Difference between revisions of "Herod Antipas" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox Monarch
 
|name            = Herod Antipas
 
|title          = [[Tetrarchy|Tetrarch]] of [[Galilee]] and [[Perea (Holy Land)|Perea]]
 
|image          = [[Image:Levy H L Herod-s Wife.jpg|250px]]
 
|caption        = Antipas (left) views [[John the Baptist]]'s head
 
|reign          = 4 B.C.E. – AD 39
 
|predecessor    = [[Herod the Great]]
 
|successor      = [[Agrippa I]]
 
|spouse 1        = Daughter of [[Aretas IV Philopatris|Aretas IV]] of [[Nabatea]]
 
|spouse 2        = [[Herodias]]
 
|dynasty        = [[Herodian Dynasty]]
 
|father          = [[Herod the Great]]
 
|mother          = [[Malthace]]
 
|date of birth  = Before 20 B.C.E.
 
|date of death  = After AD 39
 
|place of death  = [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]]
 
|}}
 
'''Herod Antipas''' (before 20 B.C.E. – after 39 C.E. was a first-century CE Jewish-Idumean ruler of [[Galilee]] and [[Perea (Holy Land)|Perea]], who bore the title of [[tetrarchy|tetrarch]] ("ruler of a quarter"). He ruled these territories for more than 40 hears, but is best known from [[New Testament]] accounts describing his role in the events that led to the executions of [[John the Baptist]] and [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]].
 
  
The son of [[Herod the Great]], Antipas ruled as a client king of the [[Roman Empire]] over a smaller area than his father had. He was responsible for building projects at [[Sepphoris]] and [[Betharamphtha]] and the construction of his capital, [[Tiberias]], on the western shore of the [[Sea of Galilee]]. Antipas provoked controversy when he divorced his first wife, the daughter of King [[Aretas IV Philopatris|Aretas IV]] of [[Nabatea]], in favor of [[Herodias]], who had formerly been married to his brother. [[John the Baptist]]'s condemnation of this arrangement that led Antipas to have him arrested and subsequently executed in dramatic fashion, as told in the [[Gospels]]. The Gospel of Luke relates that when Jesus was brought before [[Pontius Pilate]] for trial, Pilate handed him over to Antipas, in whose territory Jesus had been active. However, Antipas sent him back to Pilate.
 
 
Antipas' divorce added a personal grievance to an ongoing dispute with Aretas over territory on the border of Perea and Nabatea, leading to war that dealt Antipas a serious setback. In 39 C.E. he was accused by his nephew, [[Agrippa I]], of conspiracy against the new Roman emperor, [[Caligula]], who sent him into exile in [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]]. Accompanied there by Herodias, he died at an unknown later date.
 
 
==Biography==
 
===Early life===
 
[[Image:Herod tissot.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Herod the Great]]]]
 
Antipas was the son of King [[Herod the Great]] of [[Judea]] by one of Herod's several wives, [[Malthace]], who was from [[Samaria]].<ref>[[Josephus]], ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquities]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+17.20 17.20], ''[[The Wars of the Jews|War]]''. Retrieved January 25, 2009.</ref> His date of birth is uncertain. Named for his grandfather [[Antipater]], he was educated in [[Rome]], along with his full brother [[Herod Archelaus|Archelaus]] and his half-brother [[Herod Philip II|Philip]], both of whom also bore the surname of Herod.
 
 
Antipas was not Herod the Great's first choice for heir. That honor originally fell to [[Aristobulus IV|Aristobulus]] and Alexander, Herod's sons by the [[Hasmonean]] princess [[Mariamne]]. However, these heirs fell afoul of Herod's suspicious and ruthless nature and were consequently executed for treason (''c.'' 7 B.C.E.), as was their mother. Herod's oldest son Antipater was then convicted of attempting to poison his father (5 B.C.E.), and the now-elderly Herod fell back on his youngest son, Antipas, revising his will to make him heir. During his fatal illness in 4 B.C.E., Herod had yet another change of heart about the succession. According to the final version of the will, Antipas' elder brother [[Herod Archelaus|Archelaus]] was to become king of Judea, [[Idumea]] and [[Samaria]], while Antipas would rule [[Galilee]] and [[Perea (Holy Land)|Perea]]. Philip was to receive [[Gaulanitis]] (the [[Golan Heights]]), Batanaea (southern [[Syria]]), [[Trachonitis]], and Auranitis ([[Hauran]]).
 
 
Because of Judea's status as a Roman [[client kingdom]], Herod's plans for the succession had to be ratified by [[Augustus]]. The three heirs therefore traveled to Rome to make their claims, Antipas arguing he ought to inherit the whole kingdom and the others maintaining that Herod's final will ought to be honored. Augustus largely confirmed the division of territory set out by Herod in his final will, with Archelaus taking the prize territories. The brothers, however, had to be content with the title of [[ethnarch]] rather than king.
 
 
===Early reign===
 
[[Image:Palestine after Herod.png|thumb|right|300px|The Division of [[Herod the Great|Herod's]] Kingdom: <br/>{{legend|lime|Territory under [[Herod Archelaus]]}}{{legend|Fuchsia|Territory under Herod Antipas}}{{legend|orange|Territory under [[Herod Philip II]]}}{{legend|silver|Cities of [[Jabneh]], Azotas, Phaesalis}}{{legend|green|[[Syria (Roman province)|Roman province of Syria]]}}{{legend|yellow|Autonomous cities: The [[Decapolis]]}}]]
 
[[Image:Antipas coin s.jpg|250px|thumb|Coin of Herod Antipas]]
 
After matters were resolved in [[Rome]], Antipas would begin his reign about a year before the turn of the [[Common Era]] and enjoyed the confidence of Rome for more than four decades. [[Archelaus]], however, was soon deemed incompetent by [[Augustus]] and replaced with a [[prefect]] in 6 C.E.
 
 
Antipas' territories were separated by the region of the [[Decapolis]], with [[Galilee]] to the north and [[Perea]] to the south. It was in the Galilee that [[Jesus of Nazareth]]'s family settled after returning from Egypt, according to Matthew's account, because Joseph felt unsafe under Archelaus in [[Judea]] (Matthew 2:22).
 
 
Antipas faced several challenges to his rule early in his reign. While he had been making his case to Augustus in Rome, a Jewish faction led by Judas son of Hezekiah had attacked the palace of [[Sepphoris]] in Galilee, seizing money and weapons. This Judas may be identical with the [[Judas of Galilee]] who led resistance to the [[census]] conducted by the Roman governor of Syria, Quirinius, and who is mentioned by the Pharisaic leader [[Gamaliel]] in Acts 5:37 as a would-be [[Messiah]]. In a counterattack ordered by the Roman general [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Quinctilius Varus]] Sepphoris was destroyed by fire and many of its inhabitants sold as slaves. Perea, meanwhile, bordered on the kingdom of [[Nabatea]], which had long experienced uneasy relations with both the Romans and the Jews.
 
 
Antipas, like his father before, demonstrated his value both to the Romans and many Jews by various impressive construction projects. He rebuilt and fortified [[Sepphoris]], and current scholarship suggests that the "carptener" [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] and his sons may have found work in Sepphoris, which about five miles distance from [[Nazareth]]. Antipas also added a wall to [[Betharamphtha]] in Perea, renaming it "Livias" after Augustus' wife [[Livia]], and later Julias after [[Julia the Elder|his daughter]].
 
 
However, his most famous construction project was his capital on the western shore of the [[Sea of Galilee]] &ndash; [[Tiberias]], named to honor his patron, Emperor [[Tiberius]], who had succeeded Augustus in 14 C.E. Residents there could [[bathing|bathe]] nearby at the warm springs of [[Emmaus]], and by the time of the [[First Jewish-Roman War]] the city's buildings included a stadium, a royal palace, and a sanctuary for prayer. It later became a center of [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic]] learning.
 
 
For many Jews and others living in his lands, Antipas was a successful ruler who provided jobs and security. The otherwise unknown party or sect mentioned in the [[New Testament]] as the [[Herodians]] may have been ardent supporters of Antipas, perhaps hoping that he would come to rule over a united Jewish kingdom including [[Judea]] and [[Samaria]] rather than serving as tetrarch of only the northern and eastern territories. However, pious Jews at first refused to live in Tiberias because it was built atop a graveyard and therefore a source of [[Tumah|ritual impurity]]. Antipas thus had to colonize Tiberas with a mixture of foreigners, [[forced migration|forced migrants]], freed slaves, and impoverished Jews. Some had no desire to support Antipas, whom they viewed as a Roman collaborator, and the party known as the [[Zealots]] actively opposed Roman rule.
 
 
Despite his eagerness to please Rome, Antipas at times showed particular sensitivity to Jewish tradition. His coins carried no images of persons or animals, which would have violated Jewish prescriptions against [[idolatry]]. And when [[Pontius Pilate]], governor of Judea from 26 C.E. to 36 C.E., caused offense by placing Roman votive shields in the royal palace at [[Jerusalem]], Antipas and his brothers successfully petitioned for their removal.<ref>[[Philo]], ''[http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book40.html On the Embassy to Gaius]'' 299&ndash;305.</ref>
 
 
===John the Baptist and Jesus===
 
[[Image:Musée de Lille P. F. de Grebber.jpg|thumb|250px|Antipas and Herodias reacted to the preaching of [[John the Baptist]].]]
 
[[Image:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 015.jpg|thumb|250px|Antipas reacts in horror at the sight of [[John the Baptist]]'s head, painting by Lucas Cranach, 1531.]]
 
[[Image:Duccio di Buoninsegna 027a.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Christ]] on trial before Antipas]]
 
Early in his reign, Antipas had married the daughter of King [[Aretas IV Philopatris|Aretas IV]] of [[Nabatea]] (Southern Syria). However, while staying in Rome with his half-brother, he fell in love with his host's wife, [[Herodias]], who, unlike Antipas, carried noble [[Hasmonean]] blood. Antipas and Herodias agreed to divorce their previous spouses in order to marry each other, a move which, besides its romantic motive, would also increase any future claim to the Judean throne by Antipas, who was a [[Samaritan]] on this mother's side.<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|6:17|NRSV}} calls Herodias' former husband Philip; either the author is confusing him with [[Herod Philip II|Philip]] the tetrarch, or both Herods shared the name Philip.</ref>
 
 
The divorce naturally soured Antipas' relations with Aretas. It also provoked controversy closer to home. Probably around 28-29 C.E., [[John the Baptist]] began preaching and [[baptism|baptizing]] pilgrims by the [[Jordan River]], which marked the western edge of Antipas' territory of Perea. The [[New Testament]] relates that John attacked Antipas' marriage as contrary to Jewish law, and the Jewish historian [[Josephus]] confirms that John's public influence made Antipas fearful of rebellion.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|14:3-4|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse||Mark|6:17-18|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse||Luke|3:19|NRSV}}; Josephus, ''Antiquities'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+18.118 18.118]. Retrieved January 25, 2009.</ref> Consequently, John was imprisoned, probably in Machaerus, and later executed. According to [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] and [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], Herod was reluctant to order John's death but was compelled by Herodias' daughter (unnamed in the text but traditionally called [[Salome]]), to whom he had promised any reward she chose in exchange for her dancing for him.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|14:6-11|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse||Mark|6:19-28|NRSV}}.</ref>
 
 
Among those baptized by John was [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], who began his own ministry in Galilee around the time of John's imprisonment. So similar were John's and Jesus' ministries that Antipas feared that the Baptist had been [[resurrection|raised from the dead]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|14:1-2|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse||Mark|6:14-16|NRSV}}; cf. {{bibleverse||Luke|9:7-9|NRSV}}.</ref> [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] reports that a group of [[Pharisees]] warned Jesus that Antipas was plotting his death, whereupon Jesus denounced the tetrarch as a "[[fox]]."<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|13:31-33|NRSV}}.</ref>
 
 
Luke, unlike the other Gospels, also credits Antipas with a role in Jesus' trial. In this version, [[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]], on learning that Jesus was a Galilean, sent him to Antipas, who was also in Jerusalem at the time. Initially, Antipas was pleased to see Jesus, hoping to see him perform a [[miracle]], but when Jesus remained silent in the face of his questioning, Antipas mocked him and sent him back to Pilate. Luke reports that these events improved relations between Pilate and Herod despite some earlier enmity.<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|23:5-12|NRSV}}.</ref>
 
 
Antipas' involvement in the trial of Jesus has been much debated. Some hold that there is a basis for the idea that, in the early [[Roman Empire]], defendants were to be tried by the authorities of their home provinces, while others conclude that trials were generally based on the location of the alleged crimes. Some scholars take the view that Jesus' trial by Herod Antipas is simply unhistorical. The fact that Matthew and Mark, as well as John, know nothing of Antipas' role is one argument in favor of this opinion. It has also been suggested that the trial by Antipas is a literary composition by Luke designed to parallel the trials of [[Saint Paul|Paul]], which Luke reports in his [[Book of Acts]], or that it is designed to emphasize the adamant role of the Jewish leaders in demanding that action be taken both by Pilate and Antipas against Jesus.
 
 
===Later reign===
 
[[Image:Caligula bust.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Caligula]]]]
 
Meanwhile, border disputes between Antipas and  King Aretas of Nabatea had been slowing moving toward open warfare, exacerbated by Antipas' divorce of Aretas' daughter. In 36 C.E. Antipas' army suffered a serious defeat after fugitives from the former tetrarchy of [[Herod Philip II|Philip]] sided with the Nabateans. Antipas was forced to appeal to Tiberius for help. The emperor ordered [[Lucius Vitellius]], the Roman governor of Syria, to march against Aretas and ensure that he was captured or killed. Vitellius mobilized two [[Roman legion|legions]], sending them on a detour around Judea and meanwhile joining Antipas in attending a festival at Jerusalem. While there, he learned of the death of Tiberius on March 16, 37. He then recalled his troops.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+18.120 18.120&ndash;126]. Retrieved January 25, 2009.</ref>
 
 
The new emperor, [[Caligula]], proved to be no friend to Antipas. When Herodias' brother, [[Agrippa I]], fell into debt during the reign of Tiberius, Herodias had persuaded Antipas to provide for him. However, the two men quarreled and Agrippa soon departed. Agrippa had been friendly with Caligula while Tiberius was still emperor but had ended up in prison for speaking against Tiberius. When Caligula acceded to the throne in 37 C.E., he not only released his friend but granted him rule of Philip's former tetrarchy, expanding its territory and giving him the title of king. Josephus relates that Herodias, jealous at Agrippa's success, persuaded Antipas to ask Caligula for the title of king for himself. However, Agrippa simultaneously presented the emperor with a list of charges against Antipas, including that he plotting against Caligula and that Antipas had a stockpile of weaponry sufficient for 70,000 men. Antipas' admitted having the weapons but insisted on his loyalty, but Caligula decided that the tetrarch constituted a threat.
 
 
In the summer of 39 C.E., Antipas' territory, wealth, and possession, were turned over to Agrippa, and Antipas was sent into exile. The place of his exile is given by Josephus as "[[Lugdunum (disambiguation)|Lugdunum]]" in [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]].<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+18.252 18.252] Retrieved January 25, 2009.</ref> This may mean the city now known as [[Lyon]], or the less important [[Lugdunum Convenarum]], which is modern [[Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges]]. Caligula offered to allow Herodias, as Agrippa's sister, to retain her property if she separated from Antipas. However, she chose instead to join her husband in exile, where he died at an unknown date. The third-century historian [[Cassius Dio]] implies that Caligula had him killed, but this is usually treated with skepticism by modern historians.
 
 
==Legacy==
 
Antipas became famous in Christian tradition for his role in the death of [[John the Baptist]] and the trial of [[Jesus]]. A good deal of confusion exists among readers of the [[New Testament]] concerning his identity, however, as the Gospels do not give his name as Antipas, but rather as simply "Herod" or "Herod the tetrarch."
 
 
Among the followers of Jesus and members of the early Christian movement mentioned in the [[New Testament]] are [[Saint Joanna|Joanna]], the wife of one of Antipas' stewards, and [[Manahen|Manaen]], a "foster-brother" or "companion" of Antipas who later became a teacher in the church at [[Antioch]].
 
 
The [[pseudepigrapha|pseudepigraphical]] ''[[Gospel of Peter]]'' calimed that it was Antipas rather than [[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]] who ordered the [[crucifixion]] of Jesus. In line with the work's [[Anti-Judaism|anti-Jewish]] theme, this work pointedly remarked that Antipas and "the Jews," unlike Pilate, refused to "wash their hands" of responsibility for the death.
 
 
Antipas has appeared in a large number of more recent representations of the [[Passion (Christianity)|passion]] of Jesus &ndash; often, as in the films ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar (film)|Jesus Christ Superstar]]'' and ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'', being portrayed as effeminate. He also features in [[The Secret Magdalene (book)|The Secret Magdalene]] by [[Ki Longfellow]], where he is depicted as rash, ineffective, and  willing to do anything to save himself.
 
 
{{start}}
 
{{s-hou|[[Herodian Dynasty|House of Herod]]|before 20 B.C.E.|||after AD 39}}
 
{{s-bef|before=[[Herod the Great|Herod I]]}}
 
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Judaean rulers|Tetrarch of Galilee]]|years=4 B.C.E. &ndash; AD 39}}
 
{{s-aft|after=[[Agrippa I]]}}
 
{{end}}
 
 
==Notes==
 
{{reflist|2}}
 
 
==References==
 
*Darr, John A. ''Herod the Fox: Audience Criticism and Lukan Characterization''. Journal for the study of the New Testament, 163. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998. ISBN 9781850758839
 
 
*Hoehner, Harold W. Herod Antipas. Cambridge [Eng.]: University Press, 1972. ISBN 9780521081320
 
 
*Kokkinos, Nikos. The Herodian Dynasty: Origins, Role in Society and Eclipse. Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha, 30. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998. ISBN 9781850756903
 
 
*Jensen, Morten Hørning. ''Herod Antipas in Galilee: The Literary and Archaeological Sources on the Reign of Herod Antipas and Its Socio-Economic Impact on Galilee''. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 215. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. ISBN 9783161489679
 
 
==External links==
 
*[http://virtualreligion.net/iho/antipas.html Galilee under Antipas] and [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/antipas_2.html Antipas] entries in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
 
 
{{New Testament people}}
 
 
{{Persondata
 
|NAME              = Herod Antipas
 
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
 
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = [[Tetrarch]] of [[Galilee]] and [[Perea (Holy Land)|Perea]]
 
|DATE OF BIRTH    = Before 20 B.C.E.
 
|PLACE OF BIRTH    =
 
|DATE OF DEATH    = After AD 39
 
|PLACE OF DEATH    = [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]]
 
}}
 
[[Category:biography]]
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category:religion]]
 
[[Category:Judaism]]
 
[[Category:Christianity]]
 
{{credit|265185762}}
 

Revision as of 22:21, 28 January 2009