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The “Slaughter of the Innocents” committed by King Herod of Judea, is an event whose fame owes as much to the fascination generated by such an act of barbarism as to the functional role played by this episode in Christian literature by providing the date of birth of Jesus. The paper shows that this massacre has no historical existence. This is demonstrated through an analysis of the sources themselves and their historical contextualization. We begin by examining the contradictions and textual manipulations to which the event has been subjected in Christian tradition. We then consider the historical framework of the Hellenistic kingdoms of the Near East, whose brutal dynastic practices lent credibility to the murder of children in Judea. Finally, the Greco-Roman cultural environment which transmitted this fiction in Antiquity turned it into a commonplace, amalgamating themes of various origins in accordance with the typical phenomenon of black legends. In modern times, these mechanisms have enabled the symbolic reinvestment by the collective memory of a massacre that never took place.

Is La Mort des enfants d’Hérode (1639) truly a sequel to Tristan’s La Mariane (1637) ? It seems La Calprenède is right when he suggests that both tragedies should not be read separately. In both plays, Herod is indeed a paradoxical figure, who acts as a tyrant as well as a courageous and clever sovereign; and he is also quick to be moved when confronted to a woman’s tears. Without La Mariane, La Calprenède’s Herod would not exist. But one should not consider La Mort des enfants d’Hérode only as another Mariane: its tragical dimension is quite singular. La Calprenède’s Herod has indeed improved since he sentenced his wife to death; nevertheless, he falls back into his old ways when he sends his legitimate sons, Alexandre and Aristobule, to the scaffold because he trusts his bastard son, Antipatre. He thus yields to a melancholy state that leads him to a symbolical suicide, as occurs in La Mariane. Considering all this, we examine how, in La Mort des enfants d’Hérode, La Calprenède manages to create a retrospective common authorship with his famous predecessor.

In its biblical context, the injunction stipulating that "the outsider who encroaches shall be put to death" seems to apply to any non-priest or non-Levite who tries to participate in the tabernacle services. This interpretation seems to have been adopted during the Second Temple period, as attested to by the Temple Scroll (11QTa). There is no source that states that an unauthorized entrant to the temple is subject to capital punishment, except for a gentile: Philo and Josephus write that a gentile who enters the temple court is subject to the death penalty. Several scholars propose that this punishment derives from a reinterpretation of the biblical injunction, and it seems that this interpretation originated during the Hasmonean rebellion. The claim that Herod innovated the injunction subjecting a gentile who ascended beyond the balustrade to death is difficult to accept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the resurrection, the trial and death of Jesus forms the climax of the gospel accounts and stands at the heart of Christian preaching. After briefly surveying the relevant sources, the following article will highlight the apologetic and literary nature of the canonical Christian gospels, the earliest surviving ‘lives’ of Jesus. It will then sketch the religio-political circumstances of first-century Jerusalem, situate Jesus’ last few hours against that broader backdrop, and examine a number of key gospel traditions. A final reflection will point to some of the theological ways in which Jesus’ death was interpreted by his earliest followers.

Abstract Nicopolis foundation betwenn ideology and politics The paper aims at analyzing the multiple meanings that the foundation of Nicopolis by Octavianus implied. Whereas the modern scholarship commonly focuses on the ideological function of the foundation – namely the celebration of Octavianus’ victory over Antonius in the battle of Actium– it will be shown that Octavianus, by means of the foundation of the city, also aimed at conveying precise political messages both to those that supported him against Antonius and to the allies of the latter. The analysis of literary sources and epigraphic documents will also permit to explore some examples of responses among Greek communities to Octavianus’ victory at Actium and to the subsequent foundation of Nicopolis.

All the Synoptic Gospels record a peculiar claim in a story about Herod, wherein it is said that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead. Obviously, none of the Gospel authors agree with this claim, which raises the question of why they recorded it. With a focus on Matthew, I argue that this claim appears for two reasons: 1) the resurrection speculation presents perhaps the most dramatic—even if misinformed—statement of Jesus's continuity with John as well as his superiority; 2) the resurrection speculation provides an ironic foreshadowing of the link between Jesus's identity and his fate, a link that fits with the author's themes of resurrection theology. To make this argument, I first perform a pericope comparison between Matthew's version and the other Synoptics. Then I examine the place of the text in Matthew's overall presentation of the relationship of Jesus and John. Finally, I explore how this text relates to the theology of resurrection presented in Matthew. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The recent reports of the excavations at el-Khirbe (Nesher-Ramla Quarry) published by Alexander Melamed have revealed, for the first time, the importance of the hiding complex phenomenon in the province of Judaea during the Second Temple period, both in number and with regard to a more sophisticated architecture than had previously been noted. These reports have made this site a key location for study of the topic. A closer study of the excavation reports and a fresh look at all of the data about hiding complexes throughout Judaea indicate some methodological issues. Accordingly, we must be cautious about using this site in order to draw conclusions about hiding complexes in general. This study is intended to highlight and sharpen the contribution of the recent discovery of the Nesher-Ramla systems to the study of the hiding complexes of Judaea, and to discuss the historical background of the circumstances surrounding the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Amsterdamer Beiträge zur Älteren Germanistik is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Samaria, renamed Sebaste after the annexation to Herod's kingdom, was mostly excavated in the first half of the 20th century. Despite its relevant archaeological heritage, the history of the city is scarcely known. During the Middle Imperial period, Samaria–Sebaste flourished, as is suggested by the renovation of several buildings. Under Septimius Severus the city was granted the status of colonia from which is benefited greatly. This paper intends to reappraise data from old excavations, with the aim to frame the local urban renovation of the 2nd and the 3rd centuries ce in a broader regional context. With regard to this objective, marble/stone trade and architectural decoration will be analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yussefiyah structure, adjacent to the northwestern wall of the Patriarchs' Cave Compound in Hebron, is a complex one, with elements integrated within it dating from Roman times to the present day. In 2016, ground-penetrating radar mapping was carried out to identify hidden cavities and structures. After deciphering the results of the mapping, it became clear that a reservoir with arches from the Roman period had been constructed inside a karstic fissure below the ground floor. During the various stages of the compound's construction, this reservoir influenced the shape of the structure. It appears that due to karstic fissures under the compound area, as well as other factors, the whole compound was constructed at an unconventional angle. These fissures were used as reservoirs during the period preceding the structure's construction, and Herod planned to use them to supply water to those entering the compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its having some significant redactional features distinctive from the Synoptic parallels, Matthew's story about little children (18:1-5) and its relation to the temple tax episode (17:24-27) have received little attention in NT scholarship. Focusing on Matthew's redaction, which creates a stark contrast between the children of the earthly kings and little children for the kingdom of heaven, this article analyzes the meaning of childlikeness in the post-70 c.e. imperial context of Matthew's community. I interpret the contrasting images of children in light of the implications of taxation and royal kinship, drawing on historical and archaeological data such as Josephus's Jewish Antiquities and the Ara Pacis Augustae. This contextualization highlights that the children of the earthly kings evoke the imagery of foreign princes, including the Herodian sons, who represent both economic privilege and political subjugation to Rome. Offering the little child Jesus called in Capernaum as a counterexample to the Herodian heirs, Matthew invites hearers to position themselves lower, to turn to the least of their society, and to seek out an alternative religious and political community that anticipates the kingdom of heaven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly asses the information provided by the inscriptions from Caesarea, brought together in the Corpus Inscriptionum. On matters concerning the social history of the city, the various elements of the population and language use they tend to confirm the impression created by the inscriptions from other, comparable cities in the Roman Near East. Latin was present, but far from dominant. It was used for a variety of reasons, by those associated with the provincial government, the army and the city magistrature. There is no evidence that Latin was widely spoken in daily life by the population at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mudayna as-Saliya is a fortress site at the summit of an isolated promontory near the eastern end of Wadi Mujib, central Jordan. Archaeological surveys of the site have exposed potential evidence of Iron Age and classical period use with its occupational zenith in the late Hellenistic-early Roman period. The ruin on the surface is remarkably similar in architectural and hydrological design to the fortress of Machaerus. This paper, based on available survey data, suggests that the Hasmoneans were responsible for the construction of the fortress at Mudayna as-Saliya, which was reused by the Nabateans during the early Roman period. Finding a potential Hasmonean desert fortress on the desert fringe of eastern Transjordan was unexpected, and it might have significant ramifications for the study of Hasmonean, Herodian, and Nabatean kingdoms in central Jordan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Herodian temenos in Jerusalem, a warning inscription prohibited non-Jews, under penalty of death, from proceeding any further inward. This was mounted on a low stone balustrade that encircled an area larger than the actual holy ground. As suggested in research, the underlying pentateuchal law for the inscription was הזר הקרב יומת , "the unauthorized encroacher shall be put to death." The subjection of gentiles to this law, in particular, and its application even when they had not, de facto , trespassed on holy ground remain, however, unexplained. The article suggests that the inscription applied הזר הקרב יומת to a זר , in the sense of "a foreigner," who merely קרב , "draws near" to sacred ground. A further suggestion is that this reading and implementation of the biblical law reflects a preemptive endeavor to blunt Jewish objection to a major cultic innovation by Herod: granting gentiles access to the Jerusalem temenos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Question of King Herod's personal involvement in the Building Projects attributed to him was always one of the more dominant topics in the study of Herodian archaeology. The purpose of this short paper is to try and answer this question by researching and discussing the location of a ‘common denominator’ in the structure of Herod's “Landscape” palaces, through the study of the relationship each palace has with its surroundings. These palaces-the Promontory Palace in Caesarea, the Third Palace in Jericho, the Northern Palace in Masada and the Palace of Great Herodium-were chosen as case studies for their scale, architectural complexity and the unique connection they share with the landscape. While a close study of the interior of the palaces and their structural units show that each palace plan is unique and shares almost nothing in common with the other plans, a research of the landscape in which the palaces are located indicates that a common denominator to all four palaces can be found in the forms of the elements of water and the dramatic landscape. These two elements, combined with the uniqueness of the structures themselves, point to Herod's own involvement in the planning of the four “Landscape” palaces.

The Slaughter of the Innocents provides the date of birth of Jesus and gives the starting point of the persecutions of Christians. Although this event plays a functional role in Christian literature, the Gospel of Matthew is the only text that discusses it. Other evangelists, as well as the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who all share the reprobation of Herod’s crimes, never mention such an event. The only testimony which could indirectly attest to the Slaughter of the Innocents is a joke by Augustus, declaring that it would be better to be Herod’s pig than his son. This pleasantry, known though its mention in a late anthology, owes its success to the cultural context at the Imperial Court where Greco-Roman puns were in vogue. Augustus’ witticism is a mixture of Roman common place thinking on infanticide and an anti-Jewish slur referring to the abstinence from pork. The Christian amalgam between the children of Bethlehem and the sons of Herod is not, however, due to Augustus, it is an a posteriori addition, popularized by collective memory.

This study reveals the flora of the well-preserved ionic courtyard garden of the Third Winter Palace in Jericho of King Herod the Great, based on the identification of fossil pollen. The garden's peristyle displays some of the finest architectural and artistic remains known in the gardens of the Roman world (Netzer 2001; Rozenberg 2008). Archaeological excavation exposed seven rows of as many as 11 planting pots each within the courtyard garden. The pollen finds from the garden soil and the planting pots include pine, cypress/juniper, cedar, olive, oriental plane, myrtle, bay tree and date palm. All of these trees and shrubs are well-known ornamentals in elite gardens of the western Roman world. Since these naturally large plants were grown in planting pots, it is suggested that the garden featured dwarfed trees. The location of this unique garden in an extreme desert landscape expressed to visitors Herod's power and affluence, not only in ruling his subjects but also in controlling natural forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is nothing better than René Girard's mimetic desire and scapegoat's theory to interpret and understand the enigmatic episode of the death of John the Baptist at the climax of Herod's birthday celebration. Before Girard, many literary pieces have dealt with this same subject. Among them, Oscar Wilde's Salome and Gustave Flaubert's Hérodias, which offer a fascinating approach to the story told both by the Gospels and by historian Flavius Josephus. In this paper, several aspects are taken into consideration, namely, the historical and political context, the secondary "characters", the events before, during and after the banquet, the apparently inexplicable bloody ending and its terrible aftermath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hz. Yahya gerek İslam gerekse Hıristiyan kaynaklarında hakkında bilgi verilenbir peygamberdir. O ve babası Hz. Zekeriya İsrail oğullarına peygamber olarakgönderilmiş, ancak her ikisi de devrin şehit edilen peygamberleri arasında yerlerinialmışlardır. Hz. Yahya’nın çocukluğu ile ilgili teferruatlı bilgi İncillerde verilmemeklebirlikte onun Herod tarafından nasıl şehit edildiği anlatılmaktadır. 4. yüzyılda yaşamışolan Mısır’lı din adamı olan Serapion tarafından kaleme alınan Hz. Yahya’nın Hayatıisimli kayıtlarda Hz. Yahya’nın çocukluğu, mücadelesi, Hz. Zekeriya’nın şehadeti ileilgili bilgiler verilmekte, Hz. Yahya’nın vefatından sonra kesilen başı ile ilgili bir efsanede dile getirilmektedir.

Hasmonean Kingdom (140-37 BCE) was one of the few Jewish independent states in history. However, Hasmoneans were not able to exercise their religious and political authority fully because of their genealogy; for the Jewish authorities claimed that their genealogy was not sufficiently pure to do so. The claim of this study is that the real reason for the opposition of the Jewish authorities against the dynasty was due to their Hellenistic tendencies, which surfaced as a rhetorical ploy using genealogy. For this reason, when the Hasmoneans claimed High Priesthood, the opposition created new boundary markers so as to limit their ability of achieving religious authority. On the other end of the spectrum, they denied the Hasmonean claim of kingship because they were not from Davidic lineage. This opposition created an unstable political situation, which eventually led to civil wars. Consequently, the kingdom was able to only survive for a short period of time. In this study the research elaborates on how the two sides utilized the argument of genealogical superiority to construct their respected political arguments. The cases through which the notion of genealogical superiority is discussed includes the administrative revisions on the structure of "Keneset ha-Gedolah", the genealogy of the Hasmoneans, and the claim that the Hasmoneans lost the purity of blood necessary for high priesthood. Furthermore, the diverse stands of Herod the Great and John the Baptist on the issue of genealogical superiority are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herod the Great was appointed 'king of Jews,' to govern Judea, by the Roman Emperor and Senate. He lived from 73/74 BCE to 4 CE. He died with an illness and symptoms that have been the source of considerable speculation. Richard Strauss depicted Herod in his classic opera, 'Salome.' That opera was derived from a play of the same name by Oscar Wilde, which was based on an 1876 painting, 'Salome Dancing Before Herod,' by Gustave Moreau. The operatic Herod was afflicted with an illness characterized by dementia, hallucinations, paranoia, alcoholism (from drinking the Emperor's wine), violence, twitches, and sterility; different interpretations showed him also with falls, chills, shaking, thirst, forgetfulness, and sleepiness, for which we suggest the novel diagnosis of chronic lead intoxication (which can manifest to rheumatologists as saturnine gout). He had compatible symptoms (encephalopathy and neuromuscular abnormalities) and consumed excessive quantities of imperial wine, known to be highly contaminated with lead and likely associated with similar symptoms among Roman aristocracy. Herod's demented cruelties-an oppressive reign which including the beheading of John the Baptist-exacerbated the political climate and may have contributed to the subsequent violent 7-year revolt culminating in the destruction of the second temple. How different might history have been if Herod the Great had been abstemious? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, Salome was an unexceptional figure who never catalyzed John the Baptist's death. However, in Christian Scripture, she becomes the dancing seductress as fallen daughter of Eve. Her stepfather Herod promises Salome his kingdom if she dances for him, but she follows her mother’s wish to have John beheaded. In Strauss’s opera, after Wilde's Symbolist-Decadent play, Salome becomes independent of Herodias’ will, and the mythic avatar of the femme fatale and persecuted artist who Herod has killed after she kisses John's severed head. Her signature key of C# major, resolving to the C major sung by Herod and Jokanaan at her death, represent her tragic fate musically.

In the Ancient world poverty was a visible and common phenomenon. According to estimations 9 out of 10 persons lived close to the subsistence level or below it. There was no middle class. The state did not show much concern for the poor. Inequality and disability to improve one’s social status were based on honour and shame, culture and religion. In order to understand the activity of Jesus and the early Jesus movement in Galilee, it is essential to know the social and economic context where he and his followers came. The principal literary source in first-century Galilee is Josephus, who provides a very incomplete glimpse of the political and economic character of the Galilee and his account is both tendentious and selfserving. There is no consensus among the scholars on the conditions of ordinary people in Galilee at the time of Jesus and the early Jesus movement. The evidence can be interpreted either so that first-century Galilee was peaceful and people had somewhat better times economically because of the large building projects, or just the opposite – the building projects demanded a lot more taxes and forced labour and made life even more difficult. In this article it is argued that the latter conditions explain better the birth and rapid increase of the early Jesus movement in Galilee.

Both ritual studies and masculinity studies are relative newcomers to the field of New Testament studies. This article endeavours to combine insights from both of these fields and to show how such a combination can be heuristically helpful. In particular, it explores how the respective masculinities of "king" Herod and Jesus are narratively constructed in Mark 6 through the presentation of their behaviour during their participation in rituals, meals to be exact. The two key female characters are also discussed and analysed, in relation to ritual failure. In doing so, new light is shed on this chapter of the Gospel of Mark. In addition, and experimentally, a new matrix for the analysis of the masculinity/religion interface is presented and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the story of the Epiphany in Matthew's Gospel this chapter offers a brief account of the evolution of Christian attitudes to Herod the Great and how the slaughtered Innocents became subjects of devotional attention, the first martyrs for Christ. Taking then a variety of examples of how the story of the Epiphany captured the imagination of Christian poets and liturgical and religious playmakers the discussion proceeds to an examination of two plays from the Towneley collection, The Offering of the Magi and Magnus Herodes. Focussing on the character of Herod as presented there it is shown how his character can be interpreted as both violently threatening and yet obviously absurd. This ambivalence is brought out most strongly in Magnus Herodes where the Wakefield Master skilfully manages audience reception to see Herod as a character in a play, an entertainment in his own right, as much as a target for Christian vindictiveness. Herod's envoi in the Towneley play is cheeky since it foregrounds the character's humanity as against his culpability. In comparison with other examples this playwright seems to have been reluctant to join the almost universal moralising and condemnation of Herod in favour of a perfectly theatrical outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years a consensus has emerged that the Testament of Moses is to be dated in the early first century C.E., at least in its final form, and the primary basis for that consensus is the apparently perfect match between the reference to a ruler ruling for 34 years and the years of the reign of Herod the Great. While acknowledging that much can be explained on that presupposition, I have sought to show that a fit equally as strong as with Herod may be found when chapter 6 is read as alluding to the reign of Alexander Janneus and Alexandra Salome. The figure 34 matches with as much accuracy as one could expect. But much else also matches, including the fact that his sons did reign for shorter periods than their father, unlike Herod's sons, and that many of the details, including depictions of depravity and assumptions of religious conflict, better match what we know of the reign of Alexander, Alexandra, and their sons [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a reconstruction and analysis of the Herodian family as a presence in the city of Rome over more than three generations. The scholarly tendency to view the Herods as an aspect of a broader governmental system overlooks the workings of the particular relationships that elevated the Herods in their own land as well as at the centre of Roman power. Beginning with the foundation of a lasting connection between the Herods and the Julio-Claudians laid by Herod the Great and Augustus, this paper traces the legacy of that connection and its impact on affairs in both Judaea and Rome. The peculiar challenges of retaining status in both Roman and Jewish contexts are assessed and their importance as a vital aspect of our understanding of first-century Judaean politics is established. Examination, finally, of the development of their aspirations and their negotiation of dynastic change shows vividly the processes of 'Romanisation' in the context of an elite family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some scholars have characterized Jewish participation in Roman theatrical institutions as a departure from normative Judaism, while others have distinguished Jews in the diaspora, who attend the theaters, from Jews in Palestine, who criticize and reject them. Both of these narratives are inadequate because scholars have failed to analyze the sources in terms of the cultural and discursive dynamics of Roman theater-going in general. Critiques and accommodations of the theater are common among Jews who lived in both the diaspora and Palestine, for the nature of theatrical culture itself provided Jews with opportunities for vigorous dialogical give-and-take under a Roman imperium in which theaters and their shows were of utmost political and social importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article argues that women and domestic intrigue are prominent within the Herod narrative in Josephus' Jewish War for a specific rhetorical reason. While the first half of the narrative presents the famous king in encomiastic terms, using him to illustrate Josephus' contention that Jews generally were content to remain loyal to Rome, the second half of the account subtly presents a rather different thesis. Attention to domestic drama allowed Josephus to suggest that Herod was a man who was unable to control either his own emotions or his turbulent family, and so was unfit to rule. Ultimately for Josephus, the ideal constituency for Judaea is not monarchy (as represented by Herod) but the theocratic reign of priests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The article examines the social relations in Herod's royal courts according to the archaeological discoveries in the Herodian palaces of Jericho, Masada, and Caesarea and what kind of political self-image is represented by these palaces. Space Syntax Theory (Access Analysis) is used to examine the spatial plan of these five palaces. Until 15 B.C.E. Herod was interested in maintaining an open court, being easily approachable to many visitors. It therefore seems that Nicolaus and Josephus exaggerated in their depiction of Herod's suspicious and antisocial behavior. In the last decade of his reign Herod's palaces reflect discreteness and the division into segregated sections. Access to the king became more remote. Social interaction became more hierarchical, stressing the king's privacy and his control over his visitors with low interaction potential. The archaeological evidence shows that Herod transformed his court structure and royal posture several years before Josephus' report of the emergence of his grave suspicions of Alexander and Aristobulus. His social behavior changed drastically sometime before 15 B.C.E., that is, before his paranoia became worse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interpretation of the temple warning (CIJ 2.1400) has focused on the question of authorship rather than of readership. The present paper seeks to redress this oversight. The question is approached in terms of Hellenistic practice, Herod's architectural innovations and the inscription's language. It is argued that the inscription shows no trace of 'translation' Greek, but rather that in terms of pragmatics, grammar and lexicography, the reader would naturally assume that its concepts are those of Hellenistic law. The reader's assumption would be further confirmed by the architecture of the outer court. In other words, the Greek visitor would assume that the inscription was issued on the authority of the king, and not that of the priest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of Christmas celebrations marked by emotions, the text of Matthew 2, verses 1 to 12, tends to receive superficial and frivolous interpretations. By means of a purely theological interpretation, some people see the Magi playing the role of the gentiles who come to Jesus in order to attain salvation. This article seeks to offer a different interpretation by analyzing the passage from a historical perspective, especially regarding the Magi. This is central to the understanding of the text, in particular the tense relationship between the Magi and Herod. These people will be placed in the context of the disputes among great Western and Eastern powers when Jesus Christ was born. Emphasis will be given to the literary structures that manifest the principal and secondary aspects of the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O artigo procura examinar os limites impostos pela teoria da história no pensamento grego para a compreensão da alteridade. Tal teoria, fundada na oposição entre epistéme e doxa, minimiza o significado do particular e do evento em seu significado próprio, tornando difícil o desenvolvimento de uma etnografia. Nesse contexto de idéias, é dada particular ênfase ao papel desempenhado pelos citas, percebidos como "selvagens", na História de Heródoto.