Herod the Great

About Herod the Great

Herod the Great, reigning from -73 to -3, was a significant political figure known primarily for his massive building projects, most famously the renovation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. As a Roman client king who navigated complex regional politics while dramatically reshaping the landscape of Judea, his influence earned him the #503 ranking in MIT's Historical Popularity Index, placing him among the top tier of globally influential historical figures.

Despite this considerable historical weight, Herod's modern internet attention appears substantial yet perhaps disproportionate when viewed against his influence. He garnered 1.2 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This level of attention places him in an 'overattention' bracket, calculated as a +3x gap relative to his historical importance. For perspective, this is slightly less than Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (#878 importance) who received 2.7M views, suggesting that modern internet users are prioritizing attention on more recent politicians or those with different historical contexts over this ancient, architecturally significant ruler.

While his overall views are high, the slight year-over-year decline of -2.5% suggests a potential cooling trend, though this is tempered by a strong +23% momentum indicated by Q1 versus Q3 view comparisons, perhaps signaling renewed interest in ancient Judean history or related topics.