Herod the Great, king of the Jews from 40 to 4 BCE, was a multi-faceted personality of world renown. He is also one of the best-documented leading figures of his age.
In an illustrated presentation, Professor Vermes will attempt to reconstruct the real Herod whose enormous vices were matched by colossal qualities. The not always consistent accounts of Flavius Josephus in his Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities will be explored in the light of the many relevant archaeological remains found in Judaea and in the neighbouring countries. Herod's political, military and cultural achievements will be examined against the backdrop of his tumultuous personal life resulting from his marriage into the Jewish royal family of the Hasmonaeans. It entailed the killing of his passionately loved royal wife, Mariamme, her brother, her mother and grandfather, the high priest Hyrcanus, as well as the two sons of Herod by Mariamme.
Herod's life and accomplishments will be outlined and assessed in the course of an impressive and exciting story.

Geza Vermes is a Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies and Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He has edited the Journal of Jewish Studies since 1971, and since 1991 he has been director of the Oxford Forum for Qumran Research at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.