Herodians
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Mark 3:5-6; Matt 22:15). In the passages cited, both Evangelists present the Herodians as acting together with the Pharisees to ensnare the Lord in His words and destroy Him. Their very name shows that they acted in the interests of Herod's dynasty. Since that dynasty owed much to the influence of Rome, it may be supposed that the Herodians especially favored the Roman government, in opposition to the purely Jewish party among the Hebrews. The crafty question they put to the Lord together with the Pharisees during His last visit to the Jerusalem temple plainly reveals the political tendency of these sectarians, although it is not entirely clear why the two parties joined in common action against the Lord Jesus.
The Savior does indeed speak jointly of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod, without separating one from the other (Mark 8:15); but this circumstance proves nothing, since at the same time He warned His disciples against the leaven of the Sadducees (Matt 16:6). According to others, the Herodians were a kind of Jewish religious sect who regarded Herod as their messiah; neither Philo nor Josephus, however, mentions such a sect.