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was lost, and he retired to Asia Minor, settling in Smyrna, where he began to write. He was prolific,
composing essays, addresses, histories and religious teachings. He attacked Plato's views on rhetoric and
devoted great effort to espousing the creed of Asclepius.
Contemporary medicine offered him little relief from his attacks, but at Pergamum, the Asclepieum gave
Aristides desperately needed help, and there a series of visions also confirmed his faith. His Sacred
Teachings, which examined the beneficence of his cure, was written in six books and is the main source of
interest concerning his visionary compositions, also providing a view of the medical practices of his own
era. See also MEDICINE; RHETORIC; SOPHISTRY.
¤ ARISTOBULUS (late 3rd century A.D.) Praetorian prefect in the reign of Emperor Carinus;
maintained in his position by Diocletian in 284, despite his having served as co-prefect of the Guard with
the infamous Arrius Aper. Aristobulus' tenure as commander of the Praetorians was brief, however,
lasting only 13 months. Diocletian moved him to Africa, sometime around 290, where he served as
proconsul before assuming duties as prefect of Rome (Praefecti Urbi) in 295.
¤ ARISTOBULUS II (d. 48 B.C.) King of JUDAEA and one of the two sons of Queen Salome
Alexandra of Judaea; became high priest and king of Judaea in 67 B.C. Aristobulus was born into the
intrigue-filled world of the Palestinian royal houses and grew up during the spiteful reign of Salome, the
widow of Jannaeus Alexander, the first priest-king of the Jewish lands. In 67, Salome died, and
Aristobulus drove his brother Hyrcanus from the throne. As a result, Antipater of Idumaea, an ally of
Hyrcanus, convinced Aretas III, the king of Nabataeans, to invest Jerusalem. Aristobulus took refuge in
the Great Temple, watching his siege defenses deteriorate. He was saved by the arrival of Pompey the
Great and his Roman legions. The combatants on both sides, recognizing Roman superiority, made every
effort to gain Pompey's favor.
Hyrcanus was easily swayed, but Aristobulus, fiery to the end, refused to submit so calmly. The Great
Temple was put under siege, and finally, in 63, Aristobulus was sent to Rome in chains. His followers
were undaunted, however, and civil war raged for several years.
Antipater, deciding which side to aid in the Roman civil war that erupted between Caesar and Pompey,
chose Pompey. Aristobulus, aware of the situation in Rome, put himself at Caesar's command. Sometime in
48, he marched into Judaea to cause trouble but was killed before he could be of any worth to Caesar. His
son, Mattathiah Antigonus, would try to gain the throne in 40 B.C., with the same dire results; his other son,
Alexander, married his daughter to Herod the Great.
¤ ARISTOBULUS AND ALEXANDER (d. 7 B.C.) Two sons of HEROD THE GREAT by his second
wife, Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander and granddaughter of Aristobulus II. These two young men
were designated as heirs and in 23 B.C. were sent to Rome to be educated. They returned in 17 for
political marriages but soon became trapped in the ever perilous domestic squabbles of the House of
Herod.
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