Herod: Nice Guy?

Historians, Fans Defend the `Real' King Herod

Nope. King Herod certainly doesn't qualify as a nice guy, but his image has been buffed and shined of late, as Nicole Neroulias reports in this full text RNS article, linked above.

Quote:

Annually vilified in Christmas pageants as the tyrant responsible for the slaughter of Bethlehem's baby boys and for chasing Mary, Joseph and Jesus into Egypt, Herod the Great should receive more balanced treatment, some historians and academics argue.