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1. But an intolerable hatred fell upon Antipater from the nation,
though he had now an indisputable title to the succession,
because they all knew that he was the person who contrived all
the calumnies against his brethren. However, he began to be in a
terrible fear, as he saw the posterity of those that had been
slain growing up; for Alexander had two sons by Glaphyra,
Tigranes and Alexander; and Aristobulus had Herod, and Agrippa,
and Aristobulus, his sons, with Herodias and Mariamne, his
daughters, and all by Bernice, Salome's daughter. As for
Glaphyra, Herod, as soon as he had killed Alexander, sent her
back, together with her portion, to Cappadocia. He married
Bernice, Aristobulus's daughter, to Antipater's uncle by his
mother, and it was Antipater who, in order to reconcile her to
him, when she had been at variance with him, contrived this
match; he also got into Pheroras's favor, and into the favor of
Caesar's friends, by presents, and other ways of obsequiousness,
and sent no small sums of money to Rome; Saturninus also, and his
friends in Syria, were all well replenished with the presents he
made them; yet the more he gave, the more he was hated, as not
making these presents out of generosity, but spending his money
out of fear. Accordingly, it so fell out that the receivers bore
him no more good-will than before, but that those to whom he gave
nothing were his more bitter enemies. However, he bestowed his
money every day more and more profusely, on observing that,
contrary to his expectations, the king was taking care about the
orphans, and discovering at the same time his repentance for
killing their fathers, by his commiseration of those that sprang
from them.
2. Accordingly, Herod got together his kindred and friends, and
set before them the children, and, with his eyes full of tears,
said thus to them: "It was an unlucky fate that took away from me
these children's fathers, which children are recommended to me by
that natural commiseration which their orphan condition requires;
however, I will endeavor, though I have been a most unfortunate
father, to appear a better grandfather, and to leave these
children such curators after myself as are dearest to me. I
therefore betroth thy daughter, Pheroras, to the elder of these
brethren, the children of Alexander, that thou mayst be obliged
to take care of them. I also betroth to thy son, Antipater, the
daughter of Aristobulus; be thou therefore a father to that
orphan; and my son Herod [Philip] shall have her sister, whose
grandfather, by the mother's side, was high priest. And let every
one that loves me be of my sentiments in these dispositions,
which none that hath an affection for me will abrogate. And I
pray God that he will join these children together in marriage,
to the advantage of my kingdom, and of my posterity; and may he
look down with eyes more serene upon them than he looked upon
their fathers."
3. While he spake these words he wept, and joined the children's
fight hands together; after which he embraced them every one
after an affectionate manner, and dismissed the assembly. Upon
this, Antipater was in great disorder immediately, and lamented
publicly at what was done; for he supposed that this dignity
which was conferred on these orphans was for his own destruction,
even in his father's lifetime, and that he should run another
risk of losing the government, if Alexander's sons should have
both Archelaus [a king], and Pheroras a tetrarch, to support
them. He also considered how he was himself hated by the nation,
and how they pitied these orphans; how great affection the Jews
bare to those brethren of his when they were alive, and how
gladly they remembered them now they had perished by his means.
So he resolved by all the ways possible to get these espousals
dissolved.
4. Now he was afraid of going subtlely about this matter with his
father, who was hard to be pleased, and was presently moved upon
the least suspicion: so he ventured to go to him directly, and to
beg of him before his face not to deprive him of that dignity
which he had been pleased to bestow upon him; and that he might
not have the bare name of a king, while the power was in other
persons; for that he should never be able to keep the government,
if Alexander's son was to have both his grandfather Archelaus and
Pheroras for his curators; and he besought him earnestly, since
there were so many of the royal family alive, that he would
change those [intended] marriages. Now the king had nine wives,
and children by seven of them; Antipater was himself born of
Doris, and Herod Philip of Mariamne, the high priest's daughter;
Antipas also and Archelaus were by Malthace, the Samaritan, as
was his daughter Olympias, which his brother Joseph's son
had married. By Cleopatra of Jerusalem he had Herod and Philip;
and by Pallas, Phasaelus; he had also two daughters, Roxana and
Salome, the one by Phedra, and the other by Elpis; he had also
two wives that had no children, the one his first cousin, and the
other his niece; and besides these he had two daughters, the
sisters of Alexander and Aristobulus, by Mariamne. Since,
therefore, the royal family was so numerous, Antipater prayed him
to change these intended marriages.
5. When the king perceived what disposition he was in towards
these orphans, he was angry at it, and a suspicion came into his
mind as to those sons whom he had put to death, whether that had
not been brought about by the false tales of Antipater; so that
at that time he made Antipater a long and a peevish answer, and
bid him begone. Yet was he afterwards prevailed upon cunningly by
his flatteries, and changed the marriages; he married
Aristobulus's daughter to him, and his son to Pheroras's
daughter.
6. Now one may learn, in this instance, how very much this
flattering Antipater could do, - even what Salome in the like
circumstances could not do; for when she, who was his sister, and
who, by the means of Julia, Caesar's wife, earnestly desired
leave to be married to Sylleus the Arabian, Herod swore he would
esteem her his bitter enemy, unless she would leave off that
project: he also caused her, against her own consent, to be
married to Alexas, a friend of his, and that one of her daughters
should be married to Alexas's son, and the other to Antipater's
uncle by the mother's side. And for the daughters the king had by
Mariamne, the one was married to Antipater, his sister's son, and
the other to his brother's son, Phasaelus.
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