Herod the Great: The Mighty Builder
How a Roman-loving Jewish King built the City of Jerusalem.
King Herod is among the most reviled figures in the entire New Testament. Most people probably recognize him from the Gospel of Matthew, where he orders the death of babies—an event that never happened.
Modern historians actually know more about King Herod than they do about Jesus. Thanks to the meticulous records of the Jewish historian Josephus, Herod’s life can be reconstructed for modern readers with relative ease.
Here is the real history behind King Herod, the Romanized King of the Jews.
A Latin lover
Herod was born in 73 BC. At the time, Judea was part of the Roman Empire. The Romans ruled by proxy through a local aristocratic Jewish family, called the Hasmoneans. The more religious among them were direct descendants from King David. Herod’s Arab father was someone that the Romans could work with.
Even from a young age, Herod was closely tied to Roman culture. He was an example of a Hellenized Jew, who happily assimilated into the enlightened culture of the Greeks and Romans. Fundamentalist Jews hated anything they deemed “pagan,” and they extended their antipathy toward their fellow Jews who even slightly embraced Greco-Roman beliefs and customs. Herod was one such individual.
The boy Herod grew up in Jerusalem, but he was culturally Roman in all but name. His father was on a first-name basis with Julius Caesar, and received Rome’s most prestigious honor for foreigners. In his teens, Herod was already being prepared for a life in power. The key to this path would be his relationship with Rome. That started with a close friendship with Rome’s eastern strongman, the playboy and politician Mark Antony. Antony was a life-affirming heathen to the core. He loved laughing and carousing. He made loud jokes. He was also a man of action. The two men got along well.
Later on, as King of Judea, Herod struggled to gain legitimacy on account of his non-Jewish heritage. Herod was an Arab by ancestry. His mother was a princess from the city of Petra, in modern-day Jordan. His father was an Arab diplomat from a desert tribe that had been forcibly converted to Judaism. To the Jews, King Herod was regarded as a heathen. They refused to recognize his political legitimacy. The Hebrew Bible insisted that only King David and his lineage could legitimately rule over the Jews.
Galilee and Syria
Herod got his first taste of power at the age of 26. A revolt broke out in the wild northern frontier of Galilee. The locals refused to pay taxes. The Romans sent Herod in to govern the place. The King managed to streamline administration, and was particularly adept at apprehending Jewish nationalist revolutionaries. However, this alienated him from the Jewish aristocracy. But the Romans pressured the Jews to back down. It became clear to all that Herod was Rome’s agent.
Herod was appointed as the Roman governor of Syria. He took his first wife, a woman named Doris. The couple had a son together. After six years of marriage, Herod put aside his wife and child in favor of a Jewish princess, the 13-year-old Mariamne. Sixteen was the legal age of consent. But for Herod, it was a girl worth waiting three years for. She was the royal granddaughter of the Hasmonean King. Through this marriage, Herod hoped to marry his way into the local Jewish aristocracy.
Parthia’s invasion
Herod owed his prestige to his ties with the Roman Mark Antony, but he had fallen under the spell of the seductive Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Antony was responsible for Rome’s foreign policy affairs in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Judea. But the strong military leader was too busy with his dalliances with Cleopatra to care about the Middle East. Herod watched in dismay as the Parthians invaded the land of the Jews. Jerusalem was captured, and the Parthians installed their own puppet regime. Herod was forced to flee Judea. In the meantime, he worked with Rome’s regional allies to organize a counterattack.
Herod made a lightning-quick escape to Petra, but was refused entry. He then proceeded to Alexandria, where he met with Cleopatra. He left aboard a ship in the dead of winter, seeking out Rome’s help. It was a daring move. News of his voyage reached Rome before he did. The Romans were already impressed by the time he arrived.
It was the first time that Herod saw the Eternal City itself. He spoke with bold confidence, asking the assistance of the Roman Senate to restore the Hasmonean dynasty in Judea. The Romans didn’t care who ruled Judea, as long as it was under their sphere of influence. Clearly impressed by Herod, the Romans agreed to install him as King of Judea, with or without the consent of the Jewish populace.
King of the Jews
In 40 BC, the Romans appointed Herod as King of the Jews. Before he could accede the throne, Herod had to expel the Parthian invaders. This became a problem, because the Jews came to favor the Parthian regime over that of Herod. With military backing from Rome, King Herod waged a campaign against his own people. Finally, after three years, Herod emerged victorious by 37 BC. It was a hollow victory.
The Romans may have liked Herod, but the Jews did not recognize any pagan government. They would only accept the House of the biblical David. His authority was constantly in question.
To shore up his legitimacy in the eyes of the Jews, Herod married Mariamne. They had two sons together. But Herod faced a problem. Because Herod had deposed her grandfather, she hated him. As a result, Herod was seized with jealously and paranoia. Whenever he left on a dangerous military campaign, the King left instructions for his men to kill his wife should he fail to return.
The Holy City of Jerusalem was ruled by the religious authorities on the Temple Mount. It was the site of King Solomon’s Temple, the Holy of Holies. To gain legitimacy, Herod desperately needed to win over the support of the Jewish priests. He made an enormously popular decision to restore the Hasmonean dynasty. However, as a non-Jew, Herod was not even allowed to watch from the back of the room.
Jericho
Herod was put on trial for murder, but was saved by the intervention of his old friend Mark Antony. Cleopatra had ambitions for Jericho, so as an act of appeasement, it was gifted to her by her loving Roman husband.
Jericho had a booming economy. It was plentiful with citrus groves, dates, wine, and balsam. The city was a jewel in Judea’s crown. Rather than occupying her new possession, Cleopatra leased it back to Herod at a high price. It cost him almost half of Judea’s income.
Once again, Herod was humiliated. He was helplessly reliant on Mark Antony and Rome. Cleopatra’s territorial ambitions in the Middle East put her at odds with Herod, who developed a deep hatred of the Egyptian seductress. He became the only man known to resist her sexual charms.
Temple Mount
After a destructive siege of Jerusalem, King Herod planned to rebuild the Holy City. His architects embarked on a project so enormous, that it remains Jerusalem’s most famous landmark even 2,000 years later: the Temple Mount.
The original Temple of Solomon was the most holy site of Judaism. Over 900 years old, it was in virtual ruins. As a non-Jew, Herod was forbidden from even entering the Temple. Nevertheless, to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the Jews, he promised to build a new temple.
It wasn’t easy. The priests were skeptical, and demanded that Herod lay out all of his building materials before starting. Herod had a tendency of demolishing buildings without finishing the job. Herod became defensive, and he insisted that his ambitions outranked even the most illustrious Hasmonean monarchs of Jewish history.
It took Herod eight years to create a new Holy of Holies, and dramatically expand the area of the Temple Mount itself. He surrounded it with colonnaded walkways. The southern end was dominated by a palace and shopping mall. It was a vantage point from which the King could keep his eye on the troublesome priests below.
The site was opened up to all: Jews, Gentiles, and even women. It became a commercial center, as well as a site of religious pilgrimage. The Temple Mount became the Fifth Avenue of the ancient world. Jesus, as a Jew, came from Galilee to visit Jerusalem. Moneychangers, the men that Jesus rebuked, lived and operated in the markets of the Temple Mount.
Under King Herod, Judea became a booming, prosperous province of the Roman Empire. Jews and Romans alike marveled at Herod’s accomplishments. Because of the Temple Mount, the Jewish faith became very fashionable among Rome’s cultivated elites, some of whom adopted monotheism.
Herod’s Temple Mount continues to be fought over bitterly today. His construction projects were replaced by those of invaders. Jews and Christians are not allowed to visit what is now an exclusively Islamic site. Jews still worship at Herod’s Western Wall.
Rebuilding the Temple was a shrewd move by King Herod, one largely motivated by political reasons. The refined Herod was not a particularly religious man. However, his vast palaces all feature Jewish ritual baths. His households observed strict religious laws. There is no strong reason to think that he was anything less than a conventionally religious Jew.
Rome’s civil wars
In 31 BC, Herod’s power was threatened. Rome erupted into a civil war between Mark Antony and Octavian.
If Antony were to lose, Herod feared his own demise. In September of that year, Octavian defeated Antony and his Egyptian lover at the naval sea battle of Actium. Herod was not present. The King was too distracted by a border war with the desert-dwelling Nabataeans.
With his old friend defeated, Herod now faced a crisis. The romantic Mark Antony died by suicidal poisoning in his lover’s arms in 30 BC. King Herod decided to embark on a bold journey to visit Octavian, the new ruler of the Roman world. He arrived without any royal regalia, no crown or robes.
Herod was very forthright about his former allegiance to his deceased friend Mark Antony. However, in no uncertain terms, the King of the Jews now pledged his loyalty to Octavian. Octavian accepted Herod’s overtures, and even expanded Judea’s borders for the Middle Eastern King to rule over.
Herod’s silver tongue had once again secured power and prosperity.
Death of Mariamne
While prestigious on the political front, King Herod struggled in his personal life. He was devastated by rumors that his beloved wife had an affair with another man.
Herod was crushed by the news. He angrily had his wife executed, and withdrew bitterly into the wilderness. His will to live was extinguished. He fell into a deep depression, and nearly died as a result. For the rest of his life, Herod never quite got over it.
With the death of Mariamne, Herod’s life reached a turning point. He ended his efforts to impress the Jewish elites with his Hasmonean connections. He redoubled his efforts to solidify his legacy by constructing more monuments. As a vassal king, he did not have the option to pursue military adventurism, which was probably for the better.
Masada
Herod was invigorated by his bold construction projects. Happiness again recolored his life. The more challenging, the more exhilarating it was for him. One project was built atop a mountain overlooking the Dead Sea at Masada. His luxurious palace complex stood in defiance of gravity. The northern palace was always in shade, and had a beautiful over-the-cliff view of the sea.
Port of Caesarea
Among the most creative feats by King Herod the Great was an artificial deep seaport, which was built at Caesarea. This was unprecedented in world history. It was an engineering accomplishment with few parallels, even the mighty Roman Empire itself. Herod’s port is considered by some to be one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Herod knew that, for Judea to become a maritime empire, he needed to feed into the Mediterranean trade. The King created an artificial reef using volcanic ash.
Herod’s harbor became an instant success. It allowed for Roman ships, retrieving grain from Egypt, to relieve themselves and avoid storms. The harbor became a cash machine for King Herod, and a source of national pride for Judea.
Caesarea started out as a port, and later morphed into an entire city. It was conceived by Herod as a hedonistic, secular metropolis that was open to all. It was not just built by Herod the Great; it represented everything he stood for. The city had a tiny Jewish minority, but it was mostly intended for a large Gentile population. Caesarea became a cosmopolitan center for traders across the Mediterranean world. Samaritans, Phoenicians, Syrians, and Greeks alike all attended it. Even today, Caesarea continues to be a booming town for the middle class. It allows people to freely commute across the Mediterranean world.
Herod built Caesarea as a counterpoint to Jerusalem. Caesarea was secular, while Jerusalem was religious. The port city was open to the entire world, while the Holy City belonged to Yahweh.
Herod’s sons
After reigning for 28 years, the elderly King Herod was deeply pleased with himself. He rebuilt the City of God, and created a city of business. The King’s Roman patrons were satisfied, and so were his subjects.
But Herod was unsure about his future. His latter years were characterized by growing insanity, cruelty, and violence. He grew increasingly paranoid, even of his own kids. So he called back his wife and child that he had banished 30 years earlier. Doris and the four-year-old Antipater had been thrown out of the house when he wanted Mariamne. Now, Antipater was the frontrunner for Herod’s throne.
Herod’s other two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, came from his wife Mariamne. They were strong contenders for the throne, but King Herod did not trust them. He saw them as arrogant Hasmonean aristocrats. The two sons were refined and cultured; they received a classical education in Rome. Herod, by contrast, came from a more crude, provincial background. He lacked a strong formal education.
There was some truth to Herod’s suspicions. His kids seemed to be courting the compliance of the army for a planned coup against their father. It didn’t help that Herod had executed their mother. Rumor held that the crazed Herod kept his dead wife’s embalmed body in honey, and visited her at night to maintain their ill-fated romance. For years, Herod tried to get along with his sons, but he couldn’t avoid seeing them as a threat. In 7 BC, Herod’s temper flared up, and he ordered the two sons be strangled.
Massacre of the Innocents
The Bible tells the famous Christmas story of the Three Magi. According to Matthew’s Gospel, the three kings came to Judea in search of the King of the Jews. But Herod was not who they had in mind. Herod grew infuriated as the Magi spoke of a star and a prophecy, but he played innocent.
According to the Bible, Herod’s troops marched on Bethlehem. But God had warned Joseph, Jesus’ father, in a dream. The Holy Family escaped to Egypt. The King’s revenge came quickly. Realizing he had been outwitted, Herod ordered the death of all male kids aged two and under across Bethlehem and the surrounding regions.
Herod was a bloody King. But did he order this massacre? The Gospel of Matthew is the only source of this event. Luke’s Gospel states that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during Herod’s reign, but makes no mention of any massacre. Josephus, who painstakingly catalogued King Herod’s darker deeds, never mentioned the slaughter.
According to historian Paul L. Meier, most scholars do not believe that the massacre ever occurred. But it is true that Herod’s latter reign was characterized by unprecedented killings.
Reign of terror
Herod’s atrocities grew worse, as did his health. Almost aged 70, his mind and body were both in ruins. According to Josephus, he suffered from a terrible plague. He might have suffered a painful gangrene on his scrotum. But even from his deathbed, Herod continued to rule despotically and erratically. Antipater, Herod’s son, prepared to mount a coup. The dying Herod still mustered enough strength to order his son’s summary execution. Herod had just five days to live, but he still had plenty of scores to settle. He avenged a lifelong of rage and resentment against the Jewish aristocracy. He ordered their mass execution, but officials refused to carry out his orders. Driven to insanity by physical pain, King Herod attempted to commit suicide. Some modern researchers have proposed painful kidney disease as the cause of the King’s madness. He died at Jericho sometime between 4 to 1 BC. Herod’s death left a vacuum, which his successors were unable to fill. Within a century, the Romans burned down his Temple and persecuted the Jews.
Legacy
Herod the Great is one of the Bible’s worst villains, but this reputation is based only on the latter years of his reign. There was once a time when the mighty King of Judea oversaw the world’s most awe-inspiring achievements of engineering and human culture. This included the cosmopolitan metropolis at Caesarea, which opened up Judea to the rest of the Mediterranean sphere. The vibrant marketplaces of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, where Jesus himself walked and preached, were all built by the magnificent monarch. Herod’s architectural accomplishments won praise from even his worst enemies; Romans, Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike all marvel at their majesty.
Herod might have been wicked, provincial, and genocidal; but the Judean King was also romantic, open-minded, and extremely creative. Ever the outsider, the peasant-born Herod worked tirelessly to unite his subjects without discrimination and prejudice. Herod’s massive monuments of human ingenuity continue to be a source of inspiration and pleasure for people even 2,000 years later.
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