Herod the Great: Jewish King in a Roman World

Herod the Great was a powerful ruler who used the chaos of the Roman revolution to his advantage, establishing himself as a major figure in a changing Roman world and transforming the landscape of Judaea. He was known for his cruelty and rashness, but also for his massive architectural projects and his presentation of himself as a Jew through the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. Goodman argues that later stories depicting Herod as a monster derived from public interest in his execution of three of his sons.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 14 May 2024
Publisher: Yale University Press

  Herod the Great (73–4 BCE) was a remarkable ruler who seized the opportunity of the Roman revolution to become a significant figure in the changing Roman world and reshape the landscape of Judaea. Both Jews and Christians have created myths about his cruelty and recklessness, with him being portrayed as the tyrant who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents in Christian tradition and as a persecutor of rabbis in the Talmud. Herod's life is better documented than that of any other Jew from antiquity, and Martin Goodman examines the extensive literary and archaeological evidence to provide a vivid portrait of Herod in his sociopolitical context. Herod's Idumaean origins, his installation by Rome as king of Judaea and cultivation of leading Romans, his massive architectural projects, and his presentation of himself as a Jew, most strikingly through the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple, are all explored. Goodman argues that later stories depicting Herod as a monster derived from public interest in his execution of three of his sons after dramatic public trials foisted on him by a dynastic policy imposed by the Roman emperor.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 157 x 219 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300228410