Few historical figures have worse reputations than Herod the Great. This is due in part to his cameo in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2. When he hears that a child has been born king of the Jews he becomes alarmed and asks the wise men to bring him word when they find him. When he realizes that they have not done so, he kills all the male children around Bethlehem who are aged two years or less. The story is fictional—Matthew 2 is a string of stories told to show how various prophecies