ABSTRACT
Adam Marshak emphasizes the importance of “political self-presentation and its role in authority creation and maintenance” (Marshak 2015, 340). He goes on to say that we can move beyond the rhetoric of the primary sources—that is, the primary literary sources—and overly simplistic understandings of power dynamics if we focus on rulers’ depictions of themselves in the public sphere. In this way, he argues correctly, we can achieve a more complete view of the then contemporary political machinery. Marshak draws attention to what, in a more general way, we might think of as ways in which “text and artifact” (Wilson & Desjardins 2000) need to be viewed as complementary vehicles in understanding antiquity. We turn to this “political machinery” and its role both in Herod’s presentation of himself publicly and in public portrayals of Herod within the public sphere. To do this, we explore the engraved evidence of Herod as it survives in the archaeological record, first surviving inscriptions of Herod, some contemporaries, and successors, then Herod’s coins along with the images and inscriptions on these coins. Through inscriptions and coinage, we can glimpse both how an ancient ruler was perceived and wished to be perceived, though it is immediately apparent that, compared with Roman contemporaries such as Augustus and Mark Antony (Zanker 1988, 33–77), Herod’s evidence is very meager. Herod’s surviving inscriptions and coins show considerable restraint; they suggest both that he resisted aggrandizing himself and he discouraged others from excessive praise. We then supplement those approaches by an examination that has more to do with his actions, specifically his actions directed at improving or manipulating the economy. Through this three-pronged approach we aim to shed light on another side of Herod’s personality and activities.
