ANTIPATER. - Three members of the Herodian family.
1. Progenitor of the Idumean family of the Herods, often wrongly confused with the father of Herod the Great. Rich and influential, he was made governor (strategos) of Idumea by Alexander Jannaeus (v.).
2. Son of the preceding and father of Herod the Great. He was called Antipas to distinguish himself from his father, as long as the latter lived. Flavius Josephus (Bell. Iud., I, 6, 2) calls him an Idumean of noble birth; but the legend arose that he was an Ascalonite (St. Justin, C. Tryph., chap. 52), and Julius Africanus (in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., I, 7, 11) adds that his father was a temple slave of the temple of Apollo in Ascalon and that A. was carried off as a child and brought to Idumea. Cunning and ambitious, A. succeeded, from being a mere governor of Idumea, in directing the fortunes of Palestine.
In the civil struggle between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus, he took the side of the former, for whom he effectively governed, lending strong support to the Romans in the campaigns of 63-62, bending the Nabateans to their obedience, supplying the governor of Syria Gabinius with grain, arms and money in the Egyptian expedition of 55, and inducing the others to take the Roman side in Egypt. In the insurrection of Alexander (55) he made every effort to turn the Jews away from the struggle against Gabinius, who defeated them at Tabor. His reward was merely that Gabinius rearranged everything according to his wishes in the administration of Judea.
A. achieved his rapid ascent principally by turning to Julius Caesar, after Pharsalus and the death of Pompey in Egypt (Sept. 28, 48 B.C.). He made the dictator's victory possible, facilitating for him the arrival at Alexandria of Mithridates' auxiliary army and playing a preponderant part in the victory over Ptolemy Dionysius, brother of Cleopatra. Caesar, grateful, gave A. Roman citizenship, exemption from tribute and the title of procurator (of finance) of Judea. While he was striving to procure the throne for his son Herod, he was poisoned by Malichus, a courtier of Hyrcanus (43 B.C.). Although a "foreigner" and without Jewish patriotism, he had obtained from Caesar favors for the Jews.
3. Firstborn son of Herod the Great, born from his first marriage (with Doris). He was the evil genius who disrupted his father's life. For conspiracy and attempted parricide, shortly before his death Herod had him executed (4 B.C.).
Giovanni Ongaro