words

reverence
a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration.

indelible
making marks that cannot be erased, removed, or the like

wanton
done, shown, used, etc., maliciously or unjustifiably

Ptolemies, Ptolemaic Empire
any of the kings of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt 323–30 b.c.

predicament
an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation.

Pompey the Great
106–48 b.c., Roman general and statesman: a member of the first triumvirate.

Cleopatra's Father
Ptolemy XII

ingratiate
to establish (oneself) in the favor or good graces of others, esp. by deliberate effort

Cleopatra
"a woman's authority spelled a man's deception"

panache
a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair

unguents
an ointment or salve, usually liquid or semiliquid, for application to wounds, sores

posterity
succeeding or future generations collectively

ginesthoi
"let it be done."

kudzu
fast-growing vine from eastern Asia having tuberous starchy roots and hairy trifoliate leaves and racemes of purple flowers followed by long hairy pods containing many seeds; grown for fodder and forage and root starch; widespread in the southern United States

polemtics
the art or practice of disputation or controversy

erudition
knowledge acquired by study, research

hexameter
a dactylic line of six feet, as in Greek and Latin epic poetry, in which the first four feet are dactyls or spondees, the fifth is ordinarily a dactyl, and the last is a trochee or spondee, with a caesura usually following the long syllable in the third foot.

Plutarch
was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia.[2] He was born to a prominent family in Chaeronea, Boeotia, a town about twenty miles east of Delphi.

Appian
of Alexandria was a Roman historian (of Greek ethnicity) who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He is commonly referred to by the anglicised form of his name, Appian.

Dio
known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio (Dione. lib) was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek.

sensationalism
subject matter, language, or style producing or designed to produce startling or thrilling impressions or to excite and please vulgar taste.

tendentious
having or showing a definite tendency, bias, or purpose

Herod
also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (born 71, 73 or 74 BCE, died 4 BCE in Jericho,[2][3] according to other data, 1 BCE[1][4][5][6]), was an Edomite Jewish Roman client king of the Roman provinces of Judea, Galilee and Samaria (near present-day Bethlehem).[7] He was described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis."[8] He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple). Important details of his biography are gleaned from the works of the 1st century CE Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius.

axiomatic
pertaining to or of the nature of an axiom; self-evident; obvious.