Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men

Truth be told, most scholars believe that this never really happened.  However, King Herod did murder innocents in a way.   Jealous of his wife’s  (Miriamne) family which had a much higher place in society than his own, he murdered her.  He also murdered her brother, his own mother and two of his sons by Miriamne. His cruelties ranged afar. I will talk about this further in a later post.

Herod also was a talented master builder, and even today one can marvel at the ingenuity of his many structures found in what is now Israel –  cities, palaces, fortresses, hippodromes and theaters. Not only did he use new building methods, he also created spectacular gardens and intricate waterworks. His palaces were  elaborately decorated with mosaic floors and multi-colored frescoes.

Our first stop was a visit to one of these marvels – the city of Caesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea:

Named in honor of Caesar Augustus, Caesarea was built on the Mediterranean coast and eventually became the Roman capital of the Judaea Province. The city includes organized  streets, an underground sewage system, an aqueduct, a Roman temple, and an amphitheater, and its harbor is most impressive.  Here is a model of its original layout:

The ruins still provide beautiful images:

There is much more of Herod’s architectural legacy, including one of the most well known – but for that you will need to be patient for a later post!

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