They put him on trial for usurping the power of life and death.

In the midst of his peril he escaped, taking with him the seed of those dark revenges which, when he got the crown, destroyed all save a single member of the old court of justice and the confidence of his people.
His household became the scene of bloody intrigues which even stirred the tongue of Caesar with contempt.

Herod became the dupe of a designing sister, of base flatterers, and of an evil and ambitious son.
They undermined his confidence in all who deserved it.

His beloved wife Mariamne, his two sons Alexander and Aristobulus, and many others of exceptional good repute in the kingdom were unjustly put to death.
Then, swiftly, as he penetrated the maze of plot and counterplot, those who had fooled him began to fall before his wrath.

He was now, indeed, a forlorn, loveless, and terrible creature.
Many thought him afflicted with madness.