The Herodium
“But when Herod died, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead’”. Matthew 2:19-20
Herod the Great is known for his massacre of the innocents in a vane attempt to eliminate the infant Jesus who he thought would be a political rival and threat to his kingship that of his equally notorious sons. He was also a prolific commissioner of massive building projects in his kingdom of Judea: the second temple and it’s expanded base, Masada, the city of Caesarea Maritima, the Macphela in Hebron and the Herodium to name a few. Herod governed only by blessing and appointment of Caesar in Rome. He lived from about 72 BC to around 1 BC.
The Herodium is a palace fortress built by Herod south of Jerusalem between 22 - 15 BC. The palace had living quarter, banquet rooms, baths, great cisterns and pools. It was an impressive place to entertain and the living quarters high above easily defensible. This was also his burial place. The writings of Josephus on that matter led archeologists right to it (of course some disagree - the sarcophagus was found but the area thought too small and understated to be Herod’s tomb). The hill top palace, its cisterns and tunnels were used by Jews during the first war against Rome. Herod’s great dining room (triclinium) was turned into a synagogue. During the Bar Kokhba revolt in 130 AD the cisterns were expanded with tunnels and caves and used as a hiding place and headquarters. Since we visited the Herodium in 2020, much more is now open to the public and we hope to return someday.
The lower palace at the Herodium - pools, baths, courtyards - looking down from he upper palace toward Bethlehem.
