Herod in Shakespeare
Once in in ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ;
twice in ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต (“out-herod’s Herod,” 3.2.14-15, and given the name of the player queen, “Baptista,” also a nod to Herod Antipas [2], who had John the Baptist beheaded for condemning his incestuous marriage);
and once in ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ณ๐บ ๐ as a reference to Herod the Great’s slaughter of innocents:
“Your naked infants spitted upon pikes
Whiles the mad mothers with their howls confused
Do break the clouds, as did the wives of Jewry
At Herod’s bloody-hunting slaughtermen (3.3.38-41).
“Herod” occurs five times in ๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ณ๐ข (Cleopatra lived at the same time as Herod the Great.) In the second scene, a servant says,
“Let me be married
to ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ in a forenoon, and widow them all:
let me have a child at fifty, to whom ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ of Jewry
may do homage.” (1.2.27-30)
We hear not only “Herod” but also “three kings” in the space of two lines; you can bet Shakespeare’s audiences would have noticed.
Why so often?
On the 4th day of Christmas, December 28, England observed “Innocents’ Day” and heard Matthew 2:16–18, about Herod the Great ordering that all boys 2-years and younger be killed, a gospel tale designed to echo Pharaoh of Egypt ordering the death of Hebrew infant boys, and to paint Jesus as the new Moses [3].
Why does Herod do this? To eliminate competition. He is alleged to have arranged for the execution of three of his own sons (one who plotted to poison him), the banishment of others, and the death of Hasmoneans connected to his predecessors [4].
Such killing is a repeated Shakespeare theme:
in ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ - with the killing of his brother and the princes in the tower;
in ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ and other history plays.
The slaughter of innocents is a theme in the killing of Lady Macduff and son in ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ.
The theme was not restricted to biblical texts, but due to enforced church attendance, the scripture tales were the only ones required to be heard in Shakespeare’s time [5].
NOTES: All references to Shakespeare plays are to the Folger Shakespeare Library online versions: https://shakespeare.folger.edu
[1] Although Herod was considered a monstrous, paranoid, and ruthless ruler, the name “Herod” means “Heroic” - like King Hamlet, whose name also started with an H, and who had a reputation for being heroic in single combat against Old Fortinbras. Herod had many sons who shared the name “Herod,” and King Hamlet, of course, had a son, Prince Hamlet. This is not the case with the source tale from Saxo Grammaticus (11-50-1220), where the father is Horwendil, and the son is Amleth.
[2] Herod Antipas means “Heroic” (Herod) “like the father” (Antipas, shortened from Antipater).
[3] It might be noted that there is no historical evidence outside of the Christian scriptures for Herod the Great receiving a visit from Magi, and then ordering the slaughter of boys 2-years old and younger. While Herod was certainly ruthless and did eliminate his competition by killing them, this specific tale involving Magi appears only in the Bible, so it is possible that the tale was made as a fiction for the purpose of catechism, to teach that Jesus was like a new Moses, who, like Moses, escaped the slaughter of young boys by a cruel and ambitious ruler.
[4] Some of this is mentioned in Christian scripture, some by historians such as Flavius Josephus, circa A.D. 37 - 100
[5] See also my post from last year on Shakespeare and the Fourth Day of Christmas,
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-fourth-day-of-christmas-in-churches.html
The Fourth Day of Christmas in Shakespeare’s time as now, the Feast of Holy Innocents, marked when Herod the Great allegedly ordered the slaughter of infant boys and children - after hearing from the Magi that a new king of Israel had been born. This is recalled in traditional Christmas carols. The killing of innocent children by Herod foreshadows the crucifixion of Jesus.
IMAGES:
Upper Left: James Tissot: The Magi in the House of Herod.
NOTE:
Artist: James Tissot (1836–1902).
Title: English: The Magi in the House of Herod.
Watercolor painting.
Date: between 1886 and 1894.
Brooklyn Museum. Public domain via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Magi_in_the_House_of_Herod_(Les_rois_mages_chez_H%C3%A9rode)_-_James_Tissot.jpg
Upper Right: Paul Delaroche: Herodias with the Head of St. John the Baptist.
NOTE: Herod Antipas was a son of Herod the Great, and according to Christian scripture, ordered the beheading of John the Baptist at the prompting of his wife, Herodias, because John condemned the marriage of Antipas to his brother’s divorced wife.
Artist: Paul Delaroche (1797–1856).
Title: Herodias with the Head of St. John the Baptist.
Painting, 1843.
Wallraf–Richartz Museum.
Public domain via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:H%C3%A9rodiade_-_Paul_Delaroche_-_Wallraf-Richartz-Museum_%26_Fondation_Corboud-6067_(without_frame).jpg
Bottom: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)
The Massacre of the Innocents (between 1611 and 1612)
oil on oak panel
Collection: Art Gallery of Ontario
The Thompson Collection
Public Domain via https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Rubens_-_Massacre_of_the_Innocents_-_Art_Gallery_of_Ontario_2.jpg
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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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