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97 Aristobulus II. Aristobulus of Paneas

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

97

To secure himself against danger from Herod instituted a system of espionage over him and his mother. This surveillance proved so onerous that they sought to gain their freedom by taking refuge with Cleopatra. But their plans were betrayed, and the disclosure had the effect of greatly

lus instead. Aristobulus,

increasing Herod's suspicions against his brother inlaw. As he dared not resort to open violence, he

caused him to be drowned while he was bathing in Jericho (35

B.C.).

Bibliography Gesch.

i.

Josephus, Ant. xv.



1-3

2, §§ 5-7; 3, §§



Schiirer,

395.

L. G.

g,

ARISTOBULUS

Youngest brother of Agripson of Herod's son Aristobulus; flourished

pa I.; during the first half of the first century. He was left an infant, together with his two brotneis, Agrippa and Herod, when his father was executed He married Jotape, the daughter of Samp(7 B.C.). sigeram (D'UCDtJ'), king of Emesa (Josephus. " Ant. With his brother Agrippa he lived xviii. 5, § 4). on bad terms and when the latter came to the court of Flaccus, the governor of Syria, to find refuge

after his escapades at

Rome, Aristobulus managed Flaccus had been appealed

to cause his banishment. to as

judge in a dispute between the inhabitants

Damascus and those of Sidon concerning their boundary. The Damascenes, it appears, bribed

order to gain the favor of Augustus, he continued thence to calumniate his brothers; so persistently that Herod at last resolved to arraign them before the emperor. Meeting Augustus at Aquileia, the capital of the province of Venetia (12 B.C.), he charged his sons with contemplated parricide. Augustus, convinced of their innocence, effected a reconciliation. Owing, however, to the ceaseless intrigues of Antipater, Salome, and Pheroras, and the strange relation of Glaphyra and Berenice, the position of the two brothers became more and more precarious. Finally, a number of the princes' followers were tortured into a public admission of the existence of a plot against the king's life. The real design of Aristobulus and Alexander was to flee for protection to the court of Archelaus. Herod succeeded in securing permission from Augustus to convene, at Berytus, a council, including C. Sentius Saturninus, the governor of Syria, to sit in judgment on the accused princes. The council, consisting of 150 of Herod's trusted friends, gave no opportunity of defense to the accused, who were detained in a neighboring village, Platana, and condemned them to death. Alexander and Aristobulus were brought to Sebaste and strangled in the year 7 B.C. Their bodies were taken for burial to Alexandrium, the burial-place of their maternal ancestors.

of

Agrippa

to intercede

on

their behalf

with his patron.

This intrigue was discovered by Aristobulus, who forthwith disclosed it to Flaccus; as a consequence Agrippa was bidden to leave the court (" Ant. " xviii. Aristobulus made an eloquent and success6, § 3). ful plea also before Publius Petronius (40), the governor of Syria, against the erection of Caligula's statue at the Temple of Jerusalem ("Ant." xviii. 8, §4).

H. G. E.

G ..

Bibliography: Josephus, Ant. Scourer, Gesch.

i.

xvi.



idem, B. J.

i.

33-37;

336 et xeq.

H

o.

ARISTOBULUS OF PANEAS:

G. E.

Alexandrian

Peripatetic philosopher; lived in the third or second centur}'B.c. The period of his life is doubtful, Anatolius (270) placing him in the time of Ptolemy Phiiadelphus (third century b.c), Gercke in the time of Philometor II. Lathyrus (latter part of second century b.c; see Pauly-Wissowa's " Realencyklopadie der

Klassischen Alterthumswissenschaft," iii. 919) while reliable testimony indicates that he was a contemporary of Ptolemy Philometor (middle of second

ARISTOBULUS

Son of Herod the Great and Mariamne the Hasmonean; born about 35 B.C. died 7 B.C. Both he and his elder brother Alexander, by reason of their Hasmonean origin, were educated by Herod as successors to his throne and for that purpose were sent to Rome (23 B.C.). Upon their return to Jerusalem (18 B.C.) they became an eyesore to the anti-Hasmonean faction at court. Herod's sister Salome, and brother Pheroras, who had been instrumental in the execution of Mariamne, were





particularly apprehensive lest the two princes should succeed their father, as they would undoubtedly take vengeance upon the murderers of their mother. To prevent this, attempts were made at estranging the princes from their father by means of calumnies. Herod tried to discredit the evil rumors; and, to fasten the ties of affection, he procured distinguished alliances for both sons, Aristobulus being married to Berenice, the daughter of Salome. This, however, failed to put an end to Salome's intrigues; and Herod, at last, was induced to recall to court Antipater,

his repudiated son

by

Doris.

Seizing his opportunity, Antipater straightway began, by means of hypocrisy, slander, and flattery, to supplant Aristobulus and Alexander in the esteem of their father, and ere long became the likeliest successor to the throne. Being sent to Rome, in

II.— 7

more

century b.c; see Schiirer, "Gesch." iii. 384). He is the author of a book the exact title of which is not certain, although there is sufficient evidence to prove that it was an exposition of the Law. Eusebius ("Praep. Ev." viii. 10, xiii. 12) has preserved two fair-sized fragments of it, in which are found all the quotations from Aristobulus made by Clement. In addition, there is extant a small passage concerning the time of the Passover festival, quoted by Anatolius (Eusebius,

"Historia Ecelesiastica,"

vii.

32,

17).

Following are the contents of the fragments of Aristobulus ex" king's " sugIn the first fragment he discourses, at the and gestion, on the anthropomorphic expressions in the Bible, shows that they do not conflict with his previous definitions of the " viii. 10). Ev." Prap. nature of God (Eusebius, tant.

Interpreting these expressions in their true sense (*uaucSs), and not mythically, one can of Aristobu- but admire Moses' wisdom, from whom indeed and poets have learned ^rnuch. philosophers lus' Work, " God's hand " means God's might. " God's of the universe. resting " denotes the maintenance of the order down " to give the Law (Ex. xix. 18) was not a

The Extant Fragments

God's "coming condescension descent in a physical sense, but expresses God's mountain, which burned in sending down His law; the fire on the human without trumpet-sounds but consumed nothing; the Divine instruments («>.), are outward manifestations of the

Power

(Svvafi.L<;)