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and he departed for his tetrarchy, having sworn he would not return before he learned that his brother had died. So that when the king was sick, although summoned, he did not obey, so that he might not break his oath. But later, when Pheroras fell sick, Herod came to him unbidden, and honored him at his death. But the death of Pheroras became the beginning of evils for Antipater, as the divine power punished him for the fratricide. For two of Pheroras' honored freedmen urged Herod not to let his brother go unavenged, having been killed by poison. These reports, seeming credible, moved the king to an investigation, and women, both slave and free, were tortured. Now, the other women endured and kept silent, but a certain one said nothing else but called upon God for Antipater's mother to fall into such torments, as being the cause of the evils. This moved Herod to a greater investigation; and the women, subjected to more severe tortures, made everything known: the revels and the secret meetings, and the words spoken by Antipater to Pheroras' women, his hatred for his father, his lamentations to his mother that his father's life was prolonged for a very long time, so that he would not even perceive the pleasures of the kingdom, if ever it should come to him, because of the old age already upon him; and the women spoke of many other things, even attacking his father. 1.395 The king, now condemning Antipater on these grounds, took from his mother Doris all her adornment, which was worth many talents, and sent her away. And Herod was especially incited against his son by his steward, Antipater, who said under torture, among other things, that he had given a poison to Pheroras, ordering him to give it to his father during his absence, so that he would be without suspicion by not being present, and that Pheroras was to keep it to give to his wife. But his wife confessed, and going away to bring the poison, she threw herself from the roof, but did not die. And the king questioned her again after she recovered; and she swore to tell everything as it had happened. And she said she had received the poison from her husband, prepared against his father by Antipater. But when Pheroras fell sick, since you came yourself and tended to your brother, he, seeing your kindness "towards me," said, "Bring, O wife, the poison, and burn it in my sight." And I immediately did as he commanded, giving the greater part to the fire, but leaving a little for myself, so that I might use it, if after Pheroras' death evils should meet me from you. And she brought forth both the box and the poison. And the king's wife, the daughter of the high priest, was also accused, as being privy to all things; whom he immediately cast out, and erased her son from the wills which mentioned him for the kingship. And he took away the high priesthood from his father-in-law Simon, the son of Boethus, and appointed another, Matthias the son of Theophilus. At this time, a freedman of Antipater, Bathyllus, 1.396 arrived from Rome, bringing a poison for Antipater's mother and for Pheroras; who, being examined, said it had been sent so that if the first poison did not affect his father, he might at least be destroyed by this one. And letters were also brought to Herod from his friends in Rome, making an accusation against Archelaus and Philip, who were living in Rome for their studies, that they were accusing their father for the murder of their brothers, and were also afraid for themselves. And these things were done by Antipater for large payments. But Herod, concealing his anger, ordered him not to delay; and bringing complaints against his mother, he promised to lay these upon him whenever he should arrive. He encountered these letters near Cilicia. And in Tarentum, learning of Pheroras' death, he took it badly, not because of goodwill, but because he had died before he could kill Herod, as he had promised. And having landed at the port called Sebastos, so named for Caesar, he was now in manifest evils, with no one approaching him or addressing him. And he was in Jerusalem, with Varus, the governor of Syria, sitting in council with Herod, having been summoned for counsel concerning the

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καὶ ος ἐπὶ τὴν τετραρχίαν ἀπῆρεν, ὀμόσας οὐ πρότερον ηξειν η πύθοιτο τελευτῆσαι τὸν ἀδελφόν. ωστε καὶ νοσήσαντος τοῦ βασιλέως κληθεὶς οὐχ ὑπήκουσεν, ινα μὴ παραβαίη τὸν ορκον. ̔Ηρώδης δ' υστερον Φερώρα νοσήσαντος ηκε πρὸς ἐκεῖνον αὐτόκλητος, καὶ θανόντα ἐτίμησεν. ̔Η δὲ Φερώρου τελευτὴ ἀρχὴ κακῶν ̓Αντιπάτρῳ ἐγένετο, τιννυμένου τοῦ θείου τῆς ἀδελφοκτονίας αὐτόν. ἀπελεύθεροι γὰρ δύο τῶν Φερώρᾳ τιμίων ἠξίουν ̔Ηρώδην μὴ ἐᾶσαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀνεκδίκητον φαρμάκῳ διαφθαρέντα. ταῦτα πιστὰ δοκοῦντα εἰς ἐξέτασιν τὸν βασιλέα ἐκίνησαν, καὶ ἐβασανίζοντο γυναῖκες δοῦλαί τε καὶ ἐλεύθεραι. αἱ μὲν ουν αλλαι ἐνεκαρτέρουν ἐχεμυθοῦσαι, μία δέ τις αλλο μὲν εφη οὐδέν, θεὸν δ' ἐπεκαλεῖτο, τοιαύταις ἀνάγκαις τὴν ̓Αντιπάτρου μητέρα περιπεσεῖν, ὡς κακῶν αἰτίαν. τοῦτο εἰς πλείονα τὸν ̔Ηρώδην ἐκίνησεν ερευναν· καὶ πάντα σφοδροτέραις βασάνοις αἱ γυναῖκες περιβληθεῖσαι πεποιήκασιν εκπυστα, τοὺς κώμους καὶ τὰς κρυπτὰς συνόδους, καὶ λόγους ̓Αντιπάτρου πρὸς τὰς γυναῖκας γενομένους Φερώρου, μῖσος πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ὀλοφύρσεις πρὸς τὴν μητέρα, οτι ἐπὶ μήκιστον ἡ ζωὴ παρατέταται τῷ πατρί, ὡς μηδ' αἰσθέσθαι τῶν τῆς βασιλείας ἡδέων, ειποτε αὐτῷ γένηται, διὰ γῆρας ηδη αὐτῷ ἐπικείμενον· καὶ αλλα δὲ πλείω καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καθαπτόμενα αἱ γυναῖκες ελεγον. 1.395 τούτοις ηδη καταγνοὺς ̓Αντιπάτρου ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀφαιρεῖται μὲν τὴν ἐκείνου μητέρα τὴν ∆ωρίδα τὸν περὶ αὐτὴν πάντα κόσμον ταλάντων οντα πολλῶν, αὐτὴν δὲ ἀποπέμπεται. μάλιστα δ' ἐξώτρυνε κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸν ̔Ηρώδην ἐπίτροπος ἐκείνου ̓Αντίπατρος, αλλα τε κατειπὼν ἐν τῷ βασανίζεσθαι καὶ οτι φάρμακον δοίη Φερώρᾳ, ἐντειλάμενος δοῦναι αὐτὸ τῷ πατρὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀποδημίαν αὐτοῦ, ιν' ειη ἀνύποπτος μὴ παρών, καὶ τοῦτο τὸν Φερώραν φυλάσσειν δοῦναι τῇ γυναικί. ἡ γυνὴ δὲ ὡμολόγει, καὶ ἀπιοῦσα κομίσαι τὸ φάρμακον ἐκ τοῦ τέγους ερριψεν ἑαυτήν, οὐ μὴν ἐτελεύτησε. καὶ ἀνακτηθεῖσαν ἠρώτα πάλιν ὁ βασιλεύς· ἡ δὲ ωμοσε πάντα ἐρεῖν ὡς ἐπέπρακτο. καὶ λαβεῖν εφη τὸ φάρμακον παρὰ τοῦ ἀνδρός, ἡτοιμασμένον ἐπ' αὐτὸν τὸν πατέρα ὑπ' ̓Αντιπάτρου. νοσήσαντος δὲ Φερώρα, ἐπεὶ ἐλθὼν αὐτὸς ἐθεράπευε τὸν ἀδελφόν, ὁρῶν σου τὴν ευνοιαν ἐκεῖνος "πρὸς ἐμέ" εφη "κόμισον, ω γύναι, τὸ φάρμακον, καὶ κατάκαυσον ἐπ' οψει ἐμῇ." κἀγὼ αὐτίκα ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἐνετέλλετο επραττον, τὸ μὲν πλεῖστον πυρὶ παραδοῦσα, ἑαυτῇ δ' ὑπολειπομένη ὀλίγον, ιν' αὐτῷ χρησαίμην, εἰ μεταστάντος Φερώρα κακά μοι παρὰ σοῦ ἀπαντᾷ. παρῆγε δὲ εἰς τὸ μέσον τὴν πυξίδα τε καὶ τὸ φάρμακον. κατηγορεῖτο δὲ καὶ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως γυνή, ἡ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως θυγάτηρ, ὡς συνίστωρ ἁπάντων· ην αὐτίκα ἐξέβαλε, καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς ἀπήλειψε τῶν διαθηκῶν, εἰς τὸ βασιλεῦσαι μεμνημένων ἐκείνου. καὶ τὸν πενθερὸν Σίμωνα τὸν τοῦ Βοηθοῦ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην ἀφείλετο, ετερον δὲ καθιστᾷ τὸν τοῦ Θεοφίλου Ματθίαν. ̓Εν τούτῳ δὲ ἀπελεύθερος ̓Αντιπάτρου Βάθυλος 1.396 ἀπὸ ̔Ρώμης παρῆν φάρμακον κομίζων τῇ τοῦ ̓Αντιπάτρου μητρὶ καὶ Φερώρᾳ· ος ἐξεταζόμενος ελεγε πεμφθῆναι αὐτό, ιν' εἰ μὴ τὸ πρότερον απτοιτο τοῦ πατρός, τούτῳ γοῦν κατεργασθείη. ἐπεφέρετο δὲ καὶ γράμματα παρὰ τῶν ἐν ̔Ρώμῃ τῷ ̔Ηρώδῃ φίλων, κατηγορίαν ποιούμενα ̓Αρχελάου καὶ Φιλίππου, ἐν ̔Ρώμῃ διαγόντων ἐπὶ μαθήμασιν, ὡς τάχα τὸν πατέρα κατηγορούντων ἐπὶ τῷ φόνῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ δεδοικότων καὶ περὶ ἑαυτοῖς. ταῦτα δὲ μεγάλων μισθῶν τῷ ̓Αντιπάτρῳ ἐπράττετο. ̔Ηρώδης δ' ἐπικρυψάμενος τὴν ὀργὴν ἐκέλευε μὴ βραδύνειν· καὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ μέμψεις ἐπάγων, ἐπηγγέλλετο ἀναθήσεσθαι ταύτας αὐτῷ, ὁπότε ἀφίκοιτο. τούτοις τοῖς γράμμασι περὶ Κιλικίαν ἐνέτυχεν. ἐν Τάραντι δὲ τὴν Φερώρου μαθὼν τελευτὴν δεινῶς ηνεγκεν, οὐ δι' ευνοιαν, ἀλλ' οτι μὴ φθάσας, ὡς ὑπέσχετο, τὸν ̔Ηρώδην ἀναιρῆσαι, ἀπέθανε. καταχθεὶς δὲ εἰς τὸν λεγόμενον Σεβαστὸν λιμένα, ἐπ' ὀνόματι τοῦ Καίσαρος ουτω καλούμενον, ἐν προύπτοις ην ηδη τοῖς κακοῖς, μή τινος αὐτῷ προσιόντος μήτε προσαγορεύοντος. παρῆν δ' ἐν ̔Ιεροσολύμοις, Οὐάρου τοῦ τῆς Συρίας ἡγεμονεύοντος συνεδρεύοντος ̔Ηρώδῃ, κληθέντος ἐπὶ συμβουλῇ περὶ τῶν