Salome
- For other uses of Salome and Salomé, see Salome (disambiguation)
Salome or Salomé, like Dismas, or the various names of the Three Magi, is a name given to a character in the Bible whose name is not given in the Bible itself. The name "Salome" is preserved in the Jewish Antiquities of Josephus.
Biblical character
Salome was the step-daughter of Herod Antipas, and danced before Herod and her mother Herodias at the occasion of Herod's birthday, and by doing so caused the death of John the Baptist. The New Testament suggests that Salome caused John to be executed because of his complaints that Herod's marriage to Herodias was adulterous; and that Herodias put her up to the demand that John be executed, something the king was initially reluctant to do. According to Mark 6:21-29:
- And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
- And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. (KJV)
This Salome is probably not the same Salome who is said to be a witness to the Crucifixion of Jesus in Mark 15:40. (see Salome (disciple)).
Salome in the arts
Painting
This Biblical story has long been a favourite of painters, since it offers a chance to depict oriental splendour, semi-nude women, and exotic scenery under the guise of a Biblical subject. Painters who have done notable representations of Salome include Titian and Gustave Moreau.
Oscar Wilde's play
This story was made the subject of a play by Oscar Wilde that premiered in Paris in 1896, under the French name Salomé. In Wilde's play, Salome takes a perverse fancy for John the Baptist, and causes him to be executed when John spurns her affections. In the finale, Salome takes up John's severed head and kisses it. Because British law forbade the depiction of Bible characters on stage, Wilde wrote the play originally in French, and then produced an English translation (titled Salome). Wilde's French was far from perfect: the play was proofread and corrected by Marcel Schwob. In the English version Alfred Bruce Douglas (Bosie) is indicated as translator.
Opera
The Wilde play (in German translation) was turned into an opera by Richard Strauss, part of the standard operatic repertoire and is now better known than the Wilde play itself. The opera Salome, which premiered in Dresden in 1905, is famous for the Dance of the seven veils.
Films
Wilde's Salome has at least twice been made into a film: a 1923 silent film starring Alla Nazimova in the title role (see Salomé (1923 film)) and a 1998 Ken Russell play-within-a-film treatment, Salome's Last Dance, which also includes Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie) as characters.
IMDB lists at least 25 Salome/Salomé films, and numerous resettings of the Salome story to modern times. Among the former are a 1953 film starring Rita Hayworth and a 2002 film by Carlos Saura using flamenco dance.
Salomé is also a fictional film in the mockumentary Forgotten Silver. Portions of it are shown as a film within the film.
Other references to Salome in modern and popular culture
References to Salome and/or allusions to the dance of the seven veils are legion in modern and popular culture (including pop & rock music, poetry,...), and not further listed here: non of these retakes of the Salome and/or dance of the seven veils theme led to new insights regarding, or a new appreciation of, the Salome character.
See also
