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| On the Fortunes of Hyrcanus and Antigonus, and on Herod, Augustus, Antony, and Cleopatra, in Abstract.
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XVII.1116
| 1116 In
Syncellus, p. 307, al. 244. |
On the Fortunes of Hyrcanus and
Antigonus, and on Herod, Augustus, Antony, and Cleopatra, in
Abstract.
1. Octavius Sebastus, or, as the Romans call
him, Augustus, the adopted son of Caius, on returning to Rome from
Apollonias in Epirus, where he was educated, possessed himself of the
first place in the government. And Antony afterwards obtained the
rule of Asia and the districts beyond. In his time the Jews
accused Herod; but he put the deputies to death, and restored Herod to
his government. Afterwards, however, along with Hyrcanus and
Phasælus his brother, he was driven out, and betook himself in
flight to Antony. And as the Jews would not receive him, an
obstinate battle took place; and in a short time after, as he had
conquered in battle, he also drove out Antigonus, who had
returned. And Antigonus fled to Herod the Parthian king, and was
restored by the help of his son Pacorus, which help was given on his
promising to pay 1000 talents of gold. And Herod then in his turn
had to flee, while Phasælus was slain in battle, and Hyrcanus was
surrendered alive to Antigonus. And after cutting off his ears,
that he might be disqualified for the priesthood, he gave him to the
Parthians to lead into captivity; for he scrupled to put him to death,
as he was a relation of his own. And Herod, on his expulsion,
betook himself first to Malichus king of the Arabians; and when he did
not receive him, through fear of the Parthians, he went away to
Alexandria to Cleopatra. That was the 185th Olympiad.
Cleopatra having put to death her brother, who was her consort in the
government, and being then summoned by Antony to Cilicia to make her
defence, committed the care of the sovereignty to Herod; and as he
requested that he should not be entrusted with anything until he was
restored to his own government,1117
| 1117 The
sense is doubtful here: καὶ ὡς
οὐδὲν ἠξίου
πιστεύεσθαι
ἔστ᾽ ἂν
καταχθῇ εἰς
τὴν ἑαυτοῦ
ἀρχήν, etc. | she took him with her and went to
Antony. And as he was smitten with love for the princess, they
despatched Herod to Rome to Octavius Augustus, who, on behalf of
Antipater, Herod’s father, and on behalf of Herod himself, and
also because Antigonus was established as king by the help of the
Parthians, gave a
commission to the generals in Palestine and Syria to restore him to his
government. And in concert with Sosius he waged war against
Antigonus for a long time, and in manifold engagements. At that
time also, Josephus, Herod’s brother, died in his command.
And Herod coming to Antony1118
| 1118 There
is a break here in the original. |
…
2. For three years they besieged Antigonus,
and then brought him alive to Antony. And Antony himself also
proclaimed Herod as king, and gave him, in addition, the cities Hippus,
Gadara, Gaza, Joppa, Anthedon, and a part of Arabia, Trachonitis, and
Auranitis, and Sacia, and Gaulanitis;1119
| 1119 This is
according to the rendering of the Latin version. | and besides these, also the procuratorship
of Syria. Herod was declared king of the Jews by the senate and
Octavius Augustus, and reigned 34 years. Antony, when about to go
on an expedition against the Parthians, slew Antigonus the king of the
Jews, and gave Arabia to Cleopatra; and passing over into the territory
of the Parthians, sustained a severe defeat, losing the greater part of
his army. That was in the 186th Olympiad. Octavius Augustus
led the forces of Italy and all the West against Antony, who refused to
return to Rome through fear, on account of his failure in Parthia, and
through his love for Cleopatra. And Antony met him with the
forces of Asia. Herod, however, like a shrewd fellow, and one who
waits upon the powerful, sent a double set of letters, and despatched
his army to sea, charging his generals to watch the issue of
events. And when the victory was decided, and when Antony, after
sustaining two naval defeats, had fled to Egypt along with Cleopatra,
they who bore the letters delivered to Augustus those which they had
been keeping secretly for Antony. And on Herod falls1120
| 1120 Here
again there is a blank in the original. | …
3. Cleopatra shut herself up in a
mausoleum,1121
| 1121 The
text is corrupt here. It gives, ἐν τῷ
μεσαιολίῳ, a word
unknown in Greek. Scaliger reads Μαισαιόλιον.
Goarus proposes Μαυσωλαῖον,
which we adopt in the translation. | and made away with
herself, employing the wild asp as the instrument of death. At
that time Augustus captured Cleopatra’s sons, Helios and
Selene,1122
on their flight
to the Thebaid. Nicopolis was founded opposite Actium, and the
games called Actia were instituted. On the capture of Alexandria,
Cornelius Gallus was sent as first governor of Egypt, and he destroyed
the cities of the Egyptians that refused obedience. Up to this
time the Lagidæ ruled; and the whole duration of the Macedonian
empire after the subversion of the Persian power was 298 years.
Thus is made up the whole period from the foundation of the Macedonian
empire to its subversion in the time of the Ptolemies, and under
Cleopatra, the last of these, the date of which event is the 11th year
of the monarchy and empire of the Romans, and the 4th year of the 187th
Olympiad. Altogether, from Adam 5472 years are
reckoned.
4. After the taking of Alexandria the 188th
Olympiad began. Herod founded anew the city of the
Gabinii,1123
| 1123
Samaria was so named in reference to its restoration by Gabinius,
the proconsul of Syria. See Josephus (Antiq., book xiv.
ch. x.), who states that Gabinius traversed Judea, and gave orders for
the rebuilding of such towns as he found destroyed; and that in this
way Samaria, Azotus, Scythopolis, Antedon, Raphia, Dora, Marissa, and
not a few others, were restored. | the ancient
Samaria, and called it Sebaste; and having erected its seaport, the
tower of Strato, into a city, he named it Cæsarea after the same,
and raised in each a temple in honour of Octavius. And afterwards
he founded Antipatris in the Lydian plain, so naming it after his
father, and settled in it the people about Sebaste, whom he had
dispossessed of their land. He founded also other cities; and to
the Jews he was severe, but to other nations most urbane.
It was now the 189th Olympiad, which (Olympiad) in
the year that had the bissextile day, the 6th day before the Calends of
March,—i.e., the 24th of February,—corresponded with the
24th year of the era of Antioch, whereby the year was determined in its
proper limits.1124
| 1124 The
text is: ἦν
᾽Ολυμπιὰς
ρπθ᾽, ἥτις
πρὸ * καλανδῶν
Μαρτίων κατὰ
᾽Αντιοχεῖς
κδ᾽ ἔτει
ἤχθη, δι᾽ ἧς
ἐπὶ τῶν
ἰδίων ὁρίων
ἔστη ὁ
ἐνιαυτός.
In every fourth year the 24th day of February ( = vi. Cal. Mart.) was
reckoned twice. There were three different eras of Antioch, of
which the one most commonly used began in November 49 b.c. Migne refers the reader to the notes of Goarus
on the passage, which we have not seen. The sense of this obscure
passage seems to be, that that period formed another fixed point in
chronology. | E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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