173

some from one place, some from another were shouting, addressing him as a god, and adding, "be gracious;" for if until now we have feared you as a man, yet from now on we confess you are greater than mortal nature. The king did not rebuke them for this, nor did he reject their impious flattery. Looking up therefore after a little while, he saw the owl, the bird, above his head, and he then perceived this to be a messenger of evils, as it had once been a herald of good things. And he felt a piercing 2.34 pain in his heart, and a sudden pain came upon his belly. And he said to his friends, "I, your god, am now ending my life, and I, who was called immortal by you, am hurried to die." As he said these things, he was racked by the increasing pain, and was carried with haste to the palace. And when the report spread that he was dying, the multitude immediately, with their wives and children, sat down in sackcloth and according to their ancestral custom, supplicated God on behalf of the king, and all were wailing. And Agrippa, lying in a high chamber, and looking down at them prostrate, was not himself without tears. And for five days, being consumed by the pain in his stomach, he ended his life, having lived fifty-four years, and reigned for seven, four under Gaius, and three under Claudius. While his death was still unknown to the crowds, Herod his brother, the ruler of Chalcis, and Helkias the hipparch, having conspired, sent and slew Silas, who was their enemy, as if the king had ordered it. Thus then Agrippa died, leaving a son, Agrippa, seventeen years of age, and three daughters; of whom the one had been married to Herod, her father's brother, and was called Bernice, and the two, Mariam and Drusilla, were virgins. When the king's death was known, the people of Caesarea and Sebaste, having forgotten his good deeds, both blasphemed him and seizing the statues of the king's daughters, they carried them into the brothels and treated them outrageously, and they held public feasts, 2.35 wearing garlands and anointing themselves and pouring libations to Charon. But the son of the deceased, Agrippa, was at that time living in Rome, being brought up in the household of Claudius Caesar. He was eager to send him immediately to succeed to the kingdom, but his advisors dissuaded him from his purpose, saying it was dangerous to entrust a kingdom of such great size to a mere youth. He therefore sent Cuspius Fadus to be procurator of Judea and of the whole kingdom, instructing him to rebuke the people of Caesarea and Sebaste for their outrage against the deceased. And Fadus, having arrived in Judea, both suppressed a sedition that had arisen, and cleared the country of robbers, and ordered the high priest's vestment to be deposited in the fortress Antonia, as before. But the priests and the leading men in Jerusalem did not dare to contradict, but nevertheless they requested permission to send envoys to Caesar to ask that the sacred vestment be in their custody; and they were permitted. And when the envoys arrived in Rome, Agrippa the younger, the son of Agrippa, who was living there, as has been said, besought Caesar that the Jews be allowed to have the sacred vestment. And Claudius consented, and wrote to Fadus about these things. And Herod, the brother of Agrippa, ruler of Chalcis, asked from Caesar authority over the temple and the sacred money and the appointment of the high priests. And he obtained his request, and from that time the authority remained with all his descendants until the capture of Jerusalem. And so he removed Cantheras from the high priesthood, appointing in his place Joseph, the son of Camei. 2.36 At this time, Helena, queen of the Adiabenes, and her son Izates, converted their way of life to the customs of the Jews. For Monobazus, the king of the Adiabenes, who was also called Bazaeus, being captivated by love for his sister Helena, married her. and once, while sleeping with her when she was pregnant, he placed his hand upon her womb. and having fallen asleep, he seemed to hear a voice

173

αλλος αλλοθεν ἀνεβόων, θεὸν προσαγορεύοντες, εὐμενής τε ειης, ἐπιλέγοντες· εἰ γὰρ καὶ μέχρι νῦν ὡς ανθρωπον ἐφοβήθημεν, ἀλλὰ τοὐντεῦθεν ὁμολογοῦμεν θνητῆς σε φύσεως κρείττονα. οὐκ ἐπέπληξε τούτοις ὁ βασιλεύς, οὐδὲ τὴν κολακείαν ἀσεβοῦσαν ἀπετρίψατο. ἀνακύψας ουν μετ' ὀλίγον ὁρᾷ τὸν βουβῶνα τὸν ορνιν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῆς υπερθεν, αγγελόν τε κακῶν τοῦτον ἐνενόησε τότε, ὡς ποτὲ τῶν ἀγαθῶν μηνυτήν. καὶ διακάρδιον 2.34 εσχεν ὀδύνην, καὶ τῆς κοιλίας ἀθρόον ἐπιγέγονεν αλγημα. καὶ πρὸς τοὺς φίλους φησίν "ὁ θεὸς ὑμῖν ἐγὼ ηδη καταστρέφω τὸν βίον, καὶ ὁ κληθεὶς ἀθάνατος παρ' ὑμῶν θανεῖν ἐπείγομαι." ταῦτα λέγων τῆς ὀδύνης ἐπιτεινομένης κατεπονεῖτο, καὶ μετὰ σπουδῆς ἀνεκομίσθη πρὸς τὸ βασίλειον. λόγου δὲ γενομένου θνήσκειν αὐτόν, ἡ πληθὺς αὐτίκα σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ παισὶν ἐπὶ σάκκου καθεσθεῖσα τῷ πατρίῳ νόμῳ τὸν θεὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βασιλέως ἱκέτευε, καὶ πάντες ἐθρήνουν. ἐν ὑψηλῷ δὲ ὁ ̓Αγρίππας κατακείμενος δωματίῳ, καὶ κάτω βλέπων αὐτοὺς πρηνεῖς προσπίπτοντας, οὐδὲ αὐτὸς αδακρυς ην. ἐφ' ἡμέρας δὲ πέντε τῷ τῆς γαστρὸς ἀλγήματι κατεργασθεὶς κατέστρεψε τὴν ζωήν, βιώσας ετη τέσσαρα καὶ πεντήκοντα, βασιλεύσας δ' ἑπτά, ἐπὶ Γαΐου μὲν τέσσαρα, τρία δ' ἐπὶ Κλαυδίου. ἀγνοουμένης γε μὴν ετι τοῖς πλήθεσι τῆς αὐτοῦ τελευτῆς, συμφρονήσαντες ̔Ηρώδης ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ τῆς Χαλκίδος αρχων καὶ ̔Ελκίας ὁ ιππαρχος, πέμψαντες τὸν Σίλαν ἐχθρὸν αὐτοῖς οντα κατέσφαξαν, ὡς τάχα τοῦ βασιλέως κελεύσαντος. Ουτω μὲν ουν ὁ ̓Αγρίππας ἀπεβίω, υἱὸν ̓Αγρίππαν καταλιπὼν ἐτῶν ἑπτακαίδεκα, τρεῖς δὲ θυγατέρας· ων ἡ μὲν ̔Ηρώδῃ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀδελφῷ γεγάμητο, Βερνίκη δ' ἐκέκλητο, παρθένοι δ' ησαν αἱ δύο Μαριὰμ καὶ ∆ρούσιλλα. γνωσθέντος δὲ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ βασιλέως, Καισαρεῖς καὶ Σεβαστηνοὶ ἐπιλελησμένοι τῶν αὐτοῦ εὐποιιῶν ἐβλασφήμουν τε εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ τὰ τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως θυγατέρων ἀγάλματα ἁρπάσαντες εἰς τὰ πορνεῖα ἐκόμισαν καὶ ἀφύβριζον εἰς αὐτά, καὶ πανδήμους ἑστιάσεις ἐποίουν 2.35 στεφανούμενοι καὶ μυριζόμενοι καὶ σπένδοντες τῷ Χάροντι. ὁ δὲ τοῦ τεθνεῶτος υἱὸς ̓Αγρίππας ἐν ̔Ρώμῃ τότε διῆγε παρὰ Κλαυδίῳ τρεφόμενος Καίσαρι. ον αὐτίκα πέμπειν ωρμητο τὴν βασιλείαν διαδεξόμενον· ἀπήγαγον δ' αὐτὸν τοῦ σκοποῦ οἱ περὶ αὐτόν, σφαλερὸν ειναι λέγοντες κομιδῇ νέῳ βασιλείας ἐπιτρέπειν μέγεθος τόσον. ἀπέστειλεν ουν Κούσπιον Φάδον τῆς ̓Ιουδαίας καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἁπάσης ἐπιτροπεύσοντα, ἐντειλάμενος αὐτῷ Καισαρεῦσι καὶ Σεβαστηνοῖς ἐπιπλῆξαι τῆς εἰς τὸν κατοιχόμενον υβρεως. ἀφικόμενος δὲ Φάδος εἰς τὴν ̓Ιουδαίαν, στάσιν τε γενομένην κατέστειλε, καὶ λῃστηρίων τὴν χώραν ἐκάθηρε, καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως στολὴν εἰς τὴν ̓Αντωνίαν τὸ φρούριον ἀποτεθῆναι προσέταξεν ὡς καὶ πρότερον. οἱ δ' ἱερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρῶτοι τῶν ἐν ̔Ιεροσολύμοις ἀντιλέγειν μὲν οὐκ ἐτόλμων, παρεκάλουν δὲ ομως ἐπιτρέψαι αὐτοῖς πρέσβεις πέμψαι πρὸς τὸν Καίσαρα τοὺς αἰτησομένους τὴν ἱερὰν στολὴν παρ' αὐτοῖς ειναι· καὶ ἐπετράπησαν. παραγενομένων δὲ εἰς τὴν ̔Ρώμην τῶν πρέσβεων, ὁ τοῦ ̓Αγρίππου παῖς ὁ νεώτερος ̓Αγρίππας ἐκεῖ διάγων, ὡς ειρηται, παρεκάλεσε τὸν Καίσαρα συγχωρηθῆναι τοῖς ̓Ιουδαίοις εχειν τὴν ἱερὰν στολήν. καὶ ὁ Κλαύδιος συνεχώρησε, καὶ τῷ Φάδῳ περὶ τούτων ἐπέστειλε. καὶ ̔Ηρώδης δὲ ὁ τοῦ ̓Αγρίππου ἀδελφός, τῆς δὲ Χαλκίδος αρχων, ᾐτήσατο παρὰ Καίσαρος τὴν τοῦ νεὼ ἐξουσίαν καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν χρημάτων καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀρχιερέων χειροτονίαν. καὶ ετυχε τῆς αἰτήσεως, καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου πᾶσι τοῖς ἀπογόνοις αὐτοῦ ἡ ἐξουσία παρέμεινε μέχρι τῆς τῶν ̔Ιεροσολύμων ἁλώσεως. καὶ δὴ μεθίστησι τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης τὸν Κανθηρᾶν, ̓Ιωσὴφ ἀντεισαγαγὼν τὸν τοῦ Καμεί. 2.36 ̓Εν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ ἡ τῶν ̓Αδιαβηνῶν βασιλὶς ̔Ελένη καὶ ὁ παῖς αὐτῆς ̓Ιζάτης εἰς τὰ ̓Ιουδαίων τὴνδιαγωγὴν μετέβαλον νόμιμα. Μονόβαζος γὰρ ὁ τῶν ̓Αδιαβηνῶν βασιλεύς, ῳ καὶ Βαζαῖος ἐπίκλησις ην, τῆς ἀδελφῆς ̔Ελένης ἁλοὺς ερωτι, αγεται ταύτην. καί ποτε συγκαθεύδων αὐτῇ ουσῃ ἐγκύμονι τῇ ἐκείνης γαστρὶ τὴν χεῖρα ἐπέθετο. καὶ ὑπνώσας εδοξεν ἀκούειν φωνῆς