Journal for the Study of Judaism 43 (2012) 180-214 © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2012 DOI: 10.1163/157006312X637883 brill.nl/jsj Journal for the Study of Judaism Inside Herod’s Courts: Social Relations and Royal Ideology in the Herodian Palaces Eyal Regev Bar-Ilan University In Memory of Prof. Ehud Netzer ל" ז Abstract he article examines the social relations in Herod’s royal courts according to the archaeological discoveries in the Herodian palaces of Jericho, Masada, and Cae- sarea and what kind of political self-image is represented by these palaces. Space Syntax heory (Access Analysis) is used to examine the spatial plan of these five palaces. Until 15 B.C.E. Herod was interested in maintaining an open court, being easily approachable to many visitors. It therefore seems that Nicolaus and Josephus exaggerated in their depiction of Herod’s suspicious and antisocial behavior. In the last decade of his reign Herod’s palaces reflect discreteness and the division into segregated sections. Access to the king became more remote. Social interaction became more hierarchical, stressing the king’s privacy and his control over his visitors with low interaction potential. he archaeological evidence shows that Herod transformed his court structure and royal posture several years before Josephus’ report of the emergence of his grave suspicions of Alexander and Aristo- bulus. His social behavior changed drastically sometime before 15 B.C.E., that is, before his paranoia became worse. Keywords Herod, Palaces, Hellenistic Architecture, Josephus, Nicolaus of Damascus 1. Introduction Eight Herodian palaces were excavated in Jericho, Masada, Herodium and Caesarea. In his recent publication of the final reports Ehud Netzer recon- structed the plans of these impressive structures and included a conclusive