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Herod from page 36

Above and Beyon

Enjoy friends from the
old neighborhood
and make new friends at
the Fleischman Residence/
Blumberg Plaza

Above: Herod's
sarcophagus and restored
urn in a block from the
conical roof on Herod's
tomb

Right: Carved window
screen

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Fleischman Residence/
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6710 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield
Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus

For more information, contact: Tracey Proghovnick, LMSW
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248-661-1836 www.jslmi.org 0

a residence of

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OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT

JEWISH SENIOR LIFE

38

March 21 • 2013

rierod the Architect
In the early years of his reign, before
he became a madman, Herod conduct-
ed multiple impressive construction
projects.
One of his great architectural
achievements was expansion of the
Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem,
which was later destroyed.
Other projects of the king included
the advancement of water supplies for
Jerusalem, imposing fortresses such
as Masada and Herodium, founding
new cities like Caesarea Matima or
expanding existing ones. Herod also
built the enclosure over the Cave of the
Patriarchs (Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi) in
Hebron.

Modern scholars commonly agree
that Herod had a mental disease that
resulted in paranoia and constant
depression. After basing their theories
on the writings of the ancient historian
Josephus Flavius, they suppose that in
the last days of his life the king suf-
fered from serious gangrene, which he
tried to cure in the waters of the Dead
Sea.
Herod died in his winter palace
in Jericho. While on his deathbed,
he became afraid that no one would
mourn after his death, so he ordered
the execution of a large group of
important people so the feeling of grief
and loss would hit the country. His
wish, however, was not carried out.
After his death, Herod's kingdom
was divided between three of his sons.

Cesar Augustus appointed Herod
Archelaus to rule over Judea, Samaria
and Idumea, Herod Philip Ito rule
the northern part of the kingdom,
and Herod Antipas to take care of the
Galilee and Perea districts.

Burial
The location of Herod's tomb is also
described in the writings of Josephus
Flavius as being at Herodium. Those
documents gave a hint to the archae-
ologist Ehud Netzer, who focused his
search in the area atop the tunnels and
water pools.
Finally, after decades of searching,
on May 7, 2007, Netzer's archaeol-
ogy team announced the discovery of
the sarcophagus with no body inside.
Scholars assume that it was destroyed
during the first Jewish revolt against
Rome (66-72 CE) in an act of hatred or
revenge toward the tyrannical king.
The reddish limestone sarcophagus
was found shattered into hundreds of
pieces on the floor of the tomb, unlike
two other whitish limestone sarcophagi
found at the site, which were found
broken into many larger size pieces,
indicating that they had been dropped.
The temporary exhibition on Herod
the Great will remain at the Israel
Museum in Jerusalem through Oct.
5. ❑

Beata Andonia and Elisa Moed write for

Travelujah - Holy Land Tours. People can

learn, plan and share their Holy Land tour

and travel experiences on Travelujah at

www.travelujah.com .

