The Building Program of Herod the Great

by Duane W. Roller

Herod the Great, King of Judaea from 444 B.C., is known as one of the world's great villains. This notoriety has overshadowed his actual achievements, particularly his role as a client king of Rome during Augustus's reign as emperor. An essential aspect of Herod's responsibilities as king of Judaea was his role as a builder. Remarkably innovative, he created an astonishing record of architectural achievement, not only in Judaea but also throughout Greece and the Roman east. Duane W. Roller systematically presents and discusses all the building projects known to have been initiated by Herod, and locates this material in a broad historical and cultural context.

Bringing together previously inaccessible material, Roller enriches our understanding of the enigmatic Herod and provides new insights into Roman architecture. Herod was instrumental in the diffusion of the Augustan architectural revolution into the provinces and was the first to build outside Italy such Italian architectural forms as the basilica, amphitheater, villa, and Italian temple. Herod's legacy provided a groundwork for the architectural Romanization of the east, influencing the construction of the great temple complexes and palaces so familiar from later Roman architecture.

Herod, like Augustus himself, was not only interested in architecture but also in diplomatic and financial contacts among cities of the region. In addition to providing a repertorium of the building projects, this study is also an exploration of international relations in the eastern Mediterranean at the beginning of the Roman imperial period.

370 pages, Hardcover

First published January 21, 1998

About the author

Historian, archaeologist, and classical scholar, Duane W. Roller is Professor Emeritus of Greek and Latin at The Ohio State University, and currently lives in Santa Fe, NM. He has excavated in Greece, Italy, Turkey, and the Levant. He is a three-time Fulbright scholar, most recently the Karl-Franzens Distinguished Chair of Cultural Studies at the University of Graz, Austria.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be sure to check some of the scholarly reviews - there are a number of technical errors.

This book gives an overview of Herod's biography and suggests what he might have seen and whom he might have met on his travels.

Central is a catalogue of building projects associated with Herod, with brief bibliography on each site.

Good bibliography, good documentation of ancient sources, this will prove invaluably useful to those studying Herod, his building projects or the Roman east.

[jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible insight (having also read Netzer, the Architecture of Herod) into the political, intellectual, and cultural circles that influenced Herod's building program, but I suspect only someone who has traveled through the archaeology and history of Herod the Great would value Roller's contributions.