Category:Mariamne (subject)

Mariamne (1st century BCE) was a member of the Hasmonean dinasty, and the sister of Aristobulus II. She married Herod the Great but ultimately was executed by him. Her two sons followed the same destiny.

Mariamne in ancient sources

Mariamne the Hasmonean

"Mariamne [was] the daughter of Alexander son of Aristobulos, and the grandaughter of Hyrcanus" (Bel I 241.344; passim).

Her betrothal and marriage with Herod

By betrothing Mariamne, Herod gained the favor of the people, as "he was become a relative of the king [Hyrcanus]" (Bel I 240-241). At the beginning Mariamne, who was "the shrewdest woman in the world" helped Herod with her advise in the fight against the Parthians. (Bel I 262). They married "in Samaria," while Herod was still besieging Jerusalem (Bel I 344)

The relation with Herod

Josephus claims that "the love that [Herod] bare to Mariamne... inflamed him every day to a great degree... but Mariamne's hatred to him was not inferior to his love to her" (Bel I 437). Mariamne's hated Herod as he executed her grandfather Hyrcanus and her brother Aristobulos (Bel I 431-437).

Her execution

Mariamne's hatred extended to Herod's sister and mother. They in turn (falsely) accused Mariamne of adultery, until Herod, "out of his ungovernable jealousy and rage" put her to death. He then "repented of what he had done" but it was too late. "His grief and trouble, now she was dead, appeared as great as his affection had been for her while she was living" (Bel I 438-444)

Mariamne in Scholarship

Mariamne was an instrument (and a victim) of the complicated relations between the Hasmoneans and the Herodians. Her public role and influence however were quite limited, which makes her, from the historical point of view, little more than a name in the genealogies of the two families.

Mariamne in Fiction

Mariamne is one of the most celebrated fictional characters from Second Temple Judaism. Her relationship with Herod and the jealously of which she was victim, inspired a flow of tragedies from the Renaissance to the early XX century. Unlike other characters, however, who have had in recent years a revival of fortune, Mariamne appears today outdated, almost forgotten. The last work of which she was protagonist by Langkvist, goes back to the 1960s, and already came after a silence of more than 30 years.