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The Herodians were a sect
Sect

In its historical usage in Christendom the term has a pejorative connotation and refers to a movement committed to Christian heresy beliefs and that often deviated from orthodox practices....
 or party mentioned in the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
 as having on two occasions — once in Galilee
Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa t...
, and again in Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 — manifested an unfriendly disposition towards Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
 (; ; cf. also , , ).

In each of these cases their name is coupled with that of the Pharisees
Pharisees

The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew language ?????? perushim from ???? parush, meaning "separated" . The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era ....
. According to many interpreters the courtiers or soldiers of Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas

Herod Antipas After inheriting his territories when the kingdom of his father Herod the Great was divided upon his death in 4 BC, Antipas ruled them as a client state of the Roman Empire....
 ("Milites Herodis," Jerome
Jerome

Saint Jerome was a Christian priest and Christian apologetics best known for translating the Vulgate. He is recognized by the Catholic Church as a canonized saint and Doctor of the Church, and his version of the Bible is still an important text in Catholicism....
) are intended; but more probably the Herodians were a public political party, who distinguished themselves from the two great historical parties of post-exilian Judaism (Pharisees and Sadducees
Sadducees

The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect and were rivals of the Pharisees , founded in the 2nd century BC. They ceased to exist sometime after the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD....
) by the fact that they were and had been sincerely friendly to Herod the Great
Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great , was a Roman Empire client state of Israel. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple....
, the King of the Jews
King of the Jews

King of the Jews may refer to:History:Ruler of historic Jewish kingdoms and client states:* Kingdom of Israel * Kingdom of Judah * Hasmonean dynasty ...
, and to his dynasty
Dynasty

A dynasty is a succession of rulers who belong to the same family for generations. A dynasty is also often called a "Royal House", e.g. the House of Saud or House of Habsburg....
 (cf.






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The Herodians were a sect
Sect

In its historical usage in Christendom the term has a pejorative connotation and refers to a movement committed to Christian heresy beliefs and that often deviated from orthodox practices....
 or party mentioned in the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
 as having on two occasions — once in Galilee
Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa t...
, and again in Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 — manifested an unfriendly disposition towards Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
 (; ; cf. also , , ).

In each of these cases their name is coupled with that of the Pharisees
Pharisees

The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew language ?????? perushim from ???? parush, meaning "separated" . The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era ....
. According to many interpreters the courtiers or soldiers of Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas

Herod Antipas After inheriting his territories when the kingdom of his father Herod the Great was divided upon his death in 4 BC, Antipas ruled them as a client state of the Roman Empire....
 ("Milites Herodis," Jerome
Jerome

Saint Jerome was a Christian priest and Christian apologetics best known for translating the Vulgate. He is recognized by the Catholic Church as a canonized saint and Doctor of the Church, and his version of the Bible is still an important text in Catholicism....
) are intended; but more probably the Herodians were a public political party, who distinguished themselves from the two great historical parties of post-exilian Judaism (Pharisees and Sadducees
Sadducees

The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect and were rivals of the Pharisees , founded in the 2nd century BC. They ceased to exist sometime after the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD....
) by the fact that they were and had been sincerely friendly to Herod the Great
Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great , was a Roman Empire client state of Israel. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple....
, the King of the Jews
King of the Jews

King of the Jews may refer to:History:Ruler of historic Jewish kingdoms and client states:* Kingdom of Israel * Kingdom of Judah * Hasmonean dynasty ...
, and to his dynasty
Dynasty

A dynasty is a succession of rulers who belong to the same family for generations. A dynasty is also often called a "Royal House", e.g. the House of Saud or House of Habsburg....
 (cf. such formations as "Caesariani," "Pompeiani").

It is possible that, to gain adherents, the Herodian party may have been in the habit of representing that the establishment of a Herodian Dynasty
Herodian Dynasty

The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumea descent, who ruled Iudaea Province between 37 BC - AD 92....
 would be favourable to the realization of the theocracy; and this in turn may account for Tertullian
Tertullian

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, was a prolific and controversial early Christian author, and the first to write Christian Latin literature....
's (De praescr.) allegation that the Herodians regarded Herod himself as the Messiah
Messiah

Messiah literally means "anointed ".In Jewish messiah tradition and Jewish eschatology, messiah refers to a future monarch of United Monarchy from the Davidic line, who will rule the people of Israelite#The Twelve Tribes, and herald the Messianic Age of global peace....
. The sect was called by the Rabbis Boethusians
Boethusians

The Boethusians were a Jewish sect closely related to, if not a development of, the Sadducees....
 as being friendly to the family of Boethus
Boethus

Boethus was a Greece sculptor of the Hellenistic age, a native of Chalcedon. His date cannot be accurately fixed, but was probably the 2nd century B.C....
, whose daughter Mariamne
Mariamne (third wife of Herod)

Mariamne II was the third wife of Herod the Great. She was the daughter of Boethusians the Kohen Gadol. Josephus recounts their wedding thus:...
 was one of Herod the Great's wives.