Thank you Craig for reviewing this article in NG. I was very surprised when I read the opening paragraph as well. So much so, I shared it with a couple of my friends at work and even one was kind enough to contact you for me in hopes you might shed some clarity on the issue. You did just that.

One follow up question I would like to ask concerning Herod. Is there any account of how much "history" from his life was mainly written by him (or under his overseeing) since he had so much control of the area? For example, when Julius Caesar invaded Gallic tribes, it would seem he made sure accounts were recorded from his point of view, to the point I believe, that we are only beginning to get a sense of all that truly happened or what the cultures he overran were truly like. Is there any indication this same type of one-sided reporting occurred in Herodium? Or, were there those that kept even-sided records of what actually happened under his rule at the time he was alive? Just wondering if an account of such an atrocity as the above could have been lost or hidden due to this factor.

Many thanks,

Bill Jordan