For all his accomplishments , Herod was nevertheless hated by his subjects ; he taxed , he tortured , and he ordered the massacre of male Jewish infants in an attempt to do away with the heralded Messiah .
Herod , while a very successful person , was not well loved by his people ; especially after calling for the extermination of all male Jewish newborns as a way of stopping the potenial rise of the legendary Messiah .