Named after his grandfather, Herod's oldest son spent much of his life exiled from the court after his father divorced his commoner mother (32 BCE) to permit a more politically advantageous marriage with Mariamne, the grand-daughter of Hyrcanus II, the hereditary Hasmonean high priest. Antipater returned to his father's favor because Herod was insulted by the imperious behavior of Mariamne's sons, Alexander & Aristobulus IV, on their return from eight years of schooling in the emperor's household in Rome (20-13 BCE). He & his aunt Salome [Herod's sister] intensified Herod's fury at his pampered Hasmonean sons' scorn by feeding him malicious gossip about their disloyalty. After several attempts at reconciliation failed, Herod had Alexander & Aristobulus tried for treason & strangled (7 BCE). After this Antipater served as Herod's co-regent. But he was despised by the people for engineering the deaths of the popular Hasmonean princes. Resenting Herod's doting concern for the welfare of Aristobulus' sons, Antipater foolishly prematurely plotted to remove the aging king whose health was in rapid decline. Herod countered by ordering Antipater's execution only days before his own death (4 BCE).

References: Josephus, Antiquities 16.78-90, 133, 190-191, 232-250, 302-307,  319;
                                                        17.1-19, 32-35, 50-54, 60-191.
                   ______, War 1.241, 433, 448-455, 465-477, 516-527, 552-573, 582-664.