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Herodias

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Wife of Herod Antipas who demanded John the Baptist’s execution

Detailed Definition
Herodias held a grudge against John for condemning her unlawful marriage and used her daughter’s dance to secure his beheading (Mark 6). In poetry, Herodias embodies vengeful manipulation, the corruption of power through personal vendetta, and how moral compromise escalates to violence.
Example
Example in poetry:
In John Milton’s "Paradise Lost," Herodias’s grudge (Mark 6) illustrates vengeful manipulation; In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s "The Drama of Exile," Herodias symbolizes the woman who uses power for malice; In William Cowper’s hymns, Herodias’s daughter’s dance warns against seductive evil; In George Herbert’s "The Church-porch," Herodias’s banquet contrasts with Christ’s feast; In John Keble’s "Lyra Apostolica," Herodias embodies the spirit of retaliation; In W.H. Auden’s "For the Time Being," Herodias illustrates the corruption of maternal influence.
Additional Notes
Herodias: Wife of Herod Antipas; instigated John the Baptist’s execution (Matthew 14; Mark 6). In poetry, Herodias symbolizes vengeful manipulation, the corruption of courtly influence, and the cost of prophetic integrity. Her daughter’s dance becomes a tool of death—ideal for poems on performance as power, maternal ambition, or the silencing of truth through spectacle.
Also Known As
Herodias wife of Herod Antipas Herodias daughter of Aristobulus
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