Pheroras (; c. 68 BC–c. 5 BC), probably born in
Marissa (
Idumea
Edom (; Edomite: ; , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomites appear in several written sources relating to the ...
), was the youngest son of
Antipater I and his wife Cypros and younger brother of
Herod the Great
Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...
.
His first marriage was to a sister of
Mariamne I (wife of Herod) which marriage was allegedly arranged by Herod. When this wife died, Herod betrothed him to his eldest daughter by Mariamne I,
Salampsio
Salampsio (Hebrew language, Hebrew: שלומציון, ''Shlomtzion'') was the eldest daughter of Herod the Great by his royal Hasmonean wife, Mariamne I.
Family Marriage and Children
She was married to Phasael, the son of Phasael, Herod's brot ...
, but because of an affection for a "slave girl", by whose "charms" he was "overcome", he rejected the marriage. Some time later Herod asked him to marry Salampsio's younger sister Cypros, and at first Pheroras agreed, but later he again refused and stayed married to his wife, who was very unpopular with Herod, and was involved in several plots against him.
Pheroras was a close comrade-in-arms of his brother Herod, on whose commission he restored the fortress of
Alexandreum to the north of
Jericho
Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017.
F ...
.
[Jos. Ant. Iud. 15,11,5; Jos. BI ]
online
/ref>
References
{{Reflist
Herodian dynasty