Two Torah scholars convinced their students to tear a golden eagle off the Temple gate in broad daylight. Herod burned them alive for it.
According to Josephus in Antiquities XVII, the crisis began in the final year of Herod's life. Judas ben Saripheus and Matthias ben Margalothus were the most revered Torah teachers in Jerusalem, known for educating the youth in Jewish law and attracting large daily audiences. When word spread that Herod's illness was terminal, these two rabbis told their students the time had come to act.
The target was a massive golden eagle Herod had mounted above the great gate of the Temple. Jewish law forbids graven images, and this Roman-style eagle was an insult that the people had tolerated only out of fear. The rabbis declared that anyone who died destroying it would achieve eternal glory, since the Torah promises reward to those who defend God's commandments.
At midday, when the Temple courts were packed with worshippers, about forty young men climbed up and hacked the golden eagle to pieces with axes while their teachers stood below rallying the crowd. The king's soldiers arrived quickly, arresting the perpetrators along with their teachers. Herod, racked with illness and fury, had himself carried on a litter to the trial.
He demanded to know who had ordered the destruction. The young men answered without hesitation: their teachers had commanded it, and the Torah itself had authorized it. Herod replaced the high priest who had failed to prevent the uprising, then ordered Judas and Matthias burned alive along with several of their students. The rest of the arrested men were handed over to executioners.
That same night, there was an eclipse of the moon. Josephus records this detail almost in passing, but it marks the moment. A dying king burning scholars for defending Jewish law. The Temple cleansed of its eagle, but at a terrible price. Herod's final act of authority was an act of fire.