# Herod Antipas — Short Fiction character guide

> Herod Antipas in Short Fiction by Gustave Flaubert.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Antipas, Herod

**First appearance:** 0011-herodias

## Snapshot

Tetrarch of Galilee, aged by twelve years of war, hosting Roman dignitaries and restless subjects at Machaerus while his authority frays at every edge.

## Who they are

Antipas presides over a tense banquet where Sadducees, Pharisees, Galileans, and Roman officials jostle for advantage, presenting personages to Vitellius and kneeling before the proconsul with elaborate flattery. Bent beneath his violet-bordered toga, his whitening locks mingled with his beard, he repels his wife Herodias's tender advances and broods on his misfortunes. His precarious balancing of Rome, the priests, and his own household sets the political stage on which the story's spiritual drama will unfold.

## Relationships

### [Iaokanann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/iaokanann)

_rivalry_

Herod Antipas is both fascinated and threatened by the prophet Iaokanann (John the Baptist), whom he imprisons.

### [Mannaeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/mannaeus)

_professional_

Mannaeus is Herod Antipas's executioner and trusted servant, carrying out his grim orders.

### [Vitellius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/vitellius)

_professional_

Vitellius is a Roman governor who meets with Herod Antipas in a tense political negotiation.

### [Phanuel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/phanuel)

_professional_

Phanuel is a court astrologer who advises Herod Antipas, interpreting omens and prophecies.

### [Agrippa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/agrippa)

_rivalry_

Agrippa is a rival Herodian prince who schemes against Herod Antipas for political power.

### [Aulus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/aulus)

_social_

Aulus is a young Roman guest at Herod Antipas's court, treated with polite hospitality.

### [Iaokanann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/iaokanann)

_rivalry_

Herod Antipas is both fascinated and threatened by the prophet Iaokanann (John the Baptist), whom he imprisons.

### [Mannaeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/mannaeus)

_professional_

Mannaeus is Herod Antipas's executioner and trusted servant, carrying out his grim orders.

### [Agrippa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/agrippa)

_rivalry_

Agrippa is a rival Herodian prince who schemes against Herod Antipas for political power.

### [Mannaeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/mannaeus)

_professional_

Mannaeus is Herod Antipas's executioner and trusted servant, carrying out his grim orders.

### [Phanuel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/phanuel)

_professional_

Phanuel is a court astrologer who advises Herod Antipas, interpreting omens and prophecies.

### [Vitellius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/vitellius)

_professional_

Vitellius is a Roman governor who meets with Herod Antipas in a tense political negotiation.

## In the story

### [The Dance of Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/the-dance-of-death)

Not present in this chapter.

### [I: The Curse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/i-the-curse)

Not present in this chapter.

### [II: The Crime](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/ii-the-crime)

Not present in this chapter.

### [III: The Reparation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/iii-the-reparation)

Not present in this chapter.

### [Herodias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/herodias)

The tetrarch, tormented by political threats and his guilty conscience over John the Baptist.

### [I: The Palace](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/i-the-palace)

The tetrarch, anxious and aged, surveys his domain from the palace balcony, broods over political threats, rebuffs Herodias's advances, and refuses to release Iaokanann.

### [II: The Voice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/ii-the-voice)

The tetrarch, anxious and obsequious before Vitellius, later enraged by Iaokanann's prophecies.

### [III: The Banquet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/chapters/iii-the-banquet)

Hosts the banquet, is threatened by Pharisees, and is deeply troubled by the mention of Iaokanann.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters/herod_antipas
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_22_se/characters