Herod the Great
See also: Massacre of the Holy Innocents.
.jpg)
This character does not appear directly in the scenes of the Gospel seen by Maria Valtorta, but his memory constantly shines through, especially in the childhood gospel.
A paranoid ruler, fearing this "king" Jesus who has just been born and who is announced to him by the mages,[1] he has all the children of Bethlehem and the surrounding area aged two years and under killed.[2] Two thousand children perished thus, victims bear witness with trauma,[3] but the number is tempered by Jesus in a dictation.[4] Nevertheless, the crimes committed by this despot at the end of his life shocked even the court of Rome.[5]
Character and Appearance
Caesar called him a "bloody pig".[6]
His Name
Name of Idumean origin (southern Judea).
Where is he mentioned in the work?
GRM 31 GRM 34 GRM 35 GRM 41 GRM 66 GRM 69 GRM 73 GRM 74 GRM 78 GRM 89 GRM 119
Notes and references
- ↑ GRM 464
- ↑ Mt 2,16-18
- ↑ GRM 73
- ↑ Maria Valtorta, Notebooks 1945-1950, dictation of February 28, 1947 : "In regard to the number of the Holy Innocents who perished in Herod's massacre, Jesus says: 'The number was 320, between those in Bethlehem and those in the countryside. And I shall further specify that 188 of them were from Bethlehem, whereas 132 were from the countryside stricken within a vast radius by Herod's envoys to exterminate the infants. Among those killed there were also 64 little girls, not identified as such by the assassins, who killed in the midst of darkness, confusion, and frenzy to act quickly before anything could intervene to put an end to the slaughter.'"
- ↑ GRM 426
- ↑ GRM 74