Herod the Great

About Herod the Great

Herod the Great (73–4 BCE) was a highly influential client king of Judea under the Roman Republic, securing his position through deft political maneuvering and construction projects. Ranked #503 in historical importance by the Pantheon project, his lasting legacy stems from massive building campaigns, most notably the expansion and renovation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the construction of sites like Masada and Caesarea Maritima, shaping the regional political and religious landscape for centuries.

Despite his significant historical footprint, Herod’s modern internet presence shows a distinct attention gap. In 2025, his Wikipedia page garnered 1.1 million annualized views, placing him in a position of **overattention** relative to his importance ranking, evidenced by an Attention Gap score of +3x. This suggests a level of sustained cultural interest outweighing his proportional historical influence, especially when compared to figures like the more historically important Averroes (#323 HPI) who receives only 287K views.

However, this interest appears to be waning slightly, with pageviews declining by 11.2% year-over-year, and a Q1 vs Q3 momentum drop of -14% indicating a continued, though slowing, trend toward digital obscurity.