Did King Herod suffer from a rheumatic disease?

Herod the Great was appointed “king of Jews,” to govern Judea, by the Roman Emperor and Senate. He lived from 73/74 BCE to 4 CE. He died with an illness and symptoms that have been the source of considerable speculation. Richard Strauss depicted Herod in his classic opera, “Salome.” That opera was d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical rheumatology 2017-04, Vol.36 (4), p.741-744
Main Authors: Leatherwood, Cianna, Panush, Richard S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcoholism - diagnosis
Alcoholism - history
Famous Persons
Herod
History, Ancient
Humans
Lead Poisoning - diagnosis
Lead Poisoning - history
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Review Article
Rheumatic Diseases - diagnosis
Rheumatic Diseases - history
Rheumatology
Vitaceae
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Summary:Herod the Great was appointed “king of Jews,” to govern Judea, by the Roman Emperor and Senate. He lived from 73/74 BCE to 4 CE. He died with an illness and symptoms that have been the source of considerable speculation. Richard Strauss depicted Herod in his classic opera, “Salome.” That opera was derived from a play of the same name by Oscar Wilde, which was based on an 1876 painting, “Salome Dancing Before Herod,” by Gustave Moreau. The operatic Herod was afflicted with an illness characterized by dementia, hallucinations, paranoia, alcoholism (from drinking the Emperor’s wine), violence, twitches, and sterility; different interpretations showed him also with falls, chills, shaking, thirst, forgetfulness, and sleepiness, for which we suggest the novel diagnosis of chronic lead intoxication (which can manifest to rheumatologists as saturnine gout). He had compatible symptoms (encephalopathy and neuromuscular abnormalities) and consumed excessive quantities of imperial wine, known to be highly contaminated with lead and likely associated with similar symptoms among Roman aristocracy. Herod’s demented cruelties—an oppressive reign which including the beheading of John the Baptist—exacerbated the political climate and may have contributed to the subsequent violent 7-year revolt culminating in the destruction of the second temple. How different might history have been if Herod the Great had been abstemious?
ISSN:0770-3198
1434-9949
DOI:10.1007/s10067-017-3583-z