Category:Herodias (subject)

Herodias was a member of the Herodian family, the wife of Herod II and then of Herod Antipas, the mother of Salome.

Herodias in ancient sources

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The character of Herodias is mentioned both in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew and in Josephus.

Flavius Josephus Josephus introduces Herodias as the daughter of Aristobulos and the sister of Herod Agrippa, living in Rome with her husband Herod II. When Herod Antipas (the half-brother of her husband) fell in love with her during a visit to Rome, she accepted his love and agreed to divorce from Herod II. This created some political turmoil as Herod Antipas also was married with Phasaelis, the daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea. (Ant

In 39 CE Herodias convinced her husband to plot against her brother Herod Agrippa, but Agrippa accused Antipas of conspiracy and had him exiled in Lyon, Gaul. Herodias was offered the possibility to remain in Judea, but proudly decided to follow her husband into exile (Ant

The Gospel of Mark.

The Gospels of Mark explicitly blames Herodias for the death of John the Baptist. "Herod [Antipas] himself had sent men, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because [Herod] had married her. For John had been telling Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.' And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he like to listen to him" (Mk 6:17-20).

The Gospel of Matthew agrees on Mark but

According to Mark and Matthew, the opportunity to have John killed came when "Herod on his birthday gave a banquet" (Mk 6:21-29). Herodias instigated her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist as her reward for dancing before her uncle (and now step-father) Herod Antipas.

NOTE:

In all ancient sources Herodias is presented as a proud and independent woman, capable of influencing and even manipulating her husband.

Herodias in Scholarship

Research on Herodias is limited by the paucity of historical sources and the legendary nature of the Gospel account. From the historical point of view, Herodias is little more than a name in the genealogy of the descendants of Herod the Great.

Herodias in Fiction

Herodias was the original villain in the story of the death of John the Baptist. She was the one who plotted to have John the Baptist killed and cunningly used his daughter Salome to reach her goal. The interest in the character began to grow in the 19th century. She was now the undisputed protagonist of the story, and her motivations were scrutinized, from revenge to jealousy to rejected love. It was to her that the infamous kiss to the head of the dead John the Baptist was first attributed by Heine. Gradually however her role was overshadowed by her daughter, Salome, who proved to be more suitable to such metamorphosis into an unstoppable femme fatale and much more credible in the role of seductress. By the beginning of the 20th century, Salome had replaced Herodias as the villain of the story and condemned Herodias to a marginal and obscure role.

Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan

External links

• Wikipedia