342. So both Hyrcanus and Phasaelus went on the embassage; but Pacorus left with Herod two hundred horsemen, and ten men, who were called the freemen, and conducted the others on their journey; and when they were in Galilee, the governors of the cities there met them in their arms. Barzaphanles also received them at the first with cheerfulness, and made them presents, though he afterward conspired against them; and Phasaelus, with his horsemen, were conducted to the sea-side. But when they heard that Antigonus had promised to give the Parthians a thousand talents, and five hundred women, to assist him against them, they soon had a suspicion of the barbarians. Moreover, there was one who informed them that snares were laid for them by night, while a guard came about them secretly; and they had then been seized upon, had not they waited for the seizure of Herod by the Parthians that were about Jerusalem, lest, upon the slaughter of Hyrcanus and Phasaelus, he should have an intimation of it, and escape out of their hands. And these were the circumstances they were now in; and they saw who they were that guarded them. Some persons indeed would have persuaded Phasaelus to fly away immediately on horseback, and not stay any longer; and there was one Ophellius, who, above all the rest, was earnest with him to do so; for he had heard of this treachery from Saramalla, the richest of all the Syrians at that time, who also promised to provide him ships to carry him off; for the sea was just by them. But he had no mind to desert Hyrcanus, nor bring his brother into danger; but he went to Barzapharnes, and told him he did not act justly when he made such a contrivance against them; for that if he wanted money, he would give him more than Antigonus; and besides, that it was a horrible thing to slay those that came to him upon the security of their oaths, and that when they had done them no injury. But the barbarian swore to him that there was no truth in any of his suspicions, but that he was troubled with nothing but false proposals, and then went away to Pacorus.
342. Ὤιχοντο δʼ οὖν πρεσβεύοντες Ὑρκανός τε καὶ Φασάηλος, Πάκορος δὲ καταλιπὼν Ἡρώδῃ διακοσίους ἱππεῖς καὶ δέκα τῶν λεγομένων ἐλευθέρων προύπεμψεν αὐτούς. γενομένοις δʼ ἐν τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ μεθʼ ὅπλων ὑπαντῶσιν οἱ ταύτῃ τῶν πολεμίων ὑφεστῶτες. καὶ Βαζαφράνης τὸ μὲν πρῶτον αὐτοὺς ὑποδέχεται προθύμως καὶ δῶρα δίδωσιν, ἔπειτα ἐπεβούλευεν. πλησίον δὲ μετὰ ἱππέων ὑπὲρ θαλάττης οἱ περὶ Φασάηλον κατάγονται καὶ ἐνταῦθʼ ἀκούσαντες, ὡς Ἀντίγονος ὑπόσχοιτο χίλια τάλαντα καὶ γυναῖκας πεντακοσίας τοῖς Πάρθοις κατʼ αὐτῶν, διʼ ὑποψίας εἶχον ἤδη τοὺς βαρβάρους. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ νύκτωρ ἐπιβουλευομένους αὐτοὺς ἀπήγγειλέν τις φυλακῆς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τἀφανοῦς περιισταμένης, καὶ συνελήφθησαν ἄν, εἰ μὴ περιέμενον ἕως [ἂν] οἱ περὶ Ἱεροσόλυμα Πάρθοι Ἡρώδην συλλάβοιεν, μὴ προανῃρημένων τούτων ἐκεῖνος αἰσθόμενος διαφύγοι. καὶ ἦν ταῦθʼ οὕτως ἔχοντα καὶ οἱ φύλακες αὐτῶν ἑωρῶντο. Φασαήλῳ μὲν οὖν παρῄνουν τινὲς εὐθὺς ἀφιππάσασθαι καὶ μὴ περιμένειν, μάλιστα μέντοι πρὸς ταῦτα αὐτὸν Ὀφέλλιος ἐνῆγεν, ὃς ἀκηκόει παρὰ Σαραμάλλα τοῦ πλουσιωτάτου τῶν ἐν Συρίᾳ τότε καὶ πλοῖα πρὸς τὴν φυγὴν ὑπισχνεῖτο· ἐγγὺς γὰρ ἦν ἡ θάλασσα. ὁ δὲ Ὑρκανὸν ἀπολιπεῖν οὐκ ἠξίου οὐδὲ παρακινδυνεύειν τἀδελφῷ· προσελθὼν δὲ πρὸς τὸν Βαζαφράνην οὐ δίκαια ποιεῖν αὐτὸν ἔλεγεν τοιαῦτα βουλευόμενον περὶ αὐτῶν· χρημάτων τε γὰρ δεομένῳ πλείονα ἔσεσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῦ ὧν Ἀντίγονος δίδωσιν, καὶ ἄλλως δεινὸν εἶναι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πίστει συνελθόντας πρεσβευτὰς ἀποκτεῖναι μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντας. ὁ δὲ βάρβαρος ταῦτα λέγοντος ὤμνυεν μηδὲν ἀληθὲς εἶναι τῶν ὑπονοουμένων, ἀλλὰ ψευδεῖς αὐτὸν ὑποψίας ταράξαι, ἀπῄει τε πρὸς Πάκορον.
348. But as soon as he was gone away, some men came and bound Hyrcanus and Phasaelus, while Phasaelus greatly reproached the Parthians for their perjury; However, that butler who was sent against Herod had it in command to get him without the walls of the city, and seize upon him; but messengers had been sent by Phasaelus to inform Herod of the perfidiousness of the Parthians. And when he knew that the enemy had seized upon them, he went to Pacorus, and to the most potent of the Parthians, as to the lord of the rest, who, although they knew the whole matter, dissembled with him in a deceitful way; and said that he ought to go out with them before the walls, and meet those which were bringing him his letters, for that they were not taken by his adversaries, but were coming to give him an account of the good success Phasaelus had had. Herod did not give credit to what they said; for he had heard that his brother was seized upon by others also; and the daughter of Hyrcanus, whose daughter he had espoused, was his monitor also [not to credit them], which made him still more suspicious of the Parthians; for although other people did not give heed to her, yet did he believe her as a woman of very great wisdom.
348. Οἰχομένου δὲ τῶν Πάρθων ἐδέσμευόν τινες Ὑρκανὸν καὶ Φασάηλον πολλὰ τῆς ἐπιορκίας κακίζοντα τοὺς Πάρθους. ὁ δʼ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἡρώδην ἀπεσταλμένος εὐνοῦχος ἐντολὰς εἶχεν προαγαγὼν αὐτὸν ἔξω τοῦ τείχους συλλαμβάνειν. ἔτυχον δὲ ἄγγελοι παρὰ Φασαήλου πεμφθέντες ἐπὶ δηλώσει τῆς τῶν Πάρθων ἀπιστίας, οὓς τῶν πολεμίων συλλαβόντων γνοὺς Ἡρώδης πρόσεισι Πακόρῳ καὶ Πάρθων τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὡς οὖσιν τῶν ἄλλων δεσπόταις. οἱ δὲ τὸ πᾶν εἰδότες ὑπεκρίνοντο δολερῶς καὶ δεῖν αὐτὸν ἔφασαν μετὰ σφῶν ἐξελθόντα πρὸ τοῦ τείχους ὑπαντᾶν τοῖς τὰ γράμματα κομίζουσιν· οὐδέπω γὰρ αὐτοὺς εἰλῆφθαι πρὸς τῶν ἀντιστασιωτῶν, ἥκειν μέντοι δηλοῦντας ὅσα κατορθώσειε Φασάηλος. τούτοις Ἡρώδης οὐκ ἐπίστευσεν· ἀκηκόει γὰρ τὴν σύλληψιν τἀδελφοῦ παρʼ ἑτέρων· καὶ παραινούσης δὲ τῆς Ὑρκανοῦ θυγατρός, ἧς ἐγγεγύητο τὴν παῖδα, ἔτι μᾶλλον ὑπώπτευε τοὺς Πάρθους. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι ταύτῃ οὐ προσεῖχον, αὐτὸς δʼ ἐπίστευεν λίαν ἔμφρονι γυναικί.
352. Now while the Parthians were in consultation what was fit to be done; for they did not think it proper to make an open attempt upon a person of his character; and while they put off the determination to the next day, Herod was under great disturbance of mind, and rather inclining to believe the reports he heard about his brother and the Parthians, than to give heed to what was said on the other side, he determined, that when the evening came on, he would make use of it for his flight, and not make any longer delay, as if the dangers from the enemy were not yet certain. He therefore removed with the armed men whom he had with him; and set his wives upon the beasts, as also his mother, and sister, and her whom he was about to marry, [Mariamne,] the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, with her mother, the daughter of Hyrcanus, and his youngest brother, and all their servants, and the rest of the multitude that was with him, and without the enemy’s privity pursued his way to Idumea. Nor could any enemy of his who then saw him in this case be so hardhearted, but would have commiserated his fortune, while the women drew along their infant children and left their own country, and their friends in prison, with tears in their eyes, and sad lamentations, and in expectation of nothing but what was of a melancholy nature.
352. Βουλευομένων δὲ τῶν Πάρθων, τί χρὴ ποιεῖν, οὐ γὰρ ἤρεσκεν αὐτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ ἐπιχειρεῖν ἀνδρὶ τηλικούτῳ, καὶ ὑπερθεμένων εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν, ἐν τοιαύταις ταραχαῖς Ἡρώδης γενόμενος καὶ μᾶλλον οἷς ἤκουσεν περὶ τἀδελφοῦ καὶ τῆς Πάρθων ἐπιβουλῆς ἢ τοῖς ἐναντίοις προστιθέμενος, ἑσπέρας ἐπελθούσης ἔγνω ταύτῃ πρὸς φυγὴν χρήσασθαι καὶ μὴ διαμέλλειν ὡς ἐπʼ ἀδήλοις τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων κινδύνοις. ἄρας οὖν σὺν οἷς εἶχεν ὁπλίταις καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις ἐπιθέμενος μητέρα τε αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀδελφὴν καὶ ἣν ἔμελλεν ἄξεσθαι πρὸς γάμον Ἀλεξάνδρου θυγατέρα τοῦ Ἀριστοβούλου παιδὸς τήν τε ταύτης μητέρα, Ὑρκανοῦ δʼ ἦν θυγάτηρ, καὶ τὸν νεώτατον ἀδελφὸν τήν τε θεραπείαν πᾶσαν καὶ τὸν ἄλλον ὄχλον τὸν σὺν αὐτοῖς, ἐδίωκεν τὴν ἐπὶ Ἰδουμαίας λαθὼν τοὺς πολεμίους. ὧν οὐδεὶς ἂν οὕτως στερρὸς τὴν φύσιν εὑρέθη, ὃς τότε παρὼν τοῖς πραττομένοις οὐκ ἂν ᾤκτειρεν αὐτοὺς τῆς τύχης, γυναίων ἐπαγομένων νήπια τέκνα καὶ μετὰ δακρύων καὶ οἰμωγῆς ἀπολειπουσῶν τὴν πατρίδα καὶ φίλους ἐν δεσμοῖς καὶ περὶ αὐτῶν οὐδὲν ἔτι χρηστὸν προσδεχομένων.
355. But for Herod himself, he raised his mind above the miserable state he was in, and was of good courage in the midst of his misfortunes; and as he passed along, he bid them every one to be of good cheer, and not to give themselves up to sorrow, because that would hinder them in their flight, which was now the only hope of safety that they had. Accordingly, they tried to bear with patience the calamity they were under, as he exhorted them to do; yet was he once almost going to kill himself, upon the overthrow of a waggon, and the danger his mother was then in of being killed; and this on two accounts, because of his great concern for her, and because he was afraid lest, by this delay, the enemy should overtake him in the pursuit: but as he was drawing his sword, and going to kill himself therewith, those that were present restrained him, and being so many in number, were too hard for him; and told him that he ought not to desert them, and leave them a prey to their enemies, for that it was not the part of a brave man to free himself from the distresses he was in, and to overlook his friends that were in the same distresses also. So he was compelled to let that horrid attempt alone, partly out of shame at what they said to him, and partly out of regard to the great number of those that would not permit him to do what he intended. So he encouraged his mother, and took all the care of her the time would allow, and proceeded on the way he proposed to go with the utmost haste, and that was to the fortress of Masada. And as he had many skirmishes with such of the Parthians as attacked him and pursued him, he was conqueror in them all.
355. Ἀλλʼ Ἡρώδης ἐπάνω τῆς ἐκ τοῦ δεινοῦ πληγῆς τὸ φρόνημα ποιησάμενος αὐτός τε ἦν πρὸς τὸ δεινὸν εὔψυχος καὶ παριὼν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν θαρρεῖν ἕκαστον παρεκελεύετο καὶ μὴ παρέχειν αὑτὸν ἔκδοτον τῇ λύπῃ· τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτοὺς βλάπτειν πρὸς τὴν φυγήν, ἐν ᾗ τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτοῖς μόνῃ κεῖσθαι συμβέβηκεν. καὶ οἱ μὲν ὡς Ἡρώδης παρῄνει φέρειν τὴν συμφορὰν ἐπειρῶντο. μικροῦ δʼ αὑτὸν διεχρήσατο τοῦ ζεύγους περιτραπέντος καὶ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῷ κινδυνευσάσης ἀποθανεῖν, διά τε τὸ ἐπʼ αὐτῇ πάθος καὶ διὰ τὸ φοβεῖσθαι, μὴ καταλάβωσιν αὐτὸν οἱ πολέμιοι διώκοντες τριβῆς περὶ τὸ πταῖσμα γενομένης. σπασάμενον γοῦν αὐτὸν τὸ ξίφος καὶ μέλλοντα πλήττειν αὑτὸν κατέσχον οἱ παρόντες, τῷ τε πλήθει κατισχύσαντες καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἐχρῆν αὐτοὺς ἐγκαταλιπεῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐσομένους λέγοντες· οὐ γὰρ εἶναι γενναίου τῶν δεινῶν αὑτὸν ἐλευθερώσαντα τοὺς φίλους ἐν αὐτοῖς ὑπεριδεῖν. βιασθεὶς οὖν ἀποσχέσθαι τοῦ κατʼ αὐτὸν τολμήματος αἰδοῖ τε τῶν λεγομένων καὶ πλήθει τῶν οὐκ ἐπιτρεπόντων αὐτοῦ τῇ χειρὶ διακονεῖν οἷς ἐντεθύμητο, ἀνακτησάμενος τὴν μητέρα καὶ θεραπείας ἧς ὁ καιρὸς ἤπειγεν ἀξιώσας ἐβάδιζεν τὴν προκειμένην ὁδὸν συντονωτέραν ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν εἰς Μάσαδαν τὸ ἔρυμα. πολλὰς δὲ μάχας πρὸς τοὺς ἐπεξελθόντας καὶ διώκοντας τῶν Πάρθων μαχεσάμενος πάσας ἐνίκησεν.
359. Nor indeed was he free from the Jews all along as he was in his flight; for by that time he was gotten sixty furlongs out of the city, and was upon the road, they fell upon him, and fought hand to hand with him, whom he also put to flight, and overcame, not like one that was in distress and in necessity, but like one that was excellently prepared for war, and had what he wanted in great plenty. And in this very place where he overcame the Jews it was that he some time afterward build a most excellent palace, and a city round about it, and called it Herodium. And when he was come to Idumea, at a place called Thressa, his brother Joseph met him, and he then held a council to take advice about all his affairs, and what was fit to be done in his circumstances, since he had a great multitude that followed him, besides his mercenary soldiers, and the place Masada, whither he proposed to fly, was too small to contain so great a multitude; so he sent away the greater part of his company, being above nine thousand, and bid them go, some one way, and some another, and so save themselves in Idumea, and gave them what would buy them provisions in their journey. But he took with him those that were the least encumbered, and were most intimate with him, and came to the fortress, and placed there his wives and his followers, being eight hundred in number, there being in the place a sufficient quantity of corn and water, and other necessaries, and went directly for Petra, in Arabia. But when it was day, the Parthians plundered all Jerusalem, and the palace, and abstained from nothing but Hyrcanus’s money, which was three hundred talents. A great deal of Herod’s money escaped, and principally all that the man had been so provident as to send into Idumea beforehand; nor indeed did what was in the city suffice the Parthians, but they went out into the country, and plundered it, and demolished the city Marissa.
359. Ἔμεινε δʼ αὐτῷ παρὰ τὴν φυγὴν οὐδὲ τὰ παρὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀσφαλῆ, συνεπέθεντο δὲ καὶ οὗτοι γενομένοις ἀπὸ σταδίων ἑξήκοντα τῆς πόλεως προσβάλλοντές τε καὶ εἰς χεῖρας ἐρχόμενοι κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν. οὓς δὴ καὶ τρεψάμενος καὶ κρατήσας οὐχ ὡς ἐν ἀπορίᾳ καὶ ἀνάγκῃ τις τοιαύτῃ καθεστώς, ἀλλʼ ὡς κάλλιστα καὶ μετὰ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος πρὸς πόλεμον παρεσκευασμένος, ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ χωρίῳ, ἐν ᾧ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐκράτησε, μετὰ χρόνον βασιλεύσας ἔκτισε καὶ βασίλειον κατεσκεύασεν ἀξιολογώτατον καὶ πόλιν περὶ αὐτὸ Ἡρωδίαν προσαγορεύσας. γενομένῳ δὲ τῆς Ἰδουμαίας ἐν Θρήσᾳ χωρίῳ οὕτω καλουμένῳ ὁ ἀδελφὸς Ἰώσηπος ὑπήντησεν καὶ βουλὴν περὶ τῶν ὅλων ἦγε, τί χρὴ ποιεῖν, πολλοῦ μὲν πλήθους ἐπαγομένου καὶ δίχα τῶν μισθοφορούντων αὐτοῖς, τοῦ δὲ χωρίου τῆς Μεσάδας, εἰς ὃ προύκειτο συμφυγεῖν ἐλάττονος ὄντος ὑποδέξασθαι τοσοῦτον ὄχλον. τοὺς μὲν οὖν πλείους ἀπέλυσεν ὑπὲρ ἐννέα χιλιάδας ὄντας ἄλλον ἀλλαχῆ κελεύσας διὰ τῆς Ἰδουμαίας σώζειν αὑτούς, δοὺς ἐφόδια· ὅσοι δʼ ἦσαν κοῦφοι καὶ τοὺς ἀναγκαιοτάτους ἀναλαβὼν εἰς τὸ ἔρυμα παραγίνεται καὶ καταθέμενος αὐτόθι τάς τε γυναῖκας καὶ τοὺς ἑπομένους, ἦσαν δὲ ὡς ὀκτακόσιοι, σίτου τε ὄντος ἐν τῷ χωρίῳ καὶ ὕδατος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτηδείων ἁπάντων διαρκούντως αὐτοῖς ἐξώρμησεν αὐτὸς ἐπὶ Πέτρας τῆς Ἀραβίας. ἅμα δʼ ἡμέρᾳ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα πάντα τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων διήρπαζον οἱ Πάρθοι καὶ τὸ βασίλειον, μόνων δὲ ἀπείχοντο τῶν Ὑρκανοῦ χρημάτων· τὰ δʼ ἦν ὡς τριακόσια τάλαντα. πολλὰ δὲ τῶν Ἡρώδου διέφυγεν καὶ μάλισθʼ ὅσα προκομισθῆναι κατὰ προμήθειαν τἀνδρὸς εἰς τὴν Ἰδουμαίαν ἐφθάκει. τὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν πόλιν οὐκ ἀπέχρησε τοῖς Πάρθοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ἐξιόντες ἐκάκουν καὶ Μάρισάν τε πόλιν δυνατὴν ἀνέστησαν.
365. And thus was Antigonus brought back into Judea by the king of the Parthians, and received Hyrcanus and Phasaelus for his prisoners; but he was greatly cast down because the women had escaped, whom he intended to have given the enemy, as having promised they should have them, with the money, for their reward: but being afraid that Hyrcanus, who was under the guard of the Parthians, might have his kingdom restored to him by the multitude, he cut off his ears, and thereby took care that the high priesthood should never come to him any more, because he was maimed, while the law required that this dignity should belong to none but such as had all their members entire But now one cannot but here admire the fortitude of Phasaelus, who, perceiving that he was to be put to death, did not think death any terrible thing at all; but to die thus by the means of his enemy, this he thought a most pitiable and dishonorable thing; and therefore, since he had not his hands at liberty, but the bonds he was in prevented him from killing himself thereby, he dashed his head against a great stone, and thereby took away his own life, which he thought to be the best thing he could do in such a distress as he was in, and thereby put it out of the power of the enemy to bring him to any death he pleased. It is also reported, that when he had made a great wound in his head, Antigonus sent physicians to cure it, and, by ordering them to infuse poison into the wound, killed him. However, Phasaelus hearing, before he was quite dead, by a certain woman, that his brother Herod had escaped the enemy, underwent his death cheerfully, since he now left behind him one who would revenge his death, and who was able to inflict punishment on his enemies.
365. Καὶ Ἀντίγονος μὲν οὕτως καταχθεὶς εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Πάρθων βασιλέως Ὑρκανὸν καὶ Φασάηλον δεσμώτας παραλαμβάνει. σφόδρα δʼ ἦν ἄθυμος τῶν γυναικῶν αὐτὸν διαφυγουσῶν, ἃς τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐνεθυμεῖτο δώσειν, τοῦτον αὐτοῖς τὸν μισθὸν μετὰ τῶν χρημάτων ὑποσχόμενος. φοβούμενος δὲ τὸν Ὑρκανόν, μὴ τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῷ τὴν βασιλείαν ἀποκαταστήσῃ, παραστάς, ἐτηρεῖτο δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν Πάρθων, ἐπιτέμνει αὐτοῦ τὰ ὦτα πραγματευόμενος μηκέτʼ αὖθις εἰς αὐτὸν ἀφικέσθαι τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην διὰ τὸ λελωβῆσθαι, τοῦ νόμου τῶν ὁλοκλήρων εἶναι τὴν τιμὴν ἀξιοῦντος. Φασάηλον δʼ ἄν τις θαυμάσειε τῆς εὐψυχίας, ὃς γνοὺς αὑτὸν ἀποσφάττεσθαι μέλλοντα οὐχὶ τὸν θάνατον ἡγήσατο δεινόν, τὸ δʼ ὑπʼ ἐχθροῦ τοῦτο παθεῖν πικρότατον καὶ αἴσχιστον ὑπολαβών, τὰς χεῖρας οὐκ ἔχων ἐλευθέρας ὑπὸ δεσμῶν πρὸς ἀναίρεσιν πέτρᾳ προσαράξας τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐξήγαγε μὲν αὑτὸν ὡς ἐδόκει κάλλιστα τοῦ ζῆν παρὰ τοιαύτην ἀπορίαν, τῆς δʼ ἐξουσίας τοῦ κτεῖναι πρὸς ἡδονὴν αὐτὸν ἀφείλετο τὸν πολέμιον. λέγουσι δʼ, ὡς τραύματος μεγάλου γενομένου φαρμάκοις αὐτὸν ὑποπέμψας ἰατροὺς Ἀντίγονος ὡς ἐπὶ θεραπείᾳ διέφθειρεν θανασίμοις χρησαμένων εἰς τὸ τραῦμα. πρὸ μέντοι τοῦ τελέως ἀφεῖναι τὴν ψυχὴν ὁ Φασάηλος ἀκούσας παρά τινος γυναίου τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἡρώδην τοὺς πολεμίους διαπεφευγότα σφόδρα τὴν τελευτὴν εὐθύμως ὑπέμεινεν καταλιπὼν τὸν ἐκδικῆσαι τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τιμωρήσασθαι δυνάμενον.
370. AS for Herod, the great miseries he was in did not discourage him, but made him sharp in discovering surprising undertakings; for he went to Malchus, king of Arabia, whom he had formerly been very kind to, in order to receive somewhat by way of requital, now he was in more than ordinary want of it, and desired he would let him have some money, either by way of loan, or as his free gift, on account of the many benefits he had received from him; for not knowing what was become of his brother, he was in haste to redeem him out of the hand of his enemies, as willing to give three hundred talents for the price of his redemption. He also took with him the son of Phasaelus, who was a child of but seven years of age, for this very reason, that he might be a hostage for the repayment of the money. But there came messengers from Malchus to meet him, by whom he was desired to be gone, for that the Parthians had laid a charge upon him not to entertain Herod. This was only a pretense which he made use of, that he might not be obliged to repay him what he owed him; and this he was further induced to by the principal men among the Arabians, that they might cheat him of what sums they had received from [his father] Antipater, and which he had committed to their fidelity. He made answer, that he did not intend to be troublesome to them by his coning thither, but that he desired only to discourse with them about certain affairs that were to him of the greatest importance.
370. Ἡρώδην δὲ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν περιεστηκότων αὐτὸν κακῶν οὐ κατέπληττεν, ἀλλʼ ἐποίει δεινὸν εὑρίσκειν ἐπιβολὰς ἔργων παραβόλων. πρὸς γὰρ Μάλιχον τὸν Ἀράβων βασιλέα πολλὰ πρόσθεν εὐεργετημένον ἀπῄει τὴν ἀμοιβὴν κομιούμενος, ὅτε μάλιστα ἐδεῖτο, χρήματα ληψόμενος εἴτε δάνειον εἴτε δωρεὰν ὡς ἂν πολλῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ τετυχηκότος. οὐ γὰρ εἰδὼς τὰ κατὰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἔσπευδεν λυτρώσασθαι παρὰ τῶν πολεμίων αὐτὸν λύτρον ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ καταβαλὼν νόμισμα ἕως τριακοσίων ταλάντων. ἐπήγετο δὲ καὶ τὸν Φασαήλου παῖδα διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν ἑπταετῆ τυγχάνοντα, παρασχὼν αὐτὸν ἐνέχυρον τοῖς Ἄραψιν. ἀγγέλων δʼ αὐτὸν ὑπαντησάντων παρὰ τοῦ Μαλίχου, διʼ ὧν ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ἀναχωρεῖν· παρηγγελκέναι γὰρ αὐτῷ Πάρθους Ἡρώδην μὴ δέχεσθαι· ταύτῃ δʼ ἐχρῆτο προφάσει ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι τὰ χρέα καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει παρὰ τοῖς Ἄραψιν εἰς τοῦτο ἐναγόντων, ὅπως ἀποστερήσωσιν τὰς παρακαταθήκας, ἃς παρὰ Ἀντιπάτρου λαβόντες ἔτυχον, ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς οὐδὲν ἐνοχλήσων ἀφικνεῖσθαι πρὸς αὐτούς, μόνον δὲ διαλεξόμενος περὶ τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων αὐτῷ πραγμάτων.
374. Hereupon he resolved to go away, and did go very prudently the road to Egypt; and then it was that he lodged in a certain temple; for he had left a great many of his followers there. On the next day he came to Rhinocolura, and there it was that he heard what was befallen his brother. Though Malehus soon repented of what he had done, and came running after Herod; but with no manner of success, for he was gotten a very great way off, and made haste into the road to Pelusium; and when the stationary ships that lay there hindered him from sailing to Alexandria, he went to their captains, by whose assistance, and that out of much reverence of and great regard to him, he was conducted into the city [Alexandria], and was retained there by Cleopatra; yet was she not able to prevail with him to stay there, because he was making haste to Rome, even though the weather was stormy, and he was informed that the affairs of Italy were very tumultuous, and in great disorder.
374. Ἔπειτα δόξαν ἀναχωρεῖν ἀπῄει μάλα σωφρόνως τὴν ἐπʼ Αἰγύπτου. καὶ τότε μὲν ἔν τινι ἱερῷ κατάγεται, καταλελοίπει γὰρ αὐτόθι πολλοὺς τῶν ἑπομένων, τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ παραγενόμενος εἰς Ῥινοκούρουρα ἐκεῖ καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἤκουσεν. Μαλίχῳ δὲ μεταγνόντι καὶ μεταθέοντι τὸν Ἡρώδην οὐδὲν τούτου περισσότερον ἐγένετο· πορρωτάτω γὰρ ἦν ἤδη σπεύδων τὴν ἐπὶ Πηλουσίου. ἐπεὶ δʼ αὐτὸν ἐλθόντα νῆες ὁρμοῦσαι αὐτόθι εἶργον τοῦ ἐπʼ Ἀλεξανδρείας πλοῦ, τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν ἐντυγχάνει, ὑφʼ ὧν κατʼ αἰδῶ καὶ πολλὴν ἐντροπὴν προπεμφθεὶς εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ὑπὸ Κλεοπάτρας κατείχετο. πεῖσαι μέντοι μένειν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἠδυνήθη εἰς Ῥώμην ἐπειγόμενον χειμῶνός τε ὄντος καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἐν ταραχῇ καὶ σάλῳ πολλῷ δηλουμένων.
377. So he set sail from thence to Pamphylia, and falling into a violent storm, he had much ado to escape to Rhodes, with the loss of the ship’s burden; and there it was that two of his friends, Sappinas and Ptolemeus, met with him; and as he found that city very much damaged in the war against Cassius, though he were in necessity himself, he neglected not to do it a kindness, but did what he could to recover it to its former state. He also built there a three-decked ship, and set sail thence, with his friends, for Italy, and came to the port of Brundusium; and when he was come from thence to Rome, he first related to Antony what had befallen him in Judea, and how Phasaelus his brother was seized on by the Parthians, and put to death by them, and how Hyrcanus was detained captive by them, and how they had made Antigonus king, who had promised them a sum of money, no less than a thousand talents, with five hundred women, who were to be of the principal families, and of the Jewish stock; and that he had carried off the women by night; and that, by undergoing a great many hardships, he had escaped the hands of his enemies; as also, that his own relations were in danger of being besieged and taken, and that he had sailed through a storm, and contemned all these terrible dangers of it, in order to come, as soon as possible, to him, who was his hope and only succor at this time.
377. Ἀναχθεὶς οὖν ἐκεῖθεν ἐπὶ Παμφυλίας καὶ χειμῶνι σφοδρῷ περιπεσὼν μόλις εἰς Ῥόδον διασώζεται φορτίων ἀποβολῆς γενομένης. καὶ δύο μὲν ἐνταυθοῖ τῶν φίλων αὐτῷ συνήντησαν, Σαππῖνός τε καὶ Πτολεμαῖος. εὑρὼν δὲ τὴν πόλιν ὑπὸ τοῦ πρὸς Κάσσιον πολέμου κεκακωμένην οὐδʼ ἐν ἀπόροις ὢν εὖ ποιεῖν αὐτὴν ὤκνησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐτὴν ἀνεκτᾶτο. τριήρη τε κατασκευάσας, καὶ ἀναχθεὶς ἐκεῖθεν σὺν τοῖς φίλοις ἐπʼ Ἰταλίας εἰς Βρεντέσιον κατάγεται. κἀκεῖθεν εἰς Ῥώμην ἀφικόμενος πρῶτον μὲν Ἀντωνίῳ φράζει τὰ συμβάντα αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν, καὶ πῶς ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Φασάηλος ὑπὸ Πάρθων ἀπόλοιτο συλληφθεὶς καὶ Ὑρκανὸς ὑπʼ αὐτῶν αἰχμάλωτος ἔχοιτο, καὶ ὡς Ἀντίγονον καταστήσειαν βασιλέα χρήματα δώσειν ὑποσχόμενον χίλια τάλαντα καὶ γυναῖκας πεντακοσίας, αἳ τῶν πρώτων κἀκ τοῦ γένους τοῦ αὐτῶν ἔμελλον ἔσεσθαι, καὶ ὅτι ταύτας νυκτὸς ἐκκομίσειεν καὶ διαφύγοι τὰς τῶν ἐχθρῶν χεῖρας πολλὰς ὑπομείνας ταλαιπωρίας. εἶτʼ ἐπιδιακινδυνεύειν † αὐτῷ τοὺς οἰκείους πολιορκουμένους πλεύσειέ τε διὰ χειμῶνος καὶ παντὸς καταφρονήσειε δεινοῦ σπεύδων ἐπὶ τὰς ἐλπίδας τὰς παρʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μόνην βοήθειαν.
381. This account made Antony commiserate the change that had happened in Herod’s condition; and reasoning with himself that this was a common case among those that are placed in such great dignities, and that they are liable to the mutations that come from fortune, he was very ready to give him the assistance he desired, and this because he called to mind the friendship he had had with Antipater because Herod offered him money to make him king, as he had formerly given it him to make him tetrarch, and chiefly because of his hatred to Antigonus; for he took him to be a seditious person, and an enemy to the Romans. Caesar was also the forwarder to raise Herod’s dignity, and to give him his assistance in what he desired, on account of the toils of war which he had himself undergone with Antipater his father in Egypt, and of the hospitality he had treated him withal, and the kindness he had always showed him, as also to gratify Antony, who was very zealous for Herod. So a senate was convocated; and Messala first, and then Atratinus, introduced Herod into it, and enlarged upon the benefits they had received from his father, and put them in mind of the good-will he had borne to the Romans. At the same time, they accused Antigonus, and declared him an enemy, not only because of his former opposition to them, but that he had now overlooked the Romans, and taken the government from the Parthians. Upon this the senate was irritated; and Antony informed them further, that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king. This seemed good to all the senators; and so they made a decree accordingly.
381. Ἀντώνιον δʼ οἶκτος εἰσέρχεται τῆς Ἡρώδου μεταβολῆς, καὶ τῷ κοινῷ χρησάμενος λογισμῷ περὶ τῶν ἐν ἀξιώματι τοσούτῳ καθεστώτων ὡς κἀκείνων ὑποκειμένων τῇ τύχῃ, τὰ μὲν κατὰ μνήμην τῆς Ἀντιπάτρου ξενίας, τὰ δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ χρημάτων ὧν αὐτῷ δώσειν Ἡρώδης, εἰ γένοιτο βασιλεύς, ὑπέσχετο καθὼς καὶ πρότερον τετράρχης ἀπεδέδεικτο, πολὺ μέντοι μᾶλλον διὰ τὸ πρὸς Ἀντίγονον μῖσος, στασιαστὴν γὰρ καὶ Ῥωμαίοις ἐχθρὸν αὐτὸν ὑπελάμβανεν, πρόθυμος ἦν οἷς Ἡρώδης παρεκάλει συλλαμβάνεσθαι. Καῖσαρ μὲν οὖν καὶ διὰ τὰς Ἀντιπάτρου στρατείας, ἃς κατʼ Αἴγυπτον αὐτοῦ τῷ πατρὶ συνδιήνεγκεν, καὶ τὴν ξενίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν ἅπασιν εὔνοιαν, καὶ χαριζόμενος δὲ Ἀντωνίῳ σφόδρα περὶ τὸν Ἡρώδην ἐσπουδακότι, πρὸς τὴν ἀξίωσιν καὶ τὴν ὧν ἐβούλετο Ἡρώδης συνεργίαν ἑτοιμότερος ἦν. συναγαγόντες δὲ τὴν βουλὴν Μεσσάλας καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸν Ἀτρατῖνος, παραστησάμενοι τὸν Ἡρώδην τάς τε τοῦ πατρὸς εὐεργεσίας αὐτοῦ διεξῄεσαν καὶ ἣν αὐτὸς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους εἶχεν εὔνοιαν ὑπεμίμνησκον, κατηγοροῦντες ἅμα καὶ πολέμιον ἀποφαίνοντες τὸν Ἀντίγονον οὐκ ἐξ ὧν τὸ πρῶτον προσέκρουσεν αὐτοῖς μόνον, ἀλλʼ ὅτι καὶ παρὰ Πάρθων τὴν ἀρχὴν λάβοι Ῥωμαίους ὑπεριδών. τῆς δὲ βουλῆς ἐπὶ τούτοις παρωξυμμένης παρελθὼν Ἀντώνιος ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς, ὡς καὶ πρὸς τὸν κατὰ Πάρθων πόλεμον Ἡρώδην βασιλεύειν συμφέρει. καὶ δόξαν τοῦτο πᾶσι ψηφίζονται.
386. And this was the principal instance of Antony’s affection for Herod, that he not only procured him a kingdom which he did not expect, (for he did not come with an intention to ask the kingdom for himself, which he did not suppose the Romans would grant him, who used to bestow it on some of the royal family, but intended to desire it for his wife’s brother, who was grandson by his father to Aristobulus, and to Hyrcanus by his mother,) but that he procured it for him so suddenly, that he obtained what he did not expect, and departed out of Italy in so few days as seven in all. This young man [the grandson] Herod afterward took care to have slain, as we shall show in its proper place. But when the senate was dissolved, Antony and Caesar went out of the senate house with Herod between them, and with the consuls and other magistrates before them, in order to offer sacrifices, and to lay up their decrees in the capitol. Antony also feasted Herod the first day of his reign. And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on the hundred and eighty-fourth olympiad, when Caius Domitius Calvinus was consul the second time, and Caius Asinius Pollio [the first time].
386. Καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέγιστον ἦν τῆς Ἀντωνίου περὶ τὸν Ἡρώδην σπουδῆς, ὅτι μὴ μόνον αὐτῷ τὴν βασιλείαν οὐκ ἐλπίζοντι περιεποιήσατο, οὐ γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνέβη ταύτην αἰτησόμενος, οὐ γὰρ ἐνόμιζεν αὐτῷ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους παρέξειν τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ γένους ἔθος ἔχοντας αὐτὴν διδόναι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ τῷ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀδελφῷ λαβεῖν ἀξιώσων Ἀλεξάνδρῳ υἱωνῷ τυγχάνοντι πρὸς μὲν πατρὸς Ἀριστοβούλου πρὸς δὲ μητρὸς Ὑρκανοῦ, ἀλλʼ ὅτι καὶ ἑπτὰ ταῖς πάσαις ἡμέραις παρέσχεν αὐτῷ τυχόντι τῶν οὐδὲ προσδοκηθέντων ἀπελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας. τοῦτον μὲν οὖν τὸν νεανίσκον Ἡρώδης ἀπέκτεινεν, ὡς κατὰ καιρὸν δηλώσομεν· λυθείσης δὲ τῆς βουλῆς μέσον ἔχοντες Ἡρώδην Ἀντώνιος καὶ Καῖσαρ ἐξῄεσαν προαγόντων ἅμα ταῖς ἄλλαις ἀρχαῖς τῶν ὑπάτων θύσοντές τε καὶ τὸ δόγμα καταθησόμενοι εἰς τὸ Καπετώλιον. ἑστιᾷ δὲ τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν τῆς βασιλείας Ἀντώνιος. καὶ ὁ μὲν οὕτως τὴν βασιλείαν παραλαμβάνει τυχὼν αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τῆς ἑκατοστῆς καὶ ὀγδοηκοστῆς καὶ τετάρτης ὀλυμπιάδος ὑπατεύοντος Γναίου Δομετίου Καλβίνου τὸ δεύτερον καὶ Γαΐου Ἀσινίου Πωλίωνος.
390. All this while Antigonus besieged those that were in Masada, who had plenty of all other necessaries, but were only in want of water insomuch that on this occasion Joseph, Herod’s brother, was contriving to run away from it, with two hundred of his dependents, to the Arabians; for he had heard that Malchus repented of the offenses he had been guilty of with regard to Herod; but God, by sending rain in the night time, prevented his going away, for their cisterns were thereby filled, and he was under no necessity of running away on that account; but they were now of good courage, and the more so, because the sending that plenty of water which they had been in want of seemed a mark of Divine Providence; so they made a sally, and fought hand to hand with Antigonus’s soldiers, (with some openly, with some privately,) and destroyed a great number of them. At the same time Ventidius, the general of the Romans, was sent out of Syria, to drive the Parthians out of it, and marched after them into Judea, in pretense indeed to succor Joseph; but in reality the whole affair was no more than a stratagem, in order to get money of Antigonus; so they pitched their camp very near to Jerusalem, and stripped Antigonus of a great deal of money, and then he retired himself with the greater part of the army; but, that the wickedness he had been guilty of might be found out, he left Silo there, with a certain part of his soldiers, with whom also Antigonus cultivated an acquaintance, that he might cause him no disturbance, and was still in hopes that the Parthians would come again and defend him.
390. Τοῦτον δὲ ἅπαντα τὸν χρόνον Ἀντίγονος ἐπολιόρκει τοὺς ἐν Μασάδα, τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ἐπιτηδείων αὐτοῖς ὑπαρχόντων, μόνου δὲ σπανίζοντος ὕδατος, ὡς διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν Ἡρώδου Ἰώσηπον σὺν διακοσίοις τῶν οἰκείων ἀποδρᾶναι βουλεύσασθαι πρὸς Ἄραβας· ἀκηκόει γὰρ ὡς Μάλχος τῶν εἰς Ἡρώδην ἁμαρτημάτων μετανοεῖ. κατέσχε δʼ αὐτὸν ὕσας διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς ὁ θεός· τῶν γὰρ ἐκδοχείων πλησθέντων τοῦ ὕδατος οὐκέτι τῆς φυγῆς ἐδεῖτο, ἀλλὰ τεθαρσηκότες ἤδη καὶ πλέον ἢ κατὰ τὴν εὐπορίαν τοῦ σπανίζοντος, ὡς ἐκ θεοῦ προνοίας ταύτης αὐτοῖς γεγενημένης, ἐπεξιόντες καὶ συμπλεκόμενοι τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον τοῖς μὲν φανερῶς, τοῖς δὲ καὶ λάθρα, πολλοὺς αὐτῶν διέφθειραν. κἀν τούτῳ Βεντίδιος ὁ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγὸς πεμφθεὶς ἐκ Συρίας ὥστε Πάρθους ἀνείργειν, μετʼ ἐκείνους εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν παρέβαλεν τῷ λόγῳ μὲν Ἰωσήπῳ συμμαχήσων, τὸ δʼ ὅλον ἦν αὐτῷ στρατήγημα χρήματα παρʼ Ἀντιγόνου λαβεῖν· ἔγγιστα γοῦν Ἱεροσολύμων στρατοπεδευόμενος ἀποχρώντως ἠργυρίσατο τὸν Ἀντίγονον. καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ἀνεχώρησεν σὺν τῇ πλείονι δυνάμει, ἵνα δὲ μὴ κατάφωρον γένηται τὸ λῆμμα, Σίλωνα μετὰ μέρους τινὸς τῶν στρατιωτῶν κατέλιπεν, ὃν καὶ αὐτὸν ἐθεράπευεν Ἀντίγονος, ὅπως μηδὲν ἐνοχλοίη, προσδοκῶν καὶ πάλιν αὐτῷ Πάρθους ἐπαμυνεῖν.
394. BY this time Herod had sailed out of Italy to Ptolemais, and had gotten together no small army, both of strangers and of his own countrymen, and marched through Galilee against Antignus. Silo also, and Ventidius, came and assisted him, being persuaded by Dellius, who was sent by Antony to assist in bringing back Herod. Now for Ventidius, he was employed in composing the disturbances that had been made in the cities by the means of the Parthians; and for Silo, he was in Judea indeed, but corrupted by Antigonus. However, as Herod went along his army increased every day, and all Galilee, with some small exception, joined him; but as he was to those that were in Masada, (for he was obliged to endeavor to save those that were in that fortress now they were besieged, because they were his relations,) Joppa was a hinderance to him, for it was necessary for him to take that place first, it being a city at variance with him, that no strong hold might be left in his enemies’ hands behind him when he should go to Jerusalem. And when Silo made this a pretense for rising up from Jerusalem, and was thereupon pursued by the Jews, Herod fell upon them with a small body of men, and both put the Jews to flight and saved Silo, when he was very poorly able to defend himself; but when Herod had taken Joppa, he made haste to set free those of his family that were in Masada. Now of the people of the country, some joined him because of the friendship they had had with his father, and some because of the splendid appearance he made, and others by way of requital for the benefits they had received from both of them; but the greatest number came to him in hopes of getting somewhat from him afterward, if he were once firmly settled in the kingdom.
394. Ἡρώδης δʼ ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἤδη καταπεπλευκὼς εἰς Πτολεμαΐδα καὶ συναγηοχὼς δύναμιν οὐκ ὀλίγην ξένων τε ἅμα καὶ ὁμοφύλων ἤλαυνε διὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον. συνελάμβανον δʼ αὐτῷ Σίλων τε καὶ Βεντίδιος πεισθέντες ὑπὸ Δελλίου συγκατάγειν Ἡρώδην τοῦ πεμφθέντος ὑπʼ Ἀντωνίου. Βεντίδιος μὲν οὖν ἐτύγχανεν τὰς ταραχὰς τὰς διὰ Πάρθους ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν οὔσας καθιστάμενος, Σίλων δʼ ἐν Ἰουδαίᾳ χρήμασιν ὑπʼ Ἀντιγόνου διεφθαρμένος. Ἡρώδῃ μέντοι προϊόντι καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἡ δύναμις ηὔξετο καὶ πᾶσα Γαλιλαία πλὴν ὀλίγων αὐτῷ προστέθειτο. ὡρμηκότα δʼ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐν Μεσάδα, ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ ἦν τὸ σῶσαι τοὺς ἐν τῷ φρουρίῳ πολιορκουμένους συγγενεῖς ὄντας, ἐμποδὼν Ἰόππη γίνεται· πολεμίαν γὰρ οὖσαν αὐτὴν ἐχρῆν ἐξελεῖν πρότερον, ὅπως μηδὲν ὑπολείπηται κατὰ νώτου τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἔρυμα χωροῦντος ἐπὶ Ἱεροσολύμων. ποιησαμένου δὲ καὶ Σίλωνος ταύτην πρόφασιν τῆς ἀπαναστάσεως καὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων διωκόντων αὐτὸν Ἡρώδης μετʼ ὀλίγου στίφους ἐπέξεισιν καὶ τρέπεται μὲν τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, Σίλωνα δὲ σώζει κακῶς ἀμυνόμενον, ἑλών τε τὴν Ἰόππην ἔσπευδεν ῥυσόμενος τοὺς ἐν Μασάδα οἰκείους. τῶν δʼ ἐπιχωρίων οἱ μὲν αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν πατρῴαν προσεχώρουν φιλίαν, οἱ δὲ διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ δόξαν, ἄλλοι δὲ κατʼ ἀμοιβὴν τῆς παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων εὐεργεσίας, οἱ πλείους δὲ διὰ τὰς ἐλπίδας, ἃς ὡς ἐπὶ βασιλεῖ βεβαίῳ τὸ λοιπὸν εἶχον.
399. Herod had now a strong army; and as he marched on, Antigonus laid snares and ambushes in the passes and places most proper for them; but in truth he thereby did little or no damage to the enemy. So Herod received those of his family out of Masada, and the fortress Ressa, and then went on for Jerusalem. The soldiery also that was with Silo accompanied him all along, as did many of the citizens, being afraid of his power; and as soon as he had pitched his camp on the west side of the city, the soldiers that were set to guard that part shot their arrows and threw their darts at him; and when some sallied out in a crowd, and came to fight hand to hand with the first ranks of Herod’s army, he gave orders that they should, in the first place, make proclamation about the wall, that he came for the good of the people, and for the preservation of the city, and not to bear any old grudge at even his most open enemies, but ready to forget the offenses which his greatest adversaries had done him. But Antigonus, by way of reply to what Herod had caused to be proclaimed, and this before the Romans, and before Silo also, said that they would not do justly, if they gave the kingdom to Herod, who was no more than a private man, and an Idumean, i.e. a half Jew, whereas they ought to bestow it on one of the royal family, as their custom was; for that in case they at present bear an ill-will to him, and had resolved to deprive him of the kingdom, as having received it from the Parthians, yet were there many others of his family that might by their law take it, and these such as had no way offended the Romans; and being of the sacerdotal family, it would be an unworthy thing to put them by. Now while they said thus one to another, and fell to reproaching one another on both sides, Antigonus permitted his own men that were upon the wall to defend themselves, who using their bows, and showing great alacrity against their enemies, easily drove them away from the towers.
399. Ἤθροιστο δὴ δύναμις βαρεῖα, καὶ προϊόντος Ἀντίγονος τῶν παρόδων τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους τόπους ἐνέδραις καὶ λόχοις κατελάμβανεν καὶ καθάπαξ οὐδὲν ἐκ τούτου τοὺς πολεμίους ἢ μικρὰ παντάπασιν ἔβλαπτεν. Ἡρώδης δὲ τοὺς ἐκ Μασάδας οἰκείους παραλαβὼν καὶ Ῥῆσαν τὸ φρούριον ᾔει πρὸς τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα, συνῆπτε δʼ αὐτῷ τὸ μετὰ Σίλωνος στρατιωτικὸν καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τὴν ἰσχὺν καταπλαγέντες. στρατοπεδευσαμένου δὲ κατὰ τὸ πρὸς δύσιν τῆς πόλεως κλίμα οἱ κατὰ τοῦτο τεταγμένοι φύλακες ἠκόντιζόν τε καὶ ἐτόξευον εἰς αὐτούς, ἐνίων δὲ καὶ κατὰ στῖφος ἐξιόντων καὶ τοῖς προτεταγμένοις εἰς χεῖρας ἐρχομένων, Ἡρώδης τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐκέλευσεν κηρύσσειν περὶ τὸ τεῖχος, ὡς ἐπʼ ἀγαθῷ τε παρείη τοῦ δήμου καὶ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῆς πόλεως, μηδὲν μηδὲ τοῖς φανεροῖς τῶν ἐχθρῶν μνησικακήσων, ἀλλὰ παρέξων καὶ τοῖς διαφορωτάτοις ἀμνηστίαν τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν ἁμαρτημάτων. τοῦ δὲ Ἀντιγόνου πρὸς τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἡρώδου κηρυχθέντα λέγοντος πρός τε Σίλωνα καὶ τὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων στράτευμα, ὡς παρὰ τὴν αὐτῶν δικαιοσύνην Ἡρώδῃ δώσουσιν τὴν βασιλείαν ἰδιώτῃ τε ὄντι καὶ Ἰδουμαίῳ, τουτέστιν ἡμιιουδαίῳ, δέον τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ γένους οὖσι παρέχειν ὡς ἔθος ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς. καὶ γὰρ εἰ νυνὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχουσιν χαλεπῶς καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ὡς λαβόντα παρὰ Πάρθων ἀφελέσθαι διεγνώκασιν, εἶναί γε πολλοὺς ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτοῦ τοὺς ληψομένους κατὰ τὸν νόμον τὴν βασιλείαν, οἳ μηδὲν ἐξημαρτηκότες αὐτοὶ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους καὶ ἱερεῖς ὄντες οὐκ ἂν εἰκότα πάσχοιεν τῆς τιμῆς στερόμενοι. ταῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους αὐτῶν λεγόντων καὶ προελθόντων εἰς βλασφημίας Ἀντίγονος ἀμύνασθαι τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους ἐπέτρεπεν τοῖς ἰδίοις. οἱ δὲ τοξεύοντες καὶ πολλῇ προθυμίᾳ κατʼ αὐτῶν χρώμενοι ῥᾳδίως αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν πύργων ἐτρέψαντο.
406. And now it was that Silo discovered that he had taken bribes; for he set a good number of his soldiers to complain aloud of the want of provisions they were in, and to require money to buy them food; and that it was fit to let them go into places proper for winter quarters, since the places near the city were a desert, by reason that Antigonus’s soldiers had carried all away; so he set the army upon removing, and endeavored to march away; but Herod pressed Silo not to depart, and exhorted Silo’s captains and soldiers not to desert him, when Caesar, and Antony, and the senate had sent him thither, for that he would provide them plenty of all the things they wanted, and easily procure them a great abundance of what they required; after which entreaty, he immediately went out into the country, and left not the least pretense to Silo for his departure; for he brought an unexpected quantity of provisions, and sent to those friends of his who inhabited about Samaria to bring down corn, and wine, and oil, and cattle, and all other provisions, to Jericho, that those might be no want of a supply for the soldiers for the time to come. Antigonus was sensible of this, and sent presently over the country such as might restrain and lie in ambush for those that went out for provisions. So these men obeyed the orders of Antigonus, and got together a great number of armed men about Jericho, and sat upon the mountains, and watched those that brought the provisions. However, Herod was not idle in the mean time, for he took ten bands of soldiers, of whom five were of the Romans, and five of the Jews, with some mercenaries among them, and with some few horsemen, and came to Jericho; and as they found the city deserted, but that five hundred of them had settled themselves on the tops of the hills, with their wives and children, those he took and sent away; but the Romans fell upon the city, and plundered it, and found the houses full of all sorts of good things. So the king left a garrison at Jericho, and came back again, and sent the Roman army to take their winter quarters in the countries that were come over to him, Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria. And so much did Antigonus gain of Silo for the bribes he gave him, that part of the army should be quartered at Lydda, in order to please Antony. So the Romans laid their weapons aside, and lived in plenty of all things.
406. Τότε καὶ Σίλων ἀπεκαλύψατο τὴν δωροδοκίαν· καθῆκε γὰρ τῶν οἰκείων στρατιωτῶν οὐκ ὀλίγους σπάνιν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων καταβοᾶν καὶ χρήματα εἰς τροφὰς αἰτεῖν καὶ χειμάσοντας ἀπάγειν εἰς τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους τόπους, τῶν περὶ τὴν πόλιν ὄντων ἐρήμων διὰ τὸ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀντιγόνου στρατιωτῶν ἀνεσκευάσθαι, ἐκίνει τε τὸ στρατόπεδον καὶ ἀναχωρεῖν ἐπειρᾶτο. Ἡρώδης δʼ ἐνέκειτο παρακαλῶν τούς τε ὑπὸ τῷ Σίλωνι ἡγεμόνας καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας μὴ καταλιπεῖν αὐτόν, Καίσαρός τε καὶ Ἀντωνίου καὶ τῆς συγκλήτου προτρεψάντων αὐτόν· προνοήσειν γὰρ αὐτῶν τῆς εὐπορίας καὶ παρέξειν αὐτοῖς ἀφθονίαν ὧν ἐπιζητοῦσιν ῥᾳδίως. καὶ μετὰ τὴν δέησιν εὐθὺς ἐξορμήσας εἰς τὴν χώραν οὐκέτʼ οὐδεμίαν Σίλωνι τῆς ἀναχωρήσεως πρόφασιν ὑπελίπετο· πλῆθος γὰρ ὅσον οὐδʼ ἤλπισέν τις τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἐκόμισεν, τοῖς τε περὶ Σαμάρειαν ᾠκειωμένοις πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπέστειλεν σῖτα καὶ οἶνον καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ βοσκήματα τά τε ἄλλα πάντα κατάγειν εἰς Ἱεριχοῦντα τοῦ μηδὲ τὰς ἑξῆς ἡμέρας εἰς χορηγίαν τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐπιλιπεῖν. οὐκ ἐλάνθανε δὲ ταῦτʼ Ἀντίγονον, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς ἀπέπεμψεν κατὰ τὴν χώραν τοὺς εἴρξοντας καὶ λοχήσοντας τοὺς σιτηγοῦντας, οἱ δὲ πειθόμενοι τοῖς Ἀντιγόνου προστάγμασιν καὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ὁπλιτῶν περὶ Ἱεριχοῦντα ἀθροίσαντες παρεφύλασσον ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρῶν καθεσθέντες τοὺς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια κομίζοντας. οὐ μὴν Ἡρώδης τούτων πραττομένων ἠρέμει, δέκα δὲ σπείρας ἀναλαβών, ὧν πέντε μὲν Ῥωμαίων, πέντε δὲ Ἰουδαίων ἦσαν, καὶ μισθοφόρους μιγάδας πρὸς οἷς ὀλίγους τῶν ἱππέων ἐπὶ Ἱεριχοῦντα παραγίνεται, καὶ τὴν μὲν πόλιν ἐκλελειμμένην καταλαβών, πεντακοσίους δὲ τὰ ἄκρα κατειληφότας σὺν γυναιξὶν καὶ γενεαῖς, τούτους μὲν ἀπέλυσεν λαβών, Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ εἰσπεσόντες διήρπασαν τὴν πόλιν μεσταῖς ἐπιτυγχάνοντες παντοίων κειμηλίων ταῖς οἰκίαις. Ἱεριχοῦντος μὲν οὖν φρουρὰν καταλιπὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑπέστρεψεν καὶ χειμάσουσαν τὴν Ῥωμαίων στρατιὰν εἰς τὰς προσκεχωρηκυίας διαφῆκεν Ἰδουμαίαν καὶ Γαλιλαίαν καὶ Σαμάρειαν. ἔτυχεν δὲ καὶ Ἀντίγονος παρὰ Σίλωνος ἀντὶ τῆς δωροδοκίας ὥστε ὑποδέξασθαι τοῦ στρατοῦ μοῖραν ἐν Λύδδοις θεραπεύων Ἀντώνιον. καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν ἐν ἀφθόνοις διῆγον ἀνειμένοι τῶν ὅπλων.
413. But Herod was not pleased with lying still, but sent out his brother Joseph against Idumea with two thousand armed footmen, and four hundred horsemen, while he himself came to Samaria, and left his mother and his other relations there, for they were already gone out of Masada, and went into Galilee, to take certain places which were held by the garrisons of Antigonus; and he passed on to Sepphoris, as God sent a snow, while Antigonus’s garrisons withdrew themselves, and had great plenty of provisions. He also went thence, and resolved to destroy those robbers that dwelt in the caves, and did much mischief in the country; so he sent a troop of horsemen, and three companies of armed footmen, against them. They were very near to a village called Arbela; and on the fortieth day after, he came himself with his whole army: and as the enemy sallied out boldly upon him, the left wing of his army gave way; but he appearing with a body of men, put those to flight who were already conquerors, and recalled his men that ran away. He also pressed upon his enemies, and pursued them as far as the river Jordan, though they ran away by different roads. So he brought over to him all Galilee, excepting those that dwelt in the caves, and distributed money to every one of his soldiers, giving them a hundred and fifty drachmae apiece, and much more to their captains, and sent them into winter quarters; at which time Silo came to him, and his commanders with him, because Antigonus would not give them provisions any longer, for he supplied them for no more than one month; nay, he had sent to all the country about, and ordered them to carry off the provisions that were there, and retire to the mountains, that the Romans might have no provisions to live upon, and so might perish by famine. But Herod committed the care of that matter to Pheroras, his youngest brother, and ordered him to repair Alexandrium also. Accordingly, he quickly made the soldiers abound with great plenty of provisions, and rebuilt Alexandrium, which had been before desolate.
413. Ἡρώδῃ δʼ οὐκ ἐδόκει μένειν ἐφʼ ἡσυχίας, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰδουμαίαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰώσηπον σὺν δισχιλίοις ὁπλίταις καὶ τετρακοσίοις ἱππεῦσιν ἐξέπεμψεν, αὐτὸς δʼ εἰς Σαμάρειαν παραγενόμενος καὶ καταθέμενος αὐτόθι τήν τε μητέρα καὶ τοὺς συγγενεῖς ἐξεληλυθότας ἤδη ἐκ τῶν Μασάδων ἐπὶ Γαλιλαίας ᾤχετο ἐξαιρήσων τινὰ τῶν χωρίων ὑπʼ Ἀντιγόνου φρουραῖς κατειλημμένα. διελθὼν δὲ εἰς Σέπφωριν νίφοντος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῶν Ἀντιγόνου φρουρῶν ὑπεξελθόντων ἐν ἀφθόνοις ἦν τοῖς ἐπιτηδείοις. εἶτʼ ἐκεῖθεν λῃστῶν τινων ἐν σπηλαίοις κατοικούντων ἱππέων ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἴλην ἐκπέμπει καὶ ὁπλιτικοῦ τρία τέλη παῦσαι κακουργοῦντας ἐγνωκώς· ἔγγιστα δʼ ἦν ταῦτα κώμης Ἀρβήλων λεγομένης. εἰς δὲ τεσσαρακοστὴν ἡμέραν αὐτὸς ἧκεν πανστρατιᾷ, καὶ θρασέως ἐξελθόντων τῶν πολεμίων κλίνεται μὲν τὸ εὐώνυμον αὐτῶν κέρας τῆς φάλαγγος, ἐπιφανεὶς δʼ αὐτὸς μετὰ στίφους τρέπει μὲν εἰς φυγὴν τοὺς πάλαι νικῶντας, ἀναστρέφει δὲ τοὺς φεύγοντας. ἐνέκειτο δὲ διώκων τοὺς πολεμίους ἄχρι Ἰορδάνου ποταμοῦ φεύγοντας κατʼ ἄλλας ὁδούς, καὶ προσάγεται μὲν πᾶσαν τὴν Γαλιλαίαν πλὴν τῶν ἐν τοῖς σπηλαίοις κατοικούντων, διανέμει δὲ καὶ ἀργύριον κατʼ ἄνδρα δοὺς ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντήκοντα δραχμάς, τοῖς δὲ ἡγεμόσιν πολὺ πλέον, εἰς τὰ χειμάδια διέπεμψεν. καὶ ἐν τούτῳ Σίλων ἧκεν παρʼ αὐτὸν καὶ οἱ ἡγεμόνες τῶν ἐν τοῖς χειμαδίοις Ἀντιγόνου τροφὰς παρέχειν οὐ θέλοντος· μῆνα γὰρ οὐ πλέον αὐτοὺς ὁ ἀνὴρ ἔθρεψεν, διέπεμψεν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς κύκλῳ κελεύων τὰ κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἀνασκευάσασθαι καὶ εἰς τὰ ὄρη φεύγειν, ὡς μηδὲν ἔχοντες Ῥωμαῖοι λιμῷ διαφθαρεῖεν. Ἡρώδης δὲ τὴν μὲν τούτων πρόνοιαν Φερώρᾳ τῷ νεωτάτῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπιτρέπει κελεύσας αὐτὸν ἅμα τειχίζειν καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρειον. ὁ δὲ ταχέως τε τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐν ἀφθονίᾳ πολλῇ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐποίησεν τό τε Ἀλεξάνδρειον ἠρημωμένον ἀνέκτισεν.