Herod departed the following morning. His first port of call was to visit king Malchus of Arabia. They were on good terms and had helped each other out on previous occasions.
It therefore puzzled Herod when king Malchus refused to give him aid and in fact asked him to leave his court. Unbeknown to Herod, the Parthian king had sent a message to Malchus threatening war if he should help Herod. Later Malchus repented his decision but Herod had already left.
Herod headed for Egypt, hoping to board a ship at Alexandria, bound for Italy. He came to Rhinocolura, a town on the Israel /Egypt border, where he planned to stay the night. At an eating establishment, while seated at a communal table, he heard some very distressing news. Antigonus had contrived with the Parthian king to arrange a feast, supposedly for peace talks concerning the Jerusalem issue. The Parthian king invited Hyrcanus, the Jewish high priest, Phasael, Herod's brother and Herod himself.
Herod had already fled to Masada so he hadn't received the invite.
Both Hercanus and Phasael accepted. Hyrcanus was captured and slaughtered. Phasael was also captured and imprisoned, awaiting execution. By means of bribing the jailer with whatever valuables he had on his person, he obtained some poison. Deciding that he would not give the Parthians the satisfaction of seeing him suffer from whatever means of torture they had prepared for him, he swallowed the poison, thus ending his own life.
Upon hearing this report, Herod burst into tears. He cried uncontrollably, calling out his brother's name over and over. His tears fell into his plate, to extent that the owner of the tavern, taking pity on the traveller, removed the sodden food and brought Herod a fresh plate of food when his sorrow had subdued.
Herod crossed into Egypt and came to the coastal village of Pelusium. It had a small harbour with a few fishing boats. Herod needed to cross the Nile delta, a distance of 240 kilometres of coastline, to get to Alexandria on the west side. He inquired if any of the boats would be travelling in that direction, but all the captains shook their heads. They weren't interested. Herod was desperate. After much bartering and consumption of wine, one of the fisherman in exchange for a considerable amount of gold coins agreed to take Herod out into the Mediterranean sea, skirting the Nile delta with it's numerous outlets, to Alexandria.
When they arrived in Alexandria, Herod was met, most unexpectedly, by representatives sent by Cleopatra. They insisted he accompany them to Cleopatra's Palace. There the Queen received Herod.
"Greetings my dear Herod. Welcome to Alexandria."
Herod making to take hold of her hand for the customary kiss, was surprised when she withdrew not only her hand but took a step back.
"Oh my!" She exclaimed, "You do smell...well...a bit fishy. Let my slaves prepare you a warm bath. Eat and rest. Tonight you shall join me for supper and some entertainment. I want to hear all the news."
With that said, she turned and left the entrance hall. Herod wanted to ask her how she knew he was on the boat, but that would have to wait. Herod enjoyed the bath and with his stomach full he fell fast asleep on the couch.
It was dark when one of the slaves brought some liquid refreshment into the room. The slave advised that the queen would be with him presently. He had just surfaced from a well earned rest, but was still a bit groggy. He thought to clear his head so he grabbed a glass of the fruit and wine mixture and strolled out onto the balcony. The balcony ran the entire length of the front of the palace building. Herod, walked along the balcony sipping his drink, totally engrossed in the architecture and building methods used by the Egyptians. He passed by a room with light, from many lamps, streaming through the window.
He suddenly realised that this was probably Cleopatra's bedroom. He quickly ducked behind one of the pillars supporting the balcony's roof. He carefully peered around the column. Yes, it was indeed Cleopatra's boudoir. She was just emerging from her bath. She stood there, milk dripping from her naked body. Two slaves approached with embroidered towels and proceeded to dry her wet body. When they had finished, the queen slipped on a garment made of sheer material that did nothing to hide her naked form underneath. As Cleopatra donned on her diadem, shaped like a serpent with two heads, and gold bangles, Herod suddenly realised that this was the outfit his host was going to wear to their meeting and, breaking out in a cold sweat, he also understood what she had meant by entertainment!
The death of his brother was still fresh in his mind and if his thoughts were to linger on the female form, he would much prefer to fantasize about his beloved Mariamne, rather than the ageing Cleopatra! He was in no mood for the drama which the evening held in store. Herod turned and fled.
He spent the night on board a ship bound for Italy. Finally he was on the last leg of his journey.....or so he thought!
The following morning the ship set sail in perfect weather. The slight morning breeze was just enough to fill the sails. Herod stood on deck watching the white, foam flecked, wave the bow created as it ploughed threw the clear blue Mediterranean sea. Everyone was in good spirits. Herod smiled to himself, wondering how Cleopatra had reacted to his rather rude and speedy departure. From all accounts, she was not the type of woman to take being stood-up by a man, very lightly. In all probability, he was the first.
As a paying passenger, Herod was brought some food while on deck. He stood watching a tall muscular black slave, probably from Africa, turn the large wooden winch that took up the slack of the main sail lanyards. He noticed the slave eyeing his food. Looking around to make sure nobody would see, he gave the slave his bread that was on his plate. Big white teeth appeared, as the African slave smiled back at Herod. He indicated something with his hands. Herod asked him what he meant. Again he indicated something with his hands. Just then a sailor walked past and said, "He's thanking you, poor bastard. Can't speak! They cut out his tongue."
Herod nodded his head, showing that he now understood and gave the slave one of his potatoes. This time his smile was enough, the slave didn't bother with any more sign language.
It was late afternoon, Herod was resting in his hammock. He heard the crack of thunder. The ship started to lean to one side. Things started to fall off the shelves. Drums of water and other commodities fell over and rolled around, crushing everything in their path. The captain was heard shouting orders. The crew were running around trying to secure all the loose items. Herod reached the gangway and climbed the ladder leading to the deck. He poked his head out and catching the eye of one of the crew, shouted to make himself heard above the howling wind. "What's happening?"
The crewman answered. "Violent storm! Better stay below or you might be washed overboard."
He had hardly finished speaking when a huge wave broke over the ship. The crewman caught the deluge full on. The one moment he was there, the next he was gone. Water gushed through the open gangway. Herod still on the ladder was drenched. Coughing and spluttering, he made his way back to the hammock. He gathered his few possessions and tied them in his bag, which in turn he tied round his waist. Water kept streaming into the opening. Herod climbed into his hammock, the water was knee high already. This didn't look good.
Suddenly crew members came sliding down the ladder. Grabbing anything they could lay their hands on, they passed the items to others waiting above deck. Again Herod shouted, "What's happening?" The crewman nearest him shouted back, "We're sinking, captain has ordered us to jettison the cargo."
Suddenly there was an almighty sound as if a canon had just been fired. Something heavy fell on the aft deck, breaking the deck timbers as if they were mere matches. More water came pouring in. Herod wasn't about to die in this watery tomb so he scrambled up the ladder. He scrambled onto the deck, heard a rumbling sound, so he looked up. He had led many a charge into battle, but seeing a 5 metre high wall of water bearing down on you, had Herod feeling fear as he had never felt before.
