The Tragedy of Mariam

Herod’s brother Pheroras arrives on stage with the servant girl Graphina, whom he loves and wishes to marry. Pheroras explains that he has been praying for a long time that he could follow his own will and marry Graphina. He describes Graphina as irresistibly alluring and his brother as maniacal. Had Herod lived, he says, he would have forced Pheroras to wed his infant niece. His brother’s power in every instance overwhelms his own intentions and preferences. Although Herod would have given him power, property, and a set place in the royal succession for complying with his wishes, Pheroras proclaims that he would rather have the prerogative to marry Graphina than three times the territory of Judea. He notes the irony that Herod capriciously divorced his first wife Doris for Mariam. His brother, however, will not let him make decisions about his own wife. Pheroras concludes by boasting that Graphina is as lovely as Mariam.

He then asks Graphina why she has been so silent as he spoke. She affirms that she also has eagerly awaited this opportunity to marry; she is afraid she cannot adequately express her joy at the way Pheroras is lifting her from her lowly state.