Splendid Herod exhibition at Israel Museum


On Tuesday, February 12, 2013, the Israel Museum inaugurated a new exhibition based upon the architectural genius of King Herod. A small group from the Saint James Vicariate was invited to a preview of the exhibition.

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In one of the most extravagant exhibitions in the history of the Israel Museum, the public can make a journey from the reconstructed throne room in one of Herod’s palaces in Jericho to the breathtaking mausoleum that Herod constructed for himself at Herodium. Herod, king in Jerusalem in the second part of the first century B.C. (37 – 4 B.C.) is remembered predominantly as the cruel king who murdered his opponents and even members of his own family and in the New Testament is responsible for the slaughter of the innocent babies of Bethlehem (cf. Matthew, chapter 2).

The Israel Museum however, in the light of the archeology of the late Ehud Netser, has focused on the grandeur of Herod the builder. Reconstructing parts of his buildings in Jericho, Jerusalem and Herodium, projecting three dimensional video clips of the different structures scattered around the country and displaying a myriad of artifacts, the public is invited to a walk from Jericho to Herodium, the long route of Herod’s funeral procession. Part of the exhibition focuses on Herod’s Jerusalem and his renovation of the Temple.

The highlight of the exhibition is the reconstruction of Herod’s tomb in the museum, built piece by piece from the ruins found at Herodium by Ehud Netser and restored in the museum.

The exhibit, which will last for nine months and is spread out over 900 square meters, involved the transport of stones weighing 30 tons to the Israel Museum. Dudi Mevorach and Sylvia Rosenberg, the two curators sent preview invitations to Father David Neuhaus because of his participation in a short film that is being prepared on the impact of Herod on people today.

See information on Museum website here

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