An old, bloodthirsty tyrant hears from a group of Magi about the birth of the Messiah, king of the Jews.
Adam Kolman Marshak portrays Herod the Great quite differently, however, carefully drawing on historical, archaeological, and literary sourc.
For most of the Western world, this is Herod the Great -- an icon of cruelty and evil, the epitome of a tyrant.
He vengefully sends his soldiers to Bethlehem with orders to kill all of the baby boys in the town in order to preserve his own throne.
An old, bloodthirsty tyrant hears from a group of Magi about the birth of the Messiah, king of the Jews