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The Herod narratives show that returning favors was expected by the relationship between a friendly king and his Roman patrons. Herod frequently applied this practice (e.g. BJ 1.242, 393, AJ 15.5). In War 1.393 Josephus states, for example, that Herod placated Octavian with gifts. Mark Antony rewarded Herod’s loyalty also by favors. He made him a prominent guest during banquets and involved him in his judicial decisions (AJ 15.77; Braund 1984: 83; Vössing 2004). The relationship between a friendly king and his patrons was not only based on mutual beneficiality, but also on mutual trust (pistis) and loyalty (eunoia). The section on Herod’s perilous meeting with Octavian after the Battle of Actium and its follow-up imply that (AJ 15.187–201; esp. 15.193–194, 201). Escorting Antony or Octavian for part of their military campaigns was an obvious service from Herod as friendly king (e.g. AJ 15.80, 96, 168, 199–201). Herod honored his patrons by founding or renaming cities after them. For the emperor he topped this off by erecting temples or altars and by organizing games in his honor (e.g. BJ 1.407, 414–41; cf. Suetonius, Aug. 59–60). Herod expanded and fortified the city of Samaria, which he renamed as Sebaste (= Augustus) in honor of Augustus (AJ 15.294, 296; cf. also the foundation of Caesarea Maritima in Augustus’s honor, AJ 15.331–341). Archelaus I of Cappadocia and Pythodoris of Pontus also renamed cities as Sebaste (Braund 1984: 108; Kienast 1999: 469–470). The sons of friendly kings were often educated in Rome from the times of Augustus onward, as a passage in Suetonius indicates (Aug. 48; Braund 1984: 9–17). Josephus confirms this practice by reporting that: “… when Sebaste was already built as a city, he [Herod] decided to send his sons Alexander and Aristobulus to Rome in order to meet with Caesar” (AJ 15.342–343). The obvious aim of this meeting is the Roman education of the boys, but Herod may have had additional motives for this move, such as carrying over the close relationship with the Roman patrons to the next generation and preparing them for their own career as friendly ruler (Braund 1984: 11). The particular relationship between Herod and Augustus remained intact as long as the king did not exceed his authority, as another section in Josephus indicates. Herod jeopardized his position when he launched a punitive expedition against the Nabataeans without having Augustus’s permission (AJ 16.271–293).