman Empire on the policy led to the use of Romanized construction throughout Herod's Kingdom. An example of Herod's architectural expansion of Judea in devotion to Rome can be seen with the third temple he commissioned,

3760-588: The Jewish armies since the Hasmonean dynasty, while the Celtic contingent were former bodyguards of Cleopatra given as a gift by Augustus to Herod following the Battle of Actium . The Germanic contingent was modeled upon Augustus's personal bodyguard, the Germani Corporis Custodes , responsible for guarding the palace. Herod undertook many colossal building projects. Around 19 BCE, he began

3854-560: The Matthew account is not accepted by many scholars. The story of the massacre is found in no gospel other than Matthew, nor is it mentioned in the surviving works of Nicolaus of Damascus (who was a personal friend of Herod the Great), nor in Josephus 's Antiquities of the Jews , despite his recording many of Herod's misdeeds, including the murder of three of his own sons. The early 5th-century account of Macrobius —that "on hearing that

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3948-679: The Megillat Taanit attributes the 7 Kislev festivity to king Herod the Great's death (no year is mentioned). Some scholars ignore the Scholion and attribute the 2 Shevat date instead to Herod's death. Augustus respected the terms of Herod's will, which stipulated the division of Herod's kingdom among three of his sons. Augustus recognised Herod's son Herod Archelaus as ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from c.  4 BCE  – c.  6 CE Augustus then judged Archelaus incompetent to rule, removed him from power, and combined

4042-577: The Messiah, generated Isaac according to a promise made by God when he was one hundred years old, and 100 is the value of rho. The staurogram is encoded by Unicode in the Coptic block, at U+2CE8 ⳨ COPTIC SYMBOL TAU RO , and as of Unicode 7.0 (2014) also in the Ancient Symbols block, at U+101A0 𐆠 GREEK SYMBOL TAU RHO . The Coptic block has a ligature of

4136-494: The Roman Empire was a major factor in enabling him to maintain his authority over Judea. There have been mixed interpretations concerning Herod's popularity during his reign. In The Jewish War , Josephus characterizes Herod's rule in generally favorable terms, and gives Herod the benefit of the doubt for the infamous events that took place during his reign. However, in his later work, Jewish Antiquities , Josephus emphasizes

4230-643: The Roman leader Antony. Recognizing Cleopatra's influence over Antony, Alexandra asked Cleopatra for aid in making Aristobulus III the High Priest. As a member of the Hasmonean family, Aristobulus III might partially repair the fortunes of the Hasmoneans if made High Priest. Alexandra's request was made, but Cleopatra urged Alexandra to leave Judea with Aristobulus III and visit Antony. Herod received word of this plot, and feared that if Antony met Aristobolus III in person he might name Aristobulus III King of Judea. This concern induced Herod, in 35 BCE, to order

4324-608: The Temple's construction. The Sadducees, who were closely associated with priestly responsibilities in the Temple, opposed Herod because he replaced their high priests with outsiders from Babylonia and Alexandria, in an effort to gain support from the Jewish Diaspora. Herod's outreach efforts gained him little, and at the end of his reign anger and dissatisfaction were common amongst Jews. Heavy outbreaks of violence and riots followed Herod's death in many cities, including Jerusalem, as pent-up resentments boiled over. The scope of

4418-624: The Temple, which suggested a greater interest in the welfare of Rome than of Jews. Herod's taxes garnered a bad reputation: his constant concern for his reputation led him to make frequent, expensive gifts, increasingly emptying the kingdom's coffers, and such lavish spending upset his Jewish subjects. The two major Jewish sects of the day, the Pharisees and the Sadducees , both showed opposition to Herod. The Pharisees were discontented because Herod disregarded many of their demands with respect to

4512-480: The assassination of Aristobulus, ending this first threat to Herod's throne. The marriage of 37 BCE also sparked a power struggle between Roman leaders Octavian, who would later be called Augustus , and Antony . Herod, owing his throne to Rome, had to pick a side, and he chose Antony. In 31 at Actium, Antony lost to Octavian, posing a second threat to Herod's rule. Herod had to regain Octavian's support if he

4606-622: The attempt succeeds; for example, in the 12th-century Eadwine Psalter . Other medieval dramatizations, such as the Ordo Rachelis , follow Josephus' account. Josephus stated that Herod was so concerned that no one would mourn his death that he commanded a large group of distinguished men to come to Jericho, and he gave an order that they should be killed at the time of his death so that the displays of grief that he craved would take place; his brother-in-law Alexas and his sister Salome did not carry out this wish. Most scholarship concerning

4700-450: The birth of Jesus , a group of magi from the East visited Herod to inquire the whereabouts of "the one having been born king of the Jews", because they had seen his star in the east (or, according to certain translations, at its rising) and therefore wanted to pay him homage. Herod, as King of the Jews, was alarmed at the prospect of a usurper. Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes of

4794-484: The church service." In Spain , Hispanic America , and the Philippines , 28 December is still a day for pranks , equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries. Pranks ( bromas ) are also known as inocentadas and their victims are called inocentes ; alternatively, the pranksters are the inocentes and the victims should not be angry at them, since they could not have committed any sin . One of

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4888-408: The coins of Herod's sons Steinmann and Young argue that Herod's sons antedated their reigns to 6 BCE before Herod's death so that their reigns cannot be used to argue for a 4 BCE date for Herod's death. In Josephus' account, Herod's death was preceded by first a Jewish fast day (10 Tevet 3761/Sun 24 Dec 1 BCE), a lunar eclipse (29 Dec 1 BCE) and followed by Passover (27 March 1 CE). Objections to

4982-473: The conquest by Pompey in 63 BCE. Herod overthrew the Hasmonean Antigonus in a three-year-long war between 37 and 34 BCE, ruled under Roman overlordship until his death c.  4 BCE , and officially passed on the throne to his sons, thus establishing his own, so-called Herodian dynasty . Herod was granted the title of "King of Judea" by the Roman Senate . As such, he was

5076-578: The cross . The Tau-Rho as a Christian symbol outside its function as nomen sacrum in biblical manuscripts appears from c. the 4th century, used as a monogramma Christi alongside the Chi-Rho and other variants, spreading to Western Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries. Ephrem the Syrian (4th century) discusses a Christian symbol, apparently combining the Tau-Rho with Alpha and Omega placed under

5170-492: The date of Herod's death follows Emil Schürer 's calculations, which suggest that the date was in or around 4 BCE; this is three years earlier than the previous consensus and tradition (1 BCE). Two of Herod's sons, Archelaus and Philip the Tetrarch, dated their rule from 4 BCE, though Archelaus apparently held royal authority during Herod's lifetime. Philip's reign would last for 37 years, until his death in

5264-477: The day was a festival of inversion involving role reversal between children and adults such as teachers and priests, with boy bishops presiding over some church services. Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens suggest that this was a Christianized version of the Roman annual feast of the Saturnalia (when even slaves played "masters" for a day). In some regions, such as medieval England and France, it

5358-476: The disturbances sparked hopes that the Jews of Judea might some day overthrow the Roman overlords, hopes reawakened decades later in the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War in 66 CE. The relationship between Herod and Augustus demonstrates the fragile politics of a deified Emperor and a King who ruled over the Jewish people and their holy lands. As they interacted, Herod's desire to satisfy both

5452-414: The enclosures of Cave of the Patriarchs and Mamre in Hebron . He and Cleopatra owned a monopoly over the extraction of asphalt from the Dead Sea, which was used in shipbuilding. He leased copper mines on Cyprus from the Roman emperor. Herod's reign over Judea is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew , which describes an event known as the Massacre of the Innocents . According to this account, after

5546-406: The episode on the biblical story of Pharaoh 's attempt to kill the Israelite children in the Book of Exodus , as told in an expanded version that was current in the 1st century. In that expanded story, Pharaoh kills the Hebrew children after his scribes warn him of the impending birth of the threat to his crown (i.e., Moses ), but Moses' father and mother are warned in a dream that the child's life

5640-490: The event occurred, many scholars hold that the story is folklore inspired by Herod's reputation. Historian Paul L. Maier contended that the story's invention would have been a liability for Christians and—by pointing to Herod's violent actions and plans—argued that "one of the most doubted episodes in the New Testament has stronger historical credibility than it has thus far been accorded in critical scholarship." New Testament scholar Richard T. France held that, if this were

5734-481: The full word σταυρός, where the τρ is represented by the staurogram, and two lunate sigmas are attached to either side of the tau's horizontal bar, at U+2CE7 ⳧ COPTIC SYMBOL STAUROS . Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great ( c.  72  – c.  4 BCE ) was a Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea . Among these works are

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5828-405: The help of the Parthians . Herod fled to Rome to plead with the Romans to restore Hyrcanus II to power. The Romans had a special interest in Judea because their general Pompey the Great had conquered Jerusalem in 63 BCE , thus placing the region in the Roman sphere of influence. In Rome, Herod was unexpectedly appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate. Josephus puts this in the year of

5922-403: The identification of the tomb as that of Herod. According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features. Roi Porat, who replaced Netzer as excavation leader after the latter's death, stood by the identification. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Gush Etzion Regional Council intend to recreate the tomb out of a light plastic material,

6016-409: The last wives, and also that he had more daughters, as female births at that time were often not recorded. As polygamy (the practice of having multiple wives at once) was then permitted under Jewish law, Herod's later marriages were almost certainly polygamous. In part based on the tree of Rick Swartzentrover. Massacre of the Innocents The Massacre (or Slaughter ) of the Innocents

6110-401: The left and right horizontal arms of the Tau. Ephrem says that the Tau represents the cross of Jesus (prefigured by the outstretched hands of Moses in Exodus 17:11 ), the Alpha and Omega signify that the crucified Christ is "the beginning and end", and the Rho, finally, signifies "Help" ( βοήθια [ sic ]; classical spelling: βοήθεια ), because of the numerological value of

6204-404: The majority of the population of western Judea, where they commingled with the Judaeans and adopted their customs. This is a view shared also by some modern scholarly works which consider Idumaeans as of Arab or Nabataean origins. According to Josephus, Herod was a descendant of Eleazar Maccabeus (Auran) of the Hasmoneans. Herod rose to power largely through his father's good relations with

6298-409: The man himself. Modern critics have described him as "the evil genius of the Judean nation", and as one who would be "prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition." His extraordinary spending spree is cited as one of the causes of the serious impoverishment of the people he ruled, adding to the opinion that his reign was exclusively negative. Herod's religious policies gained

6392-418: The massacre of the Holy Innocents, traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyrs , if unknowingly so, first appears as a feast of the Western church in the Leonine Sacramentary , dating from about 485. The earliest commemorations were connected with the Feast of the Epiphany , 6 January: Prudentius mentions the Innocents in his hymn on the Epiphany. Leo in his homilies on the Epiphany speaks of

6486-435: The more famous of these traditions is the annual " Els Enfarinats " festival of Ibi in Alacant , where the inocentes dress up in full military dress and incite a flour fight. In Trinidad and Tobago , Catholic children have their toys blessed at a Mass. In the Roman Rite prior to 1955, a unique feature of this feast was the use of liturgical elements ordinarily ascribed to penitential days—including violet vestments,

6580-399: The omission of the Gloria , and the substitution of a Tract in place of the Alleluia—unless the feast fell on Sunday, in which case the rubrics required the feast to be celebrated as on its octave day, with red vestments, Gloria, and Alleluia. The octave of this feast was suppressed by Pope Pius XII in 1955, with the feast now celebrated using the features formerly ascribed to its octave day,

6674-402: The people and asked them where the "Anointed One" (the Messiah , Greek: Ὁ Χριστός , ho Christos ) was to be born. They answered, in Bethlehem , citing Micah 5:2 . Herod therefore sent the magi to Bethlehem, instructing them to search for the child and, after they had found him, to "report to me, so that I too may go and worship him". However, after they had found Jesus, they were warned in

6768-414: The presence of a priest. There is some speculation as to whether or not these baths were actual mikvehs as they have also been identified as stepped frigidaria or Roman cold-water baths; however, several historians have identified these baths as a combination of both types. While it has been proven that Herod showed a great amount of disrespect toward the Jewish religion, scholar Eyal Regev suggests that

6862-441: The presence of these ritual baths shows that Herod found ritual purity important enough in his private life to place a large number of these baths in his palaces despite his several connections to gentiles and pagan cults. These baths also show, Regev continues, that the combination of the Roman frigidaria and the Jewish mikvehs suggests that Herod sought some type of combination between the Roman and Jewish cultures, as he enjoyed

6956-573: The provinces of Samaria, Judea proper, and Idumea into Iudaea province . This enlarged province was ruled by a prefect until the year 41 CE. As to Herod's other sons, Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea from Herod's death to 39 CE when he was deposed and exiled; Philip became tetrarch of territories north and east of the Jordan, namely Iturea , Trachonitis , Batanea , Gaulanitis , Auranitis and Paneas , and ruled until his death in 34 CE. The location of Herod's tomb

7050-461: The purity of Jewish tradition and the comfort of Roman luxury simultaneously. However, he was also praised for his work, being considered the greatest builder in Jewish history, and one who "knew his place and followed [the] rules." What is left of his building ventures are now popular tourist attractions in the Middle East. It is very probable that Herod had more children, especially with

7144-507: The rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of its base —the Western Wall being part of it. Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus . Despite Herod's successes, including single-handedly forging a new aristocracy from practically nothing, he has still been criticized by various historians. His reign polarizes opinion among historians, some viewing his legacy as evidence of success, and some viewing it as

7238-421: The reign of Herod Agrippa II . In the 18th year of his reign (20–19 BCE), Herod rebuilt the Temple on "a more magnificent scale". Although work on out-buildings and courts continued for another 80 years, the new Temple was finished in a year and a half. To comply with religious law, Herod employed 1,000 priests as masons and carpenters in the rebuilding. The finished temple, which was destroyed in 70 CE,

7332-575: The return from Egypt, as well as the Massacre, all centered on Rachel weeping in fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy. These events were likewise in one of the medieval N-Town Plays . The " Coventry Carol " is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors . The play depicts

7426-470: The same capacity as governor of Jerusalem . During this time the young Herod cultivated a good relationship with Sextus Caesar , the acting Roman governor of Syria, who appointed Herod as general of Coelesyria and Samaria , greatly expanding his realm of influence. He enjoyed the backing of Rome, but the Sanhedrin condemned his brutality. When yet a private man, Herod had determined to punish Hyrcanus

7520-554: The sanctity of the Second Temple by employing priests as artisans in its construction. Along with holding some respect for the Jewish culture in his public life, there is also evidence of Herod's sensitivity toward Jewish traditions in his private life: around 40 ritual baths or mikvehs were found in several of his palaces. These mikvehs were known for being used during this time in Jewish purity rituals in which Jewish people could submerge themselves and purify their bodies without

7614-467: The son of Herod, king of the Jews, had been slain when Herod ordered that all boys in Syria under the age of two be killed, [Augustus] said, 'It's better to be Herod's pig than his son'"—has been discounted as extra-biblical evidence for the event due to its later authorship, possible influence by the gospel narrative, and the confused nature of the account. In view of the lack of independent confirmation that

7708-482: The story's absence from the Gospel of Luke and the accounts of Josephus "work[s] against the account's accuracy". Richardson suggests that the event in Matthew's gospel was inspired by Herod's murder of his own sons. Jodi Magness has said that "many scholars believe that the massacre of the innocents never occurred, but instead was inspired by Herod's reputation". Others, such as Paul Maier, suggest that since Bethlehem

7802-523: The subject in the Catholic Encyclopedia referenced estimates that both assumed the event actually occurred and recognized that Bethlehem was too small a town to provide such numbers, reducing the victims to between six and 20 children in the town. France, citing estimates that Bethlehem's population would have been around 1,000 people at the time the event was supposed to occur, concurred with an upper limit of around 20 children killed if it

7896-511: The support of the Jews and improve his reputation as a leader. Herod also built Sebaste and other pagan cities because he wanted to appeal to the country's substantial pagan population. In order to fund these projects, Herod utilized a Hasmonean taxation system that heavily burdened the Judean people. Nevertheless, these enterprises brought employment and opportunities for the people's provision. In some instances, Herod took it upon himself to provide for his people in times of need, such as during

7990-437: The trepidation he felt when he had to inform the king of an emergency on the day. In denominations of Western Christianity , such as Catholicism and Lutheranism, some Christians attend Mass on Childermas to remember the martyrdom of the Holy Innocents. In England, the memorial is referred to as Childermas or Children's Mass in which "Children are given a blessing; they sing in the choir and take on other special roles in

8084-461: The tyrannical authority that many scholars have come to associate with Herod's reign. Herod's despotic rule has been demonstrated by many of his security measures aimed at suppressing the contempt his people, especially Jews, had towards him. For instance, it has been suggested that Herod used secret police to monitor and report the feelings of the general populace toward him. He sought to prohibit protests, and had opponents removed by force. He had

8178-421: Was a reference of how Herod, as a Jew, would not kill pigs, but had three of his sons, and many others, killed. According to contemporary historians, Herod the Great "is perhaps the only figure in ancient Jewish history who has been loathed equally by Jewish and Christian posterity", depicted both by Jews and Christians as a tyrant and bloodthirsty ruler. The study of Herod's reign includes polarizing opinions on

8272-491: Was a smaller town, the slaughter of about a half dozen children would not have warranted a mention from Josephus. Herod died in Jericho , after an unidentified but excruciatingly painful, putrefying illness, known to posterity as "Herod's Evil". Josephus states that the pain of his illness led Herod to attempt suicide by stabbing, and that the attempt was thwarted by his cousin. In some much later narratives and depictions,

8366-727: Was an alternative to the Flight into Egypt in cycles of the Life of the Virgin . It decreased in popularity in Gothic art , but revived in the larger works of the Renaissance , when artists took inspiration for their "Massacres" from Roman reliefs of the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs to the extent that they showed the figures heroically nude. The horrific subject matter of the Massacre of

8460-572: Was indeed a historical event. Medieval liturgical drama recounted Biblical events, including Herod's slaughter of the innocents. The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors , performed in Coventry, England, included a haunting song about the episode now known as the Coventry Carol . The Ordo Rachelis tradition of four plays includes the Flight into Egypt, Herod's succession by Archelaus ,

8554-521: Was questioned by some elements of Jewish society. When John Hyrcanus conquered the region of Idumaea (the Edom of the Hebrew Bible ) in 140–130 BCE, he required all Idumaeans to obey Jewish law or to leave; most Idumaeans thus converted to Judaism, which meant that they had to be circumcised , and many intermarried with the Jews and adopted their customs. While Herod publicly identified himself as

8648-413: Was said to be an unlucky day when no new project should be started. There was a medieval custom of refraining where possible from work on the day of the week on which the feast of "Innocents Day" had fallen for the whole of the following year until the next Innocents Day. Philippe de Commynes , the minister of King Louis XI of France , tells in his memoirs how the king observed this custom, and describes

8742-519: Was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean , a high-ranking official under ethnarch Hyrcanus II , and Cypros, a Nabatean princess from Petra , in present-day Jordan . Herod's father was by descent an Edomite; his ancestors had converted to Judaism . Herod was raised as a Jew. Strabo , a contemporary of Herod, held that the Idumaeans, whom he identified as of Nabataean origin, constituted

8836-456: Was to keep his throne. At Rhodes in 31 BCE, Herod, through his ability to keep Judea open to Rome as a link to the wealth of Syria and Egypt, and ability to defend the frontier, convinced Octavian that he would be loyal to him. Herod continued to rule his subjects as he saw fit. Despite the autonomy afforded to Herod in his internal reign over Judea, restrictions were placed upon him in his relations with other kingdoms. Herod's support from

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