HOW EURYCLES FALSELY ACCUSED HEROD'S SONS; AND HOW THEIR FATHER BOUND THEM, AND WROTE TO CAESAR ABOUT THEM. OF SYLLEUS AND HOW HE WAS ACCUSED BY NICOLAUS. FJAJ 16.61
1. THE disorders about Herod's family and children about this time grew
much worse; for it now appeared certain, nor was it unforeseen before-hand,
that fortune threatened the greatest and most insupportable misfortunes
possible to his kingdom
Its progress and augmentation at this time arose
on the occasion following: One Eurycles, a Lacedemonian, (a person of note
there, but a man of a perverse mind, and so cunning in his ways of voluptuousness
and flattery, as to indulge both, and yet seem to indulge neither of them,)
came in his travels to Herod, and made him presents, but so that he received
more presents from him
He also took such proper seasons for insinuating
himself into his friendship, that he became one of the most intimate of
the king's friends
He had his lodging in Antipater's house; but he had
not only access, but free conversation, with Alexander, as pretending to
him that he was in great favor with Archclaus, the king of Cappadocia;
whence he pretended much respect to Glaphyra, and in an occult manner cultivated
a friendship with them all; but always attending to what was said and done,
that he might be furnished with calumnies to please them all
In short,
he behaved himself so to every body in his conversation, as to appear to
be his particular friend, and he made others believe that his being any
where was for that person's advantage
So he won upon Alexander, who was
but young; and persuaded him that he might open his grievances to him with
assurance and with nobody else
So he declared his grief to him, how his
father was alienated from him
He related to him also the affairs of his
mother, and of Antipater; that he had driven them from their proper dignity,
and had the power over every thing himself; that no part of this was tolerable,
since his father was already come to hate them; and he added, that he would
neither admit them to his table, nor to his conversation
Such were the
complaints, as was but natural, of Alexander about the things that troubled
him; and these discourses Eurycles carried to Antipater, and told him he
did not inform him of this on his own account, but that being overcome
by his kindness, the great importance of the thing obliged him to do it;
and he warned him to have a care of Alexander, for that what he said was
spoken with vehemency, and that, in consequence of what he said, he would
certainly kill him with his own hand
Whereupon Antipater, thinking him
to be his friend by this advice, gave him presents upon all occasions,
and at length persuaded him to inform Herod of what he had heard
So when
he related to the king Alexander's ill temper, as discovered by the words
he had heard him speak, he was easily believed by him; and he thereby brought
the king to that pass, turning him about by his words, and irritating him,
till he increased his hatred to him and made him implacable, which he showed
at that very time, for he immediately gave Eurycles a present of fifty
talents; who, when he had gotten them, went to Archclaus, king of Cappadocia,
and commended Alexander before him, and told him that he had been many
ways of advantage to him, in making a reconciliation between him and his
father
So he got money from him also, and went away, before his pernicious
practices were found out; but when Eurycles was returned to Lacedemon,
he did not leave off doing mischief; and so, for his many acts of injustice,
he was banished from his own country. FJAJ 16.62
2. But as for the king of the Jews, he was not now in the temper he
was in formerly towards Alexander and Aristobulus, when he had been content
with the hearing their calumnies when others told him of them; but he was
now come to that pass as to hate them himself, and to urge men to speak
against them, though they did not do it of themselves
He also observed
all that was said, and put questions, and gave ear to every one that would
but speak, if they could but say any thing against them, till at length
he heard that Euaratus of Cos was a conspirator with Alexander; which thing
to Herod was the most agreeable and sweetest news imaginable. FJAJ 16.63
3. But still a greater misfortune came upon the young men; while the
calumnies against them were continually increased, and, as a man may say,
one would think it was every one's endeavor to lay some grievous thing
to their charge, which might appear to be for the king's preservation.
There were two guards of Herod's body, who were in great esteem for their
strength and tallness, Jucundus and Tyrannus; these men had been cast off
by Herod, who was displeased at them; these now used to ride along with
Alexander, and for their skill in their exercises were in great esteem
with him, and had some gold and other gifts bestowed on them
Now the king
having an immediate suspicion of those men, had them tortured, who endured
the torture courageously for a long time; but at last confessed that Alexander
would have persuaded them to kill Herod, when he was in pursuit of the
wild beasts, that it might be said he fell from his horse, and was run
through with his own spear, for that he had once such a misfortune formerly.
They also showed where there was money hidden in the stable under ground;
and these convicted the king's chief hunter, that he had given the young
men the royal hunting spears and weapons to Alexander's dependents, at
Alexander's command. FJAJ 16.64
4. After these, the commander of the garrison of Alexandrium was caught
and tortured; for he was accused to have promised to receive the young
men into his fortress, and to supply them with that money of the king's
which was laid up in that fortress, yet did not he acknowledge any thing
of it himself; but his son came ill, and said it was so, and delivered
up the writing, which, so far as could be guessed, was in Alexander's hand.
Its contents were these: "When we have finished, by God's help, all
that we have proposed to do, we will come to you; but do your endeavors,
as you have promised, to receive us into your fortress." After this
writing was produced, Herod had no doubt about the treacherous designs
of his sons against him
But Alexander said that Diophantus the scribe
had imitated his hand, and that the paper was maliciously drawn up by Antipater;
for Diophantus appeared to be very cunning in such practices; and as he
was afterward convicted of forging other papers, he was put to death for
it. FJAJ 16.65
5. So the king produced those that had been tortured before the multitude
at Jericho, in order to have them accuse the young men, which accusers
many of the people stoned to death; and when they were going to kill Alexander
and Aristobulus likewise, the king would not permit them to do so, but
restrained the multitude, by the means of Ptolemy and Pheroras
However,
the young men were put under a guard, and kept in custody, that nobody
might come at them; and all that they did or said was watched, and the
reproach and fear they were in was little or nothing different from those
of condemned criminals: and one of them, who was Aristobulus, was so deeply
affected, that he brought Salome, who was his aunt, and his mother-in-law,
to lament with him for his calamities, and to hate him who had suffered
things to come to that pass; when he said to her, "Art thou not in
danger of destruction also, while the report goes that thou hadst disclosed
beforehand all our affairs to Syllcus, when thou wast in hopes of being
married to him?" But she immediately carried these words to her brother.
Upon this he was out of patience, and gave command to bind him; and enjoined
them both, now they were kept separate one from the other, to write down
the ill things they had done against their father, and bring the writings
to him, So when this was enjoined them, they wrote this, that they had
laid no treacherous designs, nor made any preparations against their father,
but that they had intended to fly away; and that by the distress they were
in, their lives being now uncertain and tedious to them. FJAJ 16.66
6. About this time there came an ambassador out of Cappadocia from Archelaus,
whose name was Melas; he was one of the principal rulers under him
So
Herod, being desirous to show Archelaus's ill-will to him, called for Alexander,
as he was in his bonds, and asked him again concerning his fight, whether
and how they had resolved to retire Alexander replied, To Archclaus, who
had promised to send them away to Rome; but that they had no wicked nor
mischievous designs against their father, and that nothing of that nature
which their adversaries had charged upon them was true; and that their
desire was, that he might have examined Tyrannus and Jucundus more strictly,
but that they had been suddenly slain by the means of Antipater, who put
his own friends among the multitude [for that purpose]. FJAJ 16.67
7. When this was said, Herod commanded that both Alexander and Melas
should be carried to Glaphyra, Archelaus's daughter, and that she should
be asked, whether she did not know somewhat of Alexander's treacherous
designs against Herod? Now as soon as they were come to her, and she saw
Alexander in bonds, she beat her head, and in a great consternation gave
a deep and moving groan
The young man also fell into tears
This was so
miserable a spectacle to those present, that, for a great while, they were
not able to say or to do any thing; but at length Ptolemy, who was ordered
to bring Alexander, bid him say whether his wife was conscious of his actions.
He replied, "How is it possible that she, whom I love better than
my own soul, and by whom I have had children, should not know what I do?"
Upon which she cried out that she knew of no wicked designs of his; but
that yet, if her accusing herself falsely would tend to his preservation,
she would confess it all
Alexander replied, "There is no such wickedness
as those (who ought the least of all so to do) suspect, which either I
have imagined, or thou knowest of, but this only, that we had resolved
to retire to Archelaus, and from thence to Rome." Which she also confessed.
Upon which Herod, supposing that Archelaus's ill-will to him was fully
proved, sent a letter by Olympus and Volumnius; and bid them, as they sailed
by, to touch at Eleusa of Cilicia, and give Archelaus the letter
And that
when they had ex-postulated with him, that he had a hand in his son's treacherous
design against him, they should from thence sail to Rome; and that, in
case they found Nicolaus had gained any ground, and that Caesar was no
longer displeased at him, he should give him his letters, and the proofs
which he had ready to show against the young men
As to Archelaus, he made
his defense for himself, that he had promised to receive the young men,
because it was both for their own and their father's advantage so to do,
lest some too severe procedure should be gone upon in that anger and disorder
they were in on occasion of the present suspicions; but that still he had
not promised to send them to Caesar; and that he had not promised any thing
else to the young men that could show any ill-will to him. FJAJ 16.68
8. When these ambassadors were come to Rome, they had a fit opportunity
of delivering their letters to Caesar, because they found him reconciled
to Herod; for the circumstances of Nicolaus's embassage had been as follows:
As soon as he was come to Rome, and was about the court, he did not first
of all set about what he was come for only, but he thought fit also to
accuse Sylleus
Now the Arabians, even before he came to talk with them,
were quarrelling one with another; and some of them left Sylleus's party,
and joining themselves to Nicolaus, informed him of all the wicked things
that had been done; and produced to him evident demonstrations of the slaughter
of a great number of Obodas's friends by Sylleus; for when these men left
Sylleus, they had carried off with them those letters whereby they could
convict him
When Nicolaus saw such an opportunity afforded him, he made
use of it, in order to gain his own point afterward, and endeavored immediately
to make a reconciliation between Caesar and Herod; for he was fully satisfied,
that if he should desire to make a defense for Herod directly, he should
not be allowed that liberty; but that if he desired to accuse Sylleus,
there would an occasion present itself of speaking on Herod's behalf
So
when the cause was ready for a hearing, and the day was appointed, Nicolaus,
while Aretas's ambassadors were present, accused Sylleus, and said that
he imputed to him the destruction of the king [Obodas], and of many others
of the Arabians; that he had borrowed money for no good design; and he
proved that he had been guilty of adultery, not only with the Arabian,
but Reinan women also
And
he added, that above all the rest he had alienated
Caesar from Herod, and that all that he had said about the actions of Herod
were falsities
When Nicolaus was come to this topic, Caesar stopped him
from going on, and desired him only to speak to this affair of Herod, and
to show that he had not led an army into Arabia, nor slain two thousand
five hundred men there, nor taken prisoners, nor pillaged the country.
To which Nicolaus made this answer: "I shall principally demonstrate,
that either nothing at all, or but a very little, of those imputations
are true, of which thou hast been informed; for had they been true, thou
mightest justly have been still more angry at Herod." At this strange
assertion Caesar was very attentive; and Nicolaus said that there was a
debt due to Herod of five hundred talents, and a bond, wherein it was written,
that if the time appointed be lapsed, it should be lawful to make a seizure
out of any part of his country. FJAJ 16.69
"As for the pretended army,"
he said, "it was no army, but a party sent out to require the just
payment of the money; that this was not sent immediately, nor so soon as
the bond allowed, but that Sylleus had frequently come before Saturninus
and Volumnius, the presidents of Syria; and that at last he had sworn at
Berytus, by thy fortune, (13)
This oath, by the fortune of Caesar, was put to Polycarp, a bishop of Smyrna,
by the Roman governor, to try whether he were a Christian, as they were
then esteemed who refused to swear that oath. Martyr. Polycarp, sect. 9.
that he would certainly pay the money within thirty days, and deliver up
the fugitives that were under his dominion
And that when Sylleus had performed
nothing of this, Herod came again before the presidents; and upon their
permission to make a seizure for his money, he, with difficulty, went out
of his country with a party of soldiers for that purpose
And this is all
the war which these men so tragically describe; and this is the affair
of the expedition into Arabia
And how can this be called a war, when thy
presidents permitted it, the covenants allowed it, and it was not executed
till thy name, O Caesar, as well as that of the other gods, had been profaned?
And now I must speak in order about the captives
There were robbers that
dwelt in Trachonitis; at first their number was no more than forty, but
they became more afterwards, and they escaped the punishment Herod would
have inflicted on them, by making Arabia their refuge
Sylleus received
them, and supported them with food, that they might be mischievous to all
mankind, and gave them a country to inhabit, and himself received the gains
they made by robbery; yet did he promise that he would deliver up these
men, and that by the same oaths and same time that he sware and fixed for
payment of his debt: nor can he by any means show that any other persons
have at this time been taken out of Arabia besides these, and indeed not
all these neither, but only so many as could not conceal themselves
And
thus does the calumny of the captives, which hath been so odiously represented,
appear to be no better than a fiction and a lie, made on purpose to provoke
thy indignation; for I venture to affirm that when the forces of the Arabians
came upon us, and one or two of Herod's party fell, he then only defended
himself, and there fell Nacebus their general, and in all about twenty-five
others, and no more; whence Sylleus, by multiplying every single soldier
to a hundred, he reckons the slain to have been two thousand five hundred." FJAJ 16.70
9. This provoked Caesar more than ever
So he turned to Sylleus full
of rage, and asked him how many of the Arabians were slain
Hereupon he
hesitated, and said he had been imposed upon
The covenants also were read
about the money he had borrowed, and the letters of the presidents of Syria,
and the complaints of the several cities, so many as had been injured by
the robbers
The conclusion was this, that Sylleus was condemned to die,
and that Caesar was reconciled to Herod, and owned his repentance for what
severe things he had written to him, occasioned by calumny, insomuch that
he told Sylleus, that he had compelled him, by his lying account of things,
to be guilty of ingratitude against a man that was his friend
At the last
all came to this, Sylleus was sent away to answer Herod's suit, and to
repay the debt that he owed, and after that to be punished [with death].
But still Caesar was offended with Aretas, that he had taken upon himself
the government, without his consent first obtained, for he had determined
to bestow Arabia upon Herod; but that the letters he had sent hindered
him from so doing; for Olympus and Volumnius, perceiving that Caesar was
now become favorable to Herod, thought fit immediately to deliver him the
letters they were commanded by Herod to give him concerning his sons
When
Caesar had read them, he thought it would not be proper to add another
government to him, now he was old, and in an ill state with relation to
his sons, so he admitted Aretas's ambassadors; and after he had just reproved
him for his rashness, in not tarrying till he received the kingdom from
him, he accepted of his presents, and confirmed him in his government. FJAJ 16.71