When Herod Made Inquiry About Pheroras's Death A Discovery
Was Made That Antipater Had Prepared A Poisonous Draught For
Him. Herod Casts Doris And Her Accomplices, As Also
Mariamne, Out Of The Palace And Blots Her Son Herod Out Of
His Testament.
1. But now the punishment was transferred unto the original author,
Antipater, and took its rise from the death of Pheroras; for certain of
his freed-men came with a sad countenance to the king, and told him that
his brother had been destroyed by poison, and that his wife had brought
him somewhat that was prepared after an unusual manner, and that, upon
his eating it, he presently fell into his distemper; that Antipater's
mother and sister, two days before, brought a woman out of Arabia that
was skillful in mixing such drugs, that she might prepare a love potion
for Pheroras; and that instead of a love potion, she had given him
deadly poison; and that this was done by the management of Sylleus, who
was acquainted with that woman.
2. The king was deeply affected with so many suspicions, and had the
maid-servants and some of the free women also tortured; one of which
cried out in her agonies, "May that God that governs the earth and
the heaven punish this author of all these our miseries, Antipater's
mother!" The king took a handle from this confession, and proceeded to
inquire further into the truth of the matter. So this woman discovered
the friendship of Antipater's mother to Pheroras, and Antipater's women,
as also their secret meetings, and that Pheroras and Antipater had drunk
with them for a whole night together as they returned from the king,
and would not suffer any body, either man-servant or maidservant, to be
there; while one of the free women discovered the matter.
3. Upon this Herod tortured the maid-servants every one by themselves
separately, who all unanimously agreed in the foregoing discoveries,
and that accordingly by agreement they went away, Antipater to Rome, and
Pheroras to Perea; for that they oftentimes talked to one another thus:
That after Herod had slain Alexander and Aristobulus, he would fall upon
them, and upon their wives, because, after he Mariamne and her children
he would spare nobody; and that for this reason it was best to get as
far off the wild beast as they were able:--and that Antipater oftentimes
lamented his own case before his mother, and said to her, that he had
already gray hairs upon his head, and that his father grew younger again
every day, and that perhaps death would overtake him before he should
begin to be a king in earnest; and that in case Herod should die, which
yet nobody knew when it would be, the enjoyment of the succession could
certainly be but for a little time; for that these heads of Hydra, the
sons of Alexander and Aristobulus, were growing up: that he was deprived
by his father of the hopes of being succeeded by his children, for that
his successor after his death was not to be any one of his own sons,
but Herod the son of Mariamne: that in this point Herod was plainly
distracted, to think that his testament should therein take place; for
he would take care that not one of his posterity should remain, because
he was of all fathers the greatest hater of his children. Yet does he
hate his brother still worse; whence it was that he a while ago gave
himself a hundred talents, that he should not have any intercourse with
Pheroras. And when Pheroras said, Wherein have we done him any harm?
Antipater replied, "I wish he would but deprive us of all we have, and
leave us naked and alive only; but it is indeed impossible to escape
this wild beast, who is thus given to murder, who will not permit us to
love any person openly, although we be together privately; yet may we be
so openly too, if we have but the courage and the hands of men."
4. These things were said by the women upon the torture; as also that
Pheroras resolved to fly with them to Perea. Now Herod gave credit to
all they said, on account of the affair of the hundred talents; for he
had no discourse with any body about them, but only with Antipater. So
he vented his anger first of all against Antipater's mother, and took
away from her all the ornaments which he had given her, which cost a
great many talents, and cast her out of the palace a second time. He
also took care of Pheroras's women after their tortures, as being now
reconciled to them; but he was in great consternation himself, and
inflamed upon every suspicion, and had many innocent persons led to
the torture, out of his fear lest he should leave any guilty person
untortured.
5. And now it was that he betook himself to examine Antipater of
Samaria, who was the steward of [his son] Antipater; and upon torturing
him, he learned that Antipater had sent for a potion of deadly poison
for him out of Egypt, by Antiphilus, a companion of his; that Theudio,
the uncle of Antipater, had it from him, and delivered it to Pheroras;
for that Antipater had charged him to take his father off while he was
at Rome, and so free him from the suspicion of doing it himself: that
Pheroras also committed this potion to his wife. Then did the king send
for her, and bid her bring to him what she had received immediately. So
she came out of her house as if she would bring it with her, but
threw herself down from the top of the house, in order to prevent any
examination and torture from the king. However, it came to pass, as it
seems by the providence of God, when he intended to bring Antipater to
punishment, that she fell not upon her head, but upon other parts of her
body, and escaped. The king, when she was brought to him, took care of
her, [for she was at first quite senseless upon her fall,] and asked
her why she had thrown herself down; and gave her his oath, that if she
would speak the real truth, he would excuse her from punishment; but
that if she concealed any thing, he would have her body torn to pieces
by torments, and leave no part of it to be buried.
6. Upon this the woman paused a little, and then said, "Why do I spare
to speak of these grand secrets, now Pheroras is dead? that would only
tend to save Antipater, who is all our destruction. Hear then, O king,
and be thou, and God himself, who cannot be deceived, witnesses to the
truth of what I am going to say. When thou didst sit weeping by Pheroras
as he was dying," then it was that he called me to him, and said, "My
dear wife, I have been greatly mistaken as to the disposition of my
brother towards me, and have hated him that is so affectionate to me,
and have contrived to kill him who is in such disorder for me before I
am dead. As for myself, I receive the recompence of my impiety; but do
thou bring what poison was left with us by Antipater, and which thou
keepest in order to destroy him, and consume it immediately in the fire
in my sight, that I may not be liable to the avenger in the invisible
world." This I brought as he bid me, and emptied the greatest part of
it into the fire, but reserved a little of it for my own use against
uncertain futurity, and out of my fear of thee.
7. When she had said this, she brought the box, which had a small
quantity of this potion in it: but the king let her alone, and
transferred the tortures to Antiphilus's mother and brother; who both
confessed that Antiphilus brought the box out of Egypt, and that they
had received the potion from a brother of his, who was a physician at
Alexandria. Then did the ghosts of Alexander and Aristobulus go round
all the palace, and became the inquisitors and discoverers of what could
not otherwise have been found out and brought such as were the freest
from suspicion to be examined; whereby it was discovered that Mariamne,
the high priest's daughter, was conscious of this plot; and her very
brothers, when they were tortured, declared it so to be. Whereupon
the king avenged this insolent attempt of the mother upon her son, and
blotted Herod, whom he had by her, out of his tretament, who had been
before named therein as successor to Antipater.