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 HERMOPOLIS

289

HEROD

the Druse religion, viz. when its founder, Sheikh-ed- Derazi retired thither from Egypt. It is sometimes called the Great Hermon to distinguish it from the Small Hermon situated to the east of the plain of Esdrelon, between Thabor and Gelboe, and so named through an erroneous interpretation of Ps. Ixxxviii (Heb., Lxxxix), 13.

The geological formation of the range is calcareous with occasional veins of basalt. Hermon is noted as offering the most striking piece of mountain scenery in Palestine. The view from the summit is also mag- nificent, embracing the Lebanon and the plain of Da- mascus. It is at the foot of Hermon that the River Jordan takes its rise. The highest peak, which is covered with snow until late in summer, rises to a height of 9200 ft. above the level of the Mediterranean. On the summit of one of the peaks is to be seen an extensive ma.ss of ruins, probaljly the remains of an early pagan sanctuary dedicated to Baal, whence the designation Baal-Herraon applied to the mountain in two Biblical passages (Judges, iii, 3; I Par., v, 23).

In the O. T., Hermon is hardly mentioned except as the northern bovmdary of Palestine. Poetical allu- sions occur in the Psalms (v. g. Ps. Ixxxviii, 13, Heb., Ixxxix, 13) and in the Canticle of Canticles, iv, 8. In Ps. cxxxii (Heb., c.xxxiii), 3, the happiness of brotherly love is compared to the " dew of Hermon, which de- scendeth upon mount Sion". In which connexion it may be noted that in no other locality of Palestine is the dew so heavy and abundant as in the vicinity of this mountain group. Some scholars think it prob- able that Hermon is the " liigh mountain " near Ca?sa- rea Philippi which was the scene of the Transfigura- tion (Matt., xvii, 1 ; Mark, ix) and which by Luke, ix, 28, is called simply " a mountain ".

Legendhe ill ViG.. Diet, de la Bible, g. v.; Conder in Hast., Dictionary of the Bible, s. v.; Guerin, Galilee, II, 292; Van de Velde, Reise durch Syrien und Palastina, I (Leip- zig, 1855), 97.

James F. Driscoll.

Hermopolis Magna, a titular see of Thebais Prima, suffragan of Antinoe, in Egypt. The native name was Khmounoun; in Coptic, Chmoun. It is to-day the village of Ashmounein on the left bank of the Nile, about four miles sovith-west of Roda (a station on the Cairo-Thebes railway, ISO miles from Cairo). Khmounoun dates from a very remote antiquity, and at a very early period was an important religious centre. It worshipped a moon-god Thoth (Hermes), ibis or baboon, attended by four pairs of deities, whence the name Khmounoun (the eight). It played an important part from the sixth to the eleventh dy- nasties ; and later became the chief town of the nome of Hermopolis. To the west of the village is the Ibeuni, or burial place of the animals sacred to Thoth ; at the foot of Gebel-el-Bersheh is the necropoUs of the local rulers. Palladius (Hist. Laus., Iii) records a tradition to the effect that the Holy Famih' came to HermopoUs. St. CoUuthus suffered martyrdom there under Maxi- mian and Diocletian. For a time, also, St. Athanas- ius lived there. Lequien (Oriens Christianus, II, 595) mentions eight bishops ; and the place is still a see for the Monophysite Copts. In 1895 it was re-established by Leo XIII for the Coptic CathoUcs, but the titular lives at Minieh.

Smith, Diet, of Greek and Roman Geogr., s. v.; Jullien, L'Egypte, Souvenirs bibliques el. Chretiens (Lille, 1891), 247.

S. Petrides.

Hermopolis Parva, a titular seeof ^gyptus Prima, suffragan of Alexantlria. Its ancient name, Diman- horu or Tema-en-Hor, signifies the town of Horus. The Copts call it Tuininhor, and the Arabs, Daman- hur. Situated on the canal uniting Lake Mareotis (Mariout) to the Canopic branch of the Nile, it has no history and no ruins. It was near Damanhur that, on 10 July, 1798, Bonaparte, walking unaccompanied, barely escaped being taken by the Mamelukes. The VII.— 19

modern Damanhur, forty miles from Alexandria, on the Cairo-Alexandria railway, has 20,000 inhabitants and is the chief town of the province of Behera. It is famous for its silk, linen, and cotton stuffs. Lequien (Or. Christ., II, 513 sqq.) mentions a dozen bishops of Hermopolis Parva, among them Dracontius, about 354, who suffered exile for the faith under Constan tins; St. Isidore, his successor (feast kejjt 3 Januarj') ; Dios- corus, the oldest of the four famous monks of Nitria, known as the TaU Brethren.

Venables in Diet. Christ. Biog., s. v. Dioscorus ; Smith, Diet, of Greek and Roman Geogr.; de Rouge, Geographie ancienne de la Basse Egypte (Paris, 1891). „ .„

S. Petrides.

Herod (Gr. 'Hpcij'STjs, from'Hpws) was the name of many rulers mentioned in the N. T. and in history. It was known long before the time of the biblical Herods. (SeeSchurer,"Hist.of the Jewish People", etc., Div. I, v. I, p. 410, note.) The Herods comiected with the early history of Christianity are the following: —

I. Herod, surnaraed the Great, called by Gratz " the e\nl genius of the Judean nation" (Hist., v. II, p. 77), was a son of Antipater, an Idumocan (Jos., " Bel. Jud.", I, vi, 2). The Iduma-ans were brought under sub- jection by John HjTcanus towards the end of the second century B.C., and obliged to live as Jews, so that they were considered Jews (Jos., "Ant.", XIII, ix, 4). Yet Antigonus called Herod a half-Jew (Jos., "Ant.", XIV, XV, 2, and note in Whiston), while the Jews, when it furthered their interests, spoke of Herod their king as by birth a Jew (Jos., "Ant.", XX, viii, 7). Antipater, the father of Herod, had helped the Romans in the Orient, and the favour of Rome brought the Herodian family into great prominence and power. Herod was born 73 B.C., and he is first mentioned as governor of Galilee (Jos., "Ant.", XIV, ix, 2). Here the text says he was only fifteen years old, evidently an error for twenty-five, since about forty-four years later he died, "almost seventy years of age" (Jos., "Bel. Jud.", I, xxxiii, 1). His career was more wonderful than that of many heroes of fiction. Among the rapidly changing scenes of Roman history he never failed to wan the good will of fortune's favourites. In 40 B.C. the young Octavian and Antony obtained for him from the Roman senate the crown of Judea, and between these two powerful friends he went up to the temple of Jupiter to thank the gods of Rome. .\ntigonus was beheaded in 37 B.C., and from this date Herod became king in fact as well as in name. He married Mariamne in 38 B.C., and thereby strength- ened his title to the throne by entering into matri- monial alliance with the Hasmoneans, who were always very popular among the Jews (Jos., "Bel. Jud.", I, xii, 3).

The reign of Herod is naturally divided into three periods: 37-25 B.C., years of development; 25-13, roj'al splendour; 13— i, domestic troubles and tragedies. During the first period he secured himself on the throne by removing rivals of the Hasmonean line. He put to death HjTcanus, grandfather of Mariamne, and Aristobulus her brother, whom though but seventeen years old he had appointed high-priest. Tlieir only offence was that they were very popular (Jos., " Ant.", XV, vi, 1, iii, 3). Mariamne also was executed in 29 B.C.; and her mother Alexandra, 28 B.C. (Jos., "Ant", XV, vii; "Bel. Jud.", I, xxii). As Herod was a friend to Antony, whom Octavian defeated at Actium 31 B.C., he was in great fear, and set out for Rhodes like a criminal with a halter around his neck to plead with the conqueror; but Cresar confirmed him in the kingdom, with a grant of additional territory (Jos., "Bel. Jud.", I, xx).

Herod and his children were builders. Having the reins of government well in hand, and having wreaked vengeance upon his enemies, he adorned his kingdom by building cities and temples in honour of the em- peror and of the gods. Samaria was built and called