Antiquities of the Jews — Book 17, Chapter 1

1. When Antipater had thus taken off his brethren, and had brought his
father into the highest degree of impiety, till he was haunted with
furies for what he had done, his hopes did not succeed to his mind, as
to the rest of his life; for although he was delivered from the fear of
his brethren being his rivals as to the government, yet did he find it a
very hard thing, and almost impracticable, to come at the kingdom,
because the hatred of the nation against him on that account was become
very great; and besides this very disagreeable circumstance, the affair
of the soldiery grieved him still more, who were alienated from him,
from which yet these kings derived all the safety which they had,
whenever they found the nation desirous of innovation: and all this
danger was drawn upon him by his destruction of his brethren. However,
he governed the nation jointly with his father, being indeed no other
than a king already; and he was for that very reason trusted, and the
more firmly depended on, for the which he ought himself to have been put
to death, as appearing to have betrayed his brethren out of his concern
for the preservation of Herod, and not rather out of his ill-will to
them, and, before them, to his father himself: and this was the accursed
state he was in. Now all Antipater's contrivances tended to make his way
to take off Herod, that he might have nobody to accuse him in the vile
practices he was devising: and that Herod might have no refuge, nor any
to afford him their assistance, since they must thereby have Antipater
for their open enemy; insomuch that the very plots he had laid against
his brethren were occasioned by the hatred he bore his father. But at
this time he was more than ever set upon the execution of his attempts
against Herod, because if he were once dead, the government would now be
firmly secured to him; but if he were suffered to live any longer, he
should be in danger, upon a discovery of that wickedness of which he had
been the contriver, and his father would of necessity then become his
enemy. And on this account it was that he became very bountiful to his
father's friends, and bestowed great sums on several of them, in order
to surprise men with his good deeds, and take off their hatred against
him. And he sent great presents to his friends at Rome particularly, to
gain their good-will; and above all to Saturninus, the president of
Syria. He also hoped to gain the favor of Saturninus's brother with the
large presents he bestowed on him; as also he used the same art to
[Salome] the king's sister, who had married one of Herod's chief
friends. And when he counterfeited friendship to those with whom he
conversed, he was very subtle in gaining their belief, and very cunning
to hide his hatred against any that he really did hate. But he could not
impose upon his aunt, who understood him of a long time, and was a woman
not easily to be deluded, especially while she had already used all
possible caution in preventing his pernicious designs. Although
Antipeter's uncle by the mother's side was married to her daughter, and
this by his own connivance and management, while she had before been
married to Aristobulus, and while Salome's other daughter by that
husband was married to the son of Calleas; yet that marriage was no
obstacle to her, who knew how wicked he was, in her discovering his
designs, as her former kindred to him could not prevent her hatred of
him. Now Herod had compelled Salome, while she was in love with Sylleus
the Arabian, and had taken a fondness for him, to marry Alexas; which
match was by her submitted to at the instance of Julia, who persuaded
Salome not to refuse it, lest she should herself be their open enemy,
since Herod had sworn that he would never be friends with Salome, if she
would not accept of Alexas for her husband; so she submitted to Julia as
being Cæsar's wife; and besides that, she advised her to nothing but
what was very much for her own advantage. At this time also it was that
Herod sent back king Archelaus's daughter, who had been Alexander's
wife, to her father, returning the portion he had with her out of his
own estate, that there might be no dispute between them about it.

2. Now Herod brought up his sons' children with great care; for
Alexander had two sons by Glaphyra; and Aristobulus had three sons by
Bernice, Salome's daughter, and two daughters; and as his friends were
once with him, he presented the children before them; and deploring the
hard fortune of his own sons, he prayed that no such ill fortune would
befall these who were their children, but that they might improve in
virtue, and obtain what they justly deserved, and might make him amends
for his care of their education. He also caused them to be betrothed
against they should come to the proper age of marriage; the elder of
Alexander's sons to Pheroras's daughter, and Antipater's daughter to
Aristobulus's eldest son. He also allotted one of Aristobulus's
daughters to Antipater's son, and Aristobulus's other daughter to Herod,
a son of his own, who was born to him by the high priest's daughter; for
it is the ancient practice among us to have many wives at the same time.
Now the king made these espousals for the children, out of commiseration
of them now they were fatherless, as endeavoring to render Antipater
kind to them by these intermarriages. But Antipater did not fail to bear
the same temper of mind to his brothers' children which he had borne to
his brothers themselves; and his father's concern about them provoked
his indignation against them upon this supposal, that they would become
greater than ever his brothers had been; while Archelaus, a king, would
support his daughter's sons, and Pheroras, a tetrarch, would accept of
one of the daughters as a wife to his son. What provoked him also was
this, that all the multitude would so commiserate these fatherless
children, and so hate him [for making them fatherless], that all would
come out, since they were no strangers to his vile disposition towards
his brethren. He contrived, therefore, to overturn his father's
settlements, as thinking it a terrible thing that they should be so
related to him, and be so powerful withal. So Herod yielded to him, and
changed his resolution at his entreaty; and the determination now was,
that Antipater himself should marry Aristobulus's daughter, and
Antipater's son should marry Pheroras's daughter. So the espousals for
the marriages were changed after this manner, even without the king's
real approbation.

3. Now Herod the king had at this time nine wives; one of them
Antipater's mother, and another the high priest's daughter, by whom he
had a son of his own name. He had also one who was his brother's
daughter, and another his sister's daughter; which two had no children.
One of his wives also was of the Samaritan nation, whose sons were
Antipas and Archelaus, and whose daughter was Olympias; which daughter
was afterward married to Joseph, the king's brother's son; but Archelaus
and Antipas were brought up with a certain private man at Rome. Herod
had also to wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem, and by her he had his sons
Herod and Philip; which last was also brought up at Rome. Pallas also
was one of his wives, which bare him his son Phasaelus. And besides
these, he had for his wives Phedra and Elpis, by whom he had his
daughters Roxana and Salome. As for his elder daughters by the same
mother with Alexander and Aristobulus, and whom Pheroras neglected to
marry, he gave the one in marriage to Antipater, the king's sister's
son, and the other to Phasaelus, his brother's son. And this was the
posterity of Herod. 1