Studia Humanitatis No. II (XXII) / 2026
Herod the Great, the ugliest of all mortals
Maria Anastasiu The article reconstructs the historical figure of Herod the Great, placing the Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem within the context of the biography of a man defined by mental instability, a thirst for power, and his relationships with Octavian Augustus, Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The reader comes to understand how a life marked by domestic crimes, paranoia and an obsessive need for popular acceptance led Herod to confront the birth of Christ the Saviour.
