Herod the Great (73-4 BC) was an unpopular ruler. Not only was he foisted on his fellow Jews by Caesar Augustus, Herod's character was suspicious and vengeful.
But he was an amazing architect, erecting some of the most beautiful and innovative structures of his day: the three-tiered palace at Herodium, the city and harbor of Caesaria Maritima, the palace at Masada, the Wailing Wall and Second Temple in Jerusalem.
He married ten times, had 14 children--some of whom he had killed off--and, according to the bible, he is responsible for the 'massacre of the innocents', a genocidal killing off of the first-born children of Bethlehem.
After Herod died, in a fairly unpleasant way, his mausoleum was dismantled and the location lost. In 2007, Herod's tomb was re-discovered in the Herodium complex by Hebrew University's Ehud Netzer.
Resources
- Science Daily: Tomb Of King Herod Discovered At Herodium
- Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Herodium - King Herod's Palace-Fortress
- Hebrew University: Tomb of King Herod discovered at Herodium by Hebrew University archaeologist
Books and Articles
Boyce, Joseph I. et al. 2004. Marine Magnetic Survey of a Submerged Roman Harbour, Caesarea Maritima, Israel. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 33(1):122-136
Netzer, Ehud. 2007. The architecture of Herod, the Great Builder. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 139(3):219-222
Reinhardt, Eduard G. 2006. The tsunami of 13 December A.D. 115 and the destruction of Herod the Great's harbor at Caesarea Maritima, Israel. Geology 34(12):1061-1064.
Richardson, Peter. 2004. Building Jewish in the Roman East. Baylor University Press,
Herod's Tomb, Official page on National Geographic, November 2008, includes video and more images.
Herod's Lost Tomb will premiere on Sunday, November 23, 2008, on the National Geographic Channel. Check local listings.
