AT TIBERIAS
A Tyrian merchant-ship manned by three galleys of oarsmen, turned its
high and proudly arched red and gold neck into the harbor of Tiberias.
After the manner of that master builder his father, Herod the Great, in
building Caesarea, Herod Antipas had built Tiberias as a home of luxury
for himself and a fitting tribute to the ruling Caesar. The great
semicircular harbor reared its colossal pillars in a mighty curve
flanked far out in the sea by massive towers of gray stone. On a hill
rising gradually from beyond the harbor stood the royal palace of
Antipas, its polished marble gleaming through the tops of palms and the
lace-like green of shittah trees. Against this background of pillared
stone and shining marble and living green was the shipping in the
harbor. Hugged against the dock near by was a load of silver from
Tarshish. Near it was a ship from Caprus bearing copper. A cargo of
wine from Damascus and a cargo of linen from Egypt rocked side by side;
and a low boat piled with shells of dye fish had just come into port
from the far Peloponnesus, while everywhere ships of different size and
kind from those centers of commercial activity, Tyre and Sidon, were
changing sails and dipping oars.
In the prow of the Tyrian merchant-ship stood Zador Ben Amon, by race
and faith a Jew; by political alignment a Sadducee; by occupation an
importer of precious stones, owner of a number of shops in Jerusalem
where cunning work was done in gold and ivory, and a money-changer in
the Temple. Zador Ben Amon was returning from a prosperous trip that
had taken him as far as Rome, and having business with Herod Antipas
had sent word of his visit to Tiberias. It was with a smile he stroked
his perfumed beard as he caught sight of an equipage making its way to
the water-front. A flock of goats and rams being driven by Arabs
across the wharf, scattered, and to both right and left sailors and
slaves made way for the driver of Herod's horses.
Black as ravens were the horses of Herod Antipas, and shiny as satin.
Their manes and tails hung in closely curled, glossy ringlets and their
heavy harness was thickly studded with polished gold buttons. The
glossy black hair of Antipas was also curled, and the crown-like
head-gear he wore was thickly studded with jewels, as was also the
richly gold embroidered border of his robe. In his ears he wore rings
which swung down against the upper edge of his curled and greased beard.
The greeting between Antipas and the money-changer was cordial; and
before they went to the palace, Zador Ben Amon was driven about the
city to see the stadium, the new theatre, the streets and the
underground watercourses. And he was taken to the famous hot baths a
mile down the seaside, considered by Romans one of the great
curiosities of the world. It was in the feast room Zador made known
his business, and yet, not until some discussion of other matters had
taken place, beginning with a description of a Roman banquet at which
the Jew had been a guest.
"The table at which we sat was of citron wood from Mauritania, more
precious than gold. And it was covered with a plateau of massive
silver weighing five hundred pounds--five hundred pounds, mind you,
chased and carven. Dost thou marvel that I made friends with the
Romans?"
"Thou art wise, Son of Amon," Antipas answered.
"After the feast, young slave girls strewed the mosaic with sawdust
dyed saffron and vermilion, mixed with sparkling powder, and naked
virgins danced--_naked_ virgins!"
Herod Antipas rubbed his palms and smiled, showing the tips of several
sharp teeth.
"And the next day," continued the guest, "we went to the circus and
waved our ribbon-decked palms while half a score of combatants were
dragged to the spoilarium and carted through the Gate of Death. A
bloody sport, but they enjoy it, and gladiators are plenty. Gorgeous
the shows of Rome; like the waters of the Tiber doth her wine flow, and
her gold is like the stars for plenty."
"And the populace, doth it not mutter even as our own?"
"Into the feast halls comes no mention of the populace. Yet it hath
been said they stand about trembling lest they starve because of the
delay of an Alexandrian corn ship. But what of the populace? Whether
her hordes be corn fed or not corn fed, Rome careth not. What souls
have these?"
"It is the naked virgins that possess souls," and Antipas showed his
pointed teeth a little more.
"Nay, it is the naked virgins that set souls on fire," Zador Ben Amon
corrected.
"Rome hath not all the naked virgins that do dance. Antipas hath had a
dance for his wife's sake." With this remark his sharp-toothed smile
gave way to laughter.
"Which wife?" Zador asked.
"Herodias, sister of Agrippa the Great. Her Salome danced until like
fire my blood chased itself into a fever. Then did I tell her to name
her price. And the price was none other than the head of John--John
Baptist, who for defiling the name of Antipas' wife had been put in a
dungeon under the castle of Machaerus. Antipas is not cursed with
poverty. Yet are there prices too great, for since the head of the
brawler came blinking on a platter, do the people declare he were
Elias, and that he is not dead but walks the dungeon by day and whither
he will by night."
"Thou shouldst be a Sadducee and declare against a hereafter. They
eat, drink and be merry while the Pharisees speak darkly of a hereafter
of which they know nothing, and beget fear of ghosts."
"Yea, but in the hearts of the people great hope of a hereafter is ever
alive. This do the Pharisees know and teach."
"The Pharisees are hypocrites. But let us to business for it meaneth
more stores of gold to Antipas and Zador."
The Idumean leaned forward with his eyes on the Jew. "Speak on," he
said.
"There is a reason Rome ruleth the world. She knoweth how. In the
Senate are the laws made. By the sword of her vast army are they
enforced. And lest insurrection be plotted against the throne of the
Caesars, Rome hath a system of spies sufficient to hear a whisper in
the bowels of the earth. It hath not been so determined, but it is
suspected that there is some sort of a union of toilers. Such
societies would be like a worm in the heart to our profits, Antipas."
"Fear not such worms. Some wild dream is this--that those who toil
bind themselves together. Ever do cattle contend among themselves and
not unite."
"It hath been done. What hath been done by slaves and men, might be
done again. It hath not yet outlived the memory of man how the slaves
in the Laurian silver mines arose, killed their guards, took the
citadel of Sunium to sleep in, raided the armory for weapons and laid
Attica waste for a great season. Nor was it because they were not well
enslaved. Naked did their men and women toil under the lash. Yet they
became as one man and, at the word, rose as one man. And was it not in
Macedonia at the gold mines of Pangaetus that another bloody uprising
took place at vast cost to the gold industry because they rose as a
man? Suppose you, that the silversmiths, gold-gilders, pearl and ivory
and filigree workers should secretly band themselves together, hast
thou knowledge to compute the loss to my profit?"
Herod Antipas had covered his sharp teeth with his lip and was
listening intently to Zador Ben Amon.
"Would it mean naught to thee if in thine own province thy hewers of
stone and builders of ships, thy tent-makers and herdsmen and corn
growers should secretly unite and rise against thee?"
"Thy words sink deep," Antipas said, taking up his cup. Finding it
empty, he looked behind him. The stewart who had been standing there
had gone out. "More wine!" Antipas shouted. "And keep thee by the
cups," he gave order as the stewart came hastily in. Antipas and his
guest drank freely. Then the Jew spoke again.
"Here is Herod Antipas," he said, holding up his left hand and marking
its first finger with the stubby forefinger of his right hand. "And
here is Pilate, Procurator of Judea, and here is the High Priest of the
House of Annas. And the three have much gold. But between them hath
Annas the greater portion. From the tax on all the world getteth
Pilate his. From Galilean tax getteth Antipas his, but from the Temple
getteth Annas his through the hands of Caiaphas. The tribute money
from all the earth, the Sanctuary half shekel and the Temple Bazaars
and money-changers bring riches untold to Annas. Did not Crassus when
he went out against the Parthians carry from the Temple gold uncounted?
Did Pompey not take one hundred million of shekels in gold beside the
beams of gold hidden in the hollow wood?"
"Yea, much fine gold," Antipas replied. "But thou art thyself a
money-changer in the Temple, and its riches cometh to thy hands also."
"Thou dost not know Annas. Bled I am of my lawful profits else another
get my place. Annas is all powerful. Yet have I a plan."
"What planneth thou?" and Antipas leaned across the table with eager
eyes on the Jew.
"Let these three mighty ones--Herod of Tiberias, Zador Ben Amon of
Jerusalem and Pilate of Rome--form a secret union for their profit and
for breaking the power of Annas. What thinkest thou of such a union?"
"Thou art the son of a fool," and Antipas straightened up stiffly.
"A fool thou sayest? And wherefore?" Zador Ben Amon asked, somewhat
confused by the sudden change in the attitude of his host.
Antipas leaned forward. His lips were securely drawn over the points
of his teeth. His eyes, somewhat watery from much drinking, looked
with anger into the steady eye of Zador. "Pilate," he began, "doth
come riding to the Passover in a gold inlaid ivory chariot and with
royal lictors, and in the Palace of Herod the Great doth he revel. Who
builded this palace? What man should be seated on its throne?" He
paused and held out his cup to the stewart who filled it afresh. "Who
was the friend of Cleopatra and Anthony? Was it not Herod the Great,
father of Antipas? Who went to Rome in a three-decked ship he builded,
was taken to the Roman Senate and made King of the Jews? Was it not
the father of Antipas? Who builded Caesarea at the fountains of
Jordan? Who builded the Temple, the arches, the monuments, the
streets, the aqueducts, the walls, the towers and the Palace of Herod
the Great, King of the Jews? Was it not Herod the Great, father of
Antipas? And when he had died and the worms eaten him who was given
command of the Tower of Antonio? Into whose hands was the Palace of
Herod the Great given? Who is this Pilate--impostor of a Roman? Is he
not the son of a heathen of Seville? Was not his father Marcus Pontius
who deserted his countrymen when Rome made conquest in his land? Was
he not rewarded for his treachery with the sharp-edged pilatus which
gave to him the new name 'Pilate'? Did not the son of this heathen dog
follow Germanicus and through him creep in among the Romans of high
estate? Did he not wed Claudia Procula, granddaughter of Augustus?
And shortly thereafter was he not made Procurator at Jerusalem? Who
should sit in state in Herod's palace in Jerusalem? Antipas, son of
the King of the Jews, who builded it, or Pilate who would grind him
beneath his clanking Roman heel? And wouldst thou have me to form
union with _this_?"
With flushed face Antipas paused to get breath. "More wine!" he
called. He drained the cup and throwing it across the table, arose and
walked the length of the room and back with heavy strides. Then he sat
down and pounded the table shouting, "Hear, oh, Zador Ben Amon! not
until the desire of Pilate be the desire of the son of Herod the Great
shall Antipas and Pilate come together! Dost thou understand? Like
fleas on a dog these secret societies thou fearest may vex Rome. That
is Rome's grievance. In Galilee know they better for the Gaulonite is
yet remembered. Yet will I comb the province clean with teeth of steel
that not one breaching insurrection may escape."
Antipas was trembling with rage. Zador Ben Amon saw that he had done
little less than insult his host by his untimely suggestion about
Pilate.
"Let not the peace of Antipas be disturbed by the power of Pilate in
Jerusalem," he said quietly, moving nearer Antipas. "Like the mist of
the morning his days pass, and what man knoweth who shall be Procurator
then?"
"What meanest thou?" and the Tetrarch leaned forward with returning
interest.
"We must be alone."
Antipas turned around to his stewart. "Begone!" he commanded. When
the door had closed behind him, Zador's host with burning eyes
whispered, "A plot? Hast thou heard in Rome of a plot against the life
of Pilate?"
"Whether plot I know not. But by evil omens is the day marked for him,
deadly as the Ides of March."
"Evil omens? From an oracle?"
"From an oracle under the wings of a raven and bat. Came the omen from
the entrails of a falcon which, when spread before the oracle, did lift
themselves one against the other. Then did they tremble without touch
of hand and did wrap themselves in a knot and struggle together until
they did burst asunder. And from that which was hidden therein came
forth the hind foot of a hare."
"The meaning thereof?" and Antipas waited.
"That which be hidden is no Roman. That which hideth it shall meet
death by strangulation. Then shall that which hath been swallowed come
forth to run a swift race."
Antipas reflected a moment. His anger was leaving him, but the tips of
his teeth were not yet showing.
Zador Ben Amon turned to his cloak and from a wallet took out three
leather cases, two of which he opened and placed on the table. The
first contained a ring, the second a frontlet. "Of so excellent a
nature hath been thy entertainment," said the Jew, "thou makest me to
forget my gifts," and taking up the frontlet he handed it to Antipas.
"This is a gift for the High Priest. Look thou at the filigree work
around the amethyst, and the hyacinth color of the ribbon."
Antipas took it and Zador noticed that his fingers seemed to stick as
he relinquished his hold.
"And this," Zador took the ring, "hath been made by workers of rare
skill. Its jaspers came from far India. This is for Herod Antipas
from his friend Zador Ben Amon," and he handed it to Herod.
The keen edge of the sharp teeth now came into view for a smile of long
duration. When the ring had been duly admired, Antipas glanced at the
third leather case. Zador opened it and drew forth an anklet which
Antipas reached for. Slipping it over the fingers of his hand he held
it up, and after examining its jewels, he shook it until it tinkled,
and enjoyed it as a child enjoys a toy. When he had played with it a
few moments he lifted his eyes to the Jew and studied him. "Thy desire
is buried well under thy itch for gain," he said. "Yet do I now
remember the eye of the money-changer when he spoke of the naked
virgins."
"Is a money-changer not as other men?"
"With his two eyes ever set on gold and his ten fingers ever counting
treasure, what eye or finger touch hath he left for woman? Is this for
the profit of thy purse or the pleasure of the flesh?"
"It is a betrothal gift."
"Thou sayest! Beware an Asmonean princess!" and Antipas smiled broadly.
"A princess of Israel she is. I saw her in the shop of a Jerusalem
silk dealer named Joel who will wed her sister. Her hair is fine as
webs spun at night. She hath arms and a bosom her veil did but half
conceal. So was I stirred into loving her. Her brother liveth at
Bethany where she too abides and there have I been. Fair she is and
not upper-minded, and I go to make her my betrothed."
"And doth this fit?" Taking the circlet from his fingers Antipas put
it on his wrist and shoved it as far up on his hair-grown arm as it
would go. He then placed his broad hand on the table and gave an
imitation of a woman walking. Both men roared with laughter as the
hairy leg skipped and danced and hobbled while the bangles tinkled
merrily.
"Thou art a keen Jew, my friend," Antipas said. "Thou tellest not the
name of the woman. If she shall scorn thy gift then canst thou give it
to another for, ever there are women whose softness can be thine for a
jeweled trinket." And with a broad showing of sharp teeth, Herod
Antipas removed the anklet from his arm and handed it back to Zador Ben
Amon.