Phasaelis (princess)

Phasael[1] or Pasiel[2] (born in 5/4 BCE),[1] in Greek sources Phasaelis,[3] was a princess of Nabatea, daughter of King Aretas IV Philopatris[1][3] and the first wife of Herod Antipas,[3] ruler of Galilee and Perea.

[3] The sequence in which the king's offspring is listed on an inscription found at the Obodas Chapel of Wadi Nmeir in Petra indicates that Phasaelis was the couple's fourth child, but the eldest of their daughters.

[2] Coins have been found with the profile of her father Aretas IV on the obverse, and Phasaelis' name on the reverse,[4] which could indicate her birth to be 3-5 BC.

Going by the tentative dating of the coins inscribed with her name, her marriage to Herod Antipas took place in 7 or 6 AD, when Phasaelis would have been around 11–12 years old.

In the movie "The Big Fisherman" (1959), which is based on a 1949 book by the same name by Lloyd C. Douglas, the female protagonist is the daughter of "Princess Arnon" (played by Marian Seldes) and Herod Antipas.