03_Biblica_Sharon_Layout 1 01/04/14 11:46 Pagina 57 57 HEROD’S AGE WHEN APPOINTED STRATEGOS OF GALILEE Herod’s biography (Ant. 14.9; 16.183-185) 23, would, apparently, have had no reason to invent it and stray from Nicolaus’ narrative, especially by adding details which may appear to his readers un- likely and even contradictory 24. Therefore, Nicolaus, who appears to have been Josephus’ source for the episode in general, must have been the source for this datum — that, as we have seen, fits per- fectly in its context — as well. It is noteworthy that in his biography of Augustus Nicolaus appears to have intentionally minimized the age of Octavian in his first public action. At his grandmother’s fu- neral Octavian delivered an oration. According to Suetonius (Aug. 8.1) Octavian was in his twelfth year at the time, but Nicolaus, ap- parently in reference to that event, says that he was only nine years old (Vit. Caes. F 127 3) 25. However, since the incongruity of the age of fifteen for Herod with other Herodian biographical details could have been noticed by Nicolaus’ (and Josephus’) audience, I think we should look for additional factors which may have led him to ascribe that specific age to Herod when he was appointed strategos. If Herod’s victory over the leistai, when he was actually 25-27 years old, was his first public action, perhaps he, or his biographer, felt the need to move that episode to a younger age, so as not to leave Herod idle until such an advanced age. I would suggest, however, two possible, though admittedly somewhat speculative, additional factors. 23 See above, n. 19. 24 Although some scholars (e.g., LAQUEUR, Der jüdische Historiker, 133- 134 and passim; COHEN, Josephus in Galilee and Rome, 50-51) assume that Josephus used Nicolaus directly only in the War, and that in the Antiquities he used his own earlier work, not Nicolaus, I am convinced by the opposite view — Josephus used Nicolaus directly when writing the Antiquities, per- haps in addition to the War. For this latter view see e.g. WACHOLDER, Nico- laus, 60-64; SCHWARTZ, “Drama and Authenticity”. This question is beyond the scope of this paper. 25 FGH II, 391-392. See WIEDEMANN, Adults and Children, 57. Note, fur- thermore, that Nicolaus apparently had a tendency to exaggerate numbers in favor of the person he was praising. Thus, in his story of Caesar’s assassina- tion he says there were “more than eighty” conspirators (FGH II, 402), whereas Suetonius (Jul.80.4) speaks of “more than sixty”, and he says that Caesar received thirty-five wounds (FGH II, 409) whereas all other sources mention twenty-three (Plutarch, Caes. 66.14; Suetonius, Jul. 82.2; Appian, Bell. civ. 2.117).