Antiquities of the Jews — Book 15, Chapter 8

1. On this account it was that Herod revolted from the laws of his
country, and corrupted their ancient constitution, by the introduction
of foreign practices, which constitution yet ought to have been
preserved inviolable; by which means we became guilty of great
wickedness afterward, while those religious observances which used to
lead the multitude to piety were now neglected; for, in the first place,
he appointed solemn games to be celebrated every fifth year, in honor of
Cæsar, and built a theater at Jerusalem, as also a very great
amphitheater in the plain. Both of them were indeed costly works, but
opposite to the Jewish customs; for we have had no such shows delivered
down to us as fit to be used or exhibited by us; yet did he celebrate
these games every five years, in the most solemn and splendid manner. He
also made proclamation to the neighboring countries, and called men
together out of every nation. The wrestlers also, and the rest of those
that strove for the prizes in such games, were invited out of every
land, both by the hopes of the rewards there to be bestowed, and by the
glory of victory to be there gained. So the principal persons that were
the most eminent in these sorts of exercises were gotten together, for
there were very great rewards for victory proposed, not only to those
that performed their exercises naked, but to those that played the
musicians also, and were called Thymelici; and he spared no pains to
induce all persons, the most famous for such exercises, to come to this
contest for victory. He also proposed no small rewards to those who ran
for the prizes in chariot races, when they were drawn by two, or three,
or four pair of horses. He also imitated every thing, though never so
costly or magnificent, in other nations, out of an ambition that he
might give most public demonstration of his grandeur. Inscriptions also
of the great actions of Cæsar, and trophies of those nations which he
had conquered in his wars, and all made of the purest gold and silver,
encompassed the theater itself; nor was there any thing that could be
subservient to his design, whether it were precious garments, or
precious stones set in order, which was not also exposed to sight in
these games. He had also made a great preparation of wild beasts, and of
lions themselves in great abundance, and of such other beasts as were
either of uncommon strength, or of such a sort as were rarely seen.
These were prepared either to fight with one another, or that men who
were condemned to death were to fight with them. And truly foreigners
were greatly surprised and delighted at the vastness of the expenses
here exhibited, and at the great dangers that were here seen; but to
natural Jews, this was no better than a dissolution of those customs for
which they had so great a veneration. 13 It appeared also no better than
an instance of barefaced impiety, to throw men to wild beasts, for the
affording delight to the spectators; and it appeared an instance of no
less impiety, to change their own laws for such foreign exercises: but,
above all the rest, the trophies gave most distaste to the Jews; for as
they imagined them to be images, included within the armor that hung
round about them, they were sorely displeased at them, because it was
not the custom of their country to pay honors to such images.

2. Nor was Herod unacquainted with the disturbance they were under; and
as he thought it unseasonable to use violence with them, so he spake to
some of them by way of consolation, and in order to free them from that
superstitious fear they were under; yet could not he satisfy them, but
they cried out with one accord, out of their great uneasiness at the
offenses they thought he had been guilty of, that although they should
think of bearing all the rest yet would they never bear images of men in
their city, meaning the trophies, because this was disagreeable to the
laws of their country. Now when Herod saw them in such a disorder, and
that they would not easily change their resolution unless they received
satisfaction in this point, he called to him the most eminent men among
them, and brought them upon the theater, and showed them the trophies,
and asked them what sort of things they took these trophies to be; and
when they cried out that they were the images of men, he gave order that
they should be stripped of these outward ornaments which were about
them, and showed them the naked pieces of wood; which pieces of wood,
now without any ornament, became matter of great sport and laughter to
them, because they had before always had the ornaments of images
themselves in derision.

3. When therefore Herod had thus got clear of the multitude, and had
dissipated the vehemency of passion under which they had been, the
greatest part of the people were disposed to change their conduct, and
not to be displeased at him any longer; but still some of them continued
in their displeasure against him, for his introduction of new customs,
and esteemed the violation of the laws of their country as likely to be
the origin of very great mischiefs to them, so that they deemed it an
instance of piety rather to hazard themselves [to be put to death], than
to seem as if they took no notice of Herod, who, upon the change he had
made in their government, introduced such customs, and that in a violent
manner, which they had never been used to before, as indeed in pretense
a king, but in reality one that showed himself an enemy to their whole
nation; on which account ten men that were citizens [of Jerusalem]
conspired together against him, and sware to one another to undergo any
dangers in the attempt, and took daggers with them under their garments
[for the purpose of killing Herod]. Now there was a certain blind man
among those conspirators who had thus sworn to one another, on account
of the indignation he had against what he heard to have been done; he
was not indeed able to afford the rest any assistance in the
undertaking, but was ready to undergo any suffering with them, if so be
they should come to any harm, insomuch that he became a very great
encourager of the rest of the undertakers.

4. When they had taken this resolution, and that by common consent, they
went into the theater, hoping that, in the first place, Herod himself
could not escape them, as they should fall upon him so unexpectedly; and
supposing, however, that if they missed him, they should kill a great
many of those that were about him; and this resolution they took, though
they should die for it, in order to suggest to the king what injuries he
had done to the multitude. These conspirators, therefore, standing thus
prepared beforehand, went about their design with great alacrity; but
there was one of those spies of Herod, that were appointed for such
purposes, to fish out and inform him of any conspiracies that should be
made against him, who found out the whole affair, and told the king of
it, as he was about to go into the theater. So when he reflected on the
hatred which he knew the greatest part of the people bore him, and on
the disturbances that arose upon every occasion, he thought this plot
against him not to be improbable. Accordingly, he retired into his
palace, and called those that were accused of this conspiracy before him
by their several names; and as, upon the guards falling upon them, they
were caught in the very fact, and knew they could not escape, they
prepared themselves for their ends with all the decency they could, and
so as not at all to recede from their resolute behavior, for they showed
no shame for what they were about, nor denied it; but when they were
seized, they showed their daggers, and professed that the conspiracy
they had sworn to was a holy and pious action; that what they intended
to do was not for gain, or out of any indulgence to their passions, but
principally for those common customs of their country, which all the
Jews were obliged to observe, or to die for them. This was what these
men said, out of their undaunted courage in this conspiracy. So they
were led away to execution by the king's guards that stood about them,
and patiently underwent all the torments inflicted on them till they
died. Nor was it long before that spy who had discovered them was seized
on by some of the people, out of the hatred they bore to him; and was
not only slain by them, but pulled to pieces, limb from limb, and given
to the dogs. This execution was seen by many of the citizens, yet would
not one of them discover the doers of it, till upon Herod's making a
strict scrutiny after them, by bitter and severe tortures, certain women
that were tortured confessed what they had seen done; the authors of
which fact were so terribly punished by the king, that their entire
families were destroyed for this their rash attempt; yet did not the
obstinacy of the people, and that undaunted constancy they showed in the
defense of their laws, make Herod any easier to them, but he still
strengthened himself after a more secure manner, and resolved to
encompass the multitude every way, lest such innovations should end in
an open rebellion.

5. Since, therefore, he had now the city fortified by the palace in
which he lived, and by the temple which had a strong fortress by it,
called Antonia, and was rebuilt by himself, he contrived to make Samaria
a fortress for himself also against all the people, and called it
Sebaste, supposing that this place would be a strong hold against the
country, not inferior to the former. So he fortified that place, which
was a day's journey distant from Jerusalem, and which would be useful to
him in common, to keep both the country and the city in awe. He also
built another fortress for the whole nation; it was of old called
Strato's Tower, but was by him named Cæsarea. Moreover, he chose out
some select horsemen, and placed them in the great plain; and built [for
them] a place in Galilee, called Gaba with Hesebonitis, in Perea. And
these were the places which he particularly built, while he always was
inventing somewhat further for his own security, and encompassing the
whole nation with guards, that they might by no means get from under his
power, nor fall into tumults, which they did continually upon any small
commotion; and that if they did make any commotions, he might know of
it, while some of his spies might be upon them from the neighborhood,
and might both be able to know what they were attempting, and to prevent
it. And when he went about building the wall of Samaria, he contrived to
bring thither many of those that had been assisting to him in his wars,
and many of the people in that neighborhood also, whom he made fellow
citizens with the rest. This he did out of an ambitious desire of
building a temple, and out of a desire to make the city more eminent
than it had been before; but principally because he contrived that it
might at once be for his own security, and a monument of his
magnificence. He also changed its name, and called it Sebaste. Moreover,
he parted the adjoining country, which was excellent in its kind, among
the inhabitants of Samaria, that they might be in a happy condition,
upon their first coming to inhabit. Besides all which, he encompassed
the city with a wall of great strength, and made use of the acclivity of
the place for making its fortifications stronger; nor was the compass of
the place made now so small as it had been before, but was such as
rendered it not inferior to the most famous cities; for it was twenty
furlongs in circumference. Now within, and about the middle of it, he
built a sacred place, of a furlong and a half [in circuit], and adorned
it with all sorts of decorations, and therein erected a temple, which
was illustrious on account of both its largeness and beauty. And as to
the several parts of the city, he adorned them with decorations of all
sorts also; and as to what was necessary to provide for his own
security, he made the walls very strong for that purpose, and made it
for the greatest part a citadel; and as to the elegance of the building,
it was taken care of also, that he might leave monuments of the fineness
of his taste, and of his beneficence, to future ages.