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Biographical information about Salome is notable for its incompleteness and many discrepancies. She is mentioned without a name in the Bible (Matthew 14:3-11 and Mark 6:17-29). A more detailed story about Salome is contained in the work of the historian Josephus Flavius "Antiquities of the Jews".
Salome's mother - Herodias, youngest daughter Berenices ( Veronica) and Aristobulus, the executed son of Herod the Great. Left an orphan, Herodias married her own uncle, Herod Philip I. Herodias chose Cleopatra and the legendary Assyrian queen Semiramis as role models. Like Livia, the wife of Emperor Augustus, she sought out virgin mistresses for her aging husband in order to consolidate her influence. Her daughter Salome was in Rome from childhood, studying dance and music. The ambitious Herodias craved power, so she soon abandoned Herod Philip for the sake of the Galilean tetrarch Herod Antipas ( Antispas or Sosipater), stepbrother ex-husband.
IN biblical times the closely related relationship of Herodias was by no means something exceptional. However, the people grumbled dully: Herodias is not a widow, besides she has a child, that's the abomination!» Herodias was especially annoyed by the Jewish preacher of the Essenes Jokanaan, nicknamed John the Baptist. One of the main themes of his criticism was the denunciation of the immorality of Herodias. According to the Bible: Herodias, angry at him, wanted to kill him, but she could not. For Herod was afraid of Jokanaan, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and guarded him: he did many things, obeying him, and listened to him with pleasure". Nevertheless, the impudent heretic was imprisoned just in case.
Soon Herodias had a very convenient opportunity to deal with John. In 39 (?), Herod Antipas celebrated his birthday in the fortress of Macheron on the border of Palestine and the possessions of the Arabian king Aretas. Numerous guests were invited to the celebration, nobles, captains of thousands and elders of Galilee". Among them was Salome. She attracted everyone's attention with her good looks and bold manners. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the canonical story of Salome is recounted in almost the same words: The daughter of Herodias entered, danced, and pleased Herod and those reclining with him. The king said to the girl: ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you. And he swore to her: whatever you ask of me, I will give you, even up to half of my kingdom«.
The Bible does not contain a description of the dance that Salome performed in front of her stepfather. In later writings it is called the dance of the seven veils. (dance of the seven veils). The ancient authors Dio Cassius, Pausanias, Demosthenes, and others mention the one that really existed in antiquity erotic dance cordak: rhythmic swaying of the hips, accompanied by throwing off clothes. According to some historians, Salome could not have danced at the feast at all. At that time, she was barely five or six years old and she just played with herself, and Herod admired the naive charm of the child.
In any case, Salome was so young that she could not choose her reward without her mother's prompting: “She went out and asked her mother: what to ask? She answered: the heads of John the Baptist. And she immediately went in haste to the king and asked, saying: I want you to give me now on a platter the head of John the Baptist.(Gospel of Mark 6:24-25). “The king was sad, but for the sake of the oath and those reclining with him, he did not want to refuse her. And immediately, sending a squire, the king commanded that his head be brought. He went and cut off his head in prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the maiden, and the maiden gave it to her mother.”(Gospel of Mark 6:26-28). According to legend, the severed head continued to denounce Herod and Herodias. Then Herodias pierced the tongue of the prophet with a pin and threw her head into a cesspool.
The senseless murder of John did not bring Herodias any benefit. The people of Galilee were indignant and openly sympathized with the preacher. Her husband did not justify her hopes: Herod Antipas did not at all have high ambitions, being quite satisfied with the role of a petty provincial despot. The active nature of Herodias could not accept such a fate. She insisted on a trip to Rome to enlist the support of the emperor Caligula. However, he met the spouses severely. He suspected Herod of treason and collusion with the Parthian king Artaban. Caligula deprived Herod of the throne, took away all his property and sentenced him to exile in the Galic city of Lugdunum (now Lyon). The unlucky couple of Jewish intriguers ended their days in exile, poverty and oblivion.
There is no reliable information about the further fate of Salome. According to some reports, she returned to Rome, where she continued her carefree social life. After some time, Salome married her uncle, Tetrarch Herod Philip II. This marriage was childless. Having been widowed, Salome remarried, this time to Aristobulus, son of Herod of Chalcis, her maternal cousin. Spouses lived long life and produced three sons: Herod, Agrippa and Aristobulus. This period of Salome's life is evidenced by the surviving coins with her image, dated 56-57. The face of the coins bears the profile of her husband and the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΡΙΣΤΟΒΟΥΛΟΥ ( king Aristobulus), the back depicts Salome herself and the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣ ΣΑΛΟΜΗΣ ( queen Salome).
The exact date and circumstances of Salome's death are unknown.
The image of the legendary temptress and femme fatale antiquity gave rise to a whole tradition in European artistic culture. In painting: Giotto. Feast at King Herod, 1320; Masaccio. Decapitation of St. John the Baptist, 1426; Donatello. Feast of King Herod, 1427; Fra Filippo Lippi. Feast of King Herod, 1452-1465; D. Bellini. Head of John the Baptist, 1464-1468; A.Verocchio. Decapitation of John the Baptist, 1477-1480; S. Botticelli. Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist, 1488; A. Durer. Decapitation of St. John, 1510; Herod is brought the head of St. John the Baptist, 1511; Titian. Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, c. 1515; Ch. da Sesto. Salome, 1516; B. Luini. Herodias, 1527-1531; Lucas Cranach the Elder. Salome, ca. 1530; Caravaggio. Salome with the head of the Baptist, 1605; Decapitation of John the Baptist, 1605; P. Rubens. Feast at King Herod; G. Reni. Salome with the head of John the Baptist, 1639-1640; Rembrandt. Decapitation of John the Baptist, 1640; G. Dore. The daughter of Herodias receives the head of St. John the Baptist, 1865; V. Surikov. Salome brings the head of John the Baptist to her mother Herodias, 1872; G. Moreau. Salome dancing before Herod, 1874-1876; O. Beardsley. illustrations for the play "Salome", 1893; Lovis Corinth. Salome, 1900; F. von Pieces. Salome, 1906; G. Klimt. Salome, 1909, etc.
Lucas Cranach the Elder. Salome. 1530
Lucas Cranach the Elder. Salome with the head of John the Baptist
Andrea Solari - Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist
G. Moreau. Dance of Salome (detail)
Gaston Bussiere (1862-1929) - Dance of the Seven Veils
O. Beardsley. Illustration for O. Wilde's play "Salome"
Literature: Gustave Flaubert. "Three Tales" ("Simple Heart", "St. Julian" and "Herodias"), 1877; O. Wilde's play "Salome" (1891), written especially for S. Bernard; the poem by Constantin Cavafy "Salome" (1896) and others. Jules Massenet's opera "Hérodiade" based on the work of G. Flaubert, 1881 and Richard Strauss "Salome", 1905. Ballets by Florent Schmitt (1907) and Akira Ifukube (1948). On Film: The Salome films of the same name, directed by Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara (1918); Charles Bryant with A. Nazimova (1923); William Dieterle with Rita Hayworth (1953); short film by Pedro Almodovar (1978) and more. Dr. Salome is the heroine of a number of works of modern rock and pop music, as well as video and computer games.
In the texts of the New Testament Herodias is the wife of the Tetrarch of Judea Herod Antipas, whom he took away from his brother Agrippa. Even at that time it was considered a great sin. John the Baptist publicly condemned and mercilessly denounced the blasphemous connection, for which Herodias fiercely hated the prophet. The tetrarch imprisoned him, but did not dare to kill him - John had too many disciples and followers, his authority among the people was too high.
Georgy Kurasov. Dance of Salome. Then Herodias persuaded her young beautiful daughter, who in apocryphal texts bore the name of Salome, to dance in front of her stepfather during the celebration of his day
birth. Herod Antipas liked the dance so much that he vowed to fulfill any wish adopted daughter. When she, taught by her mother, asked that the head of John the Baptist be brought to her on a platter, the tetrarch was forced to fulfill his oath, and the prophet was beheaded.
Let's turn to the gospel texts. Matthew chapter 14 says the following:
“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the rumor about Jesus. And he said to his servants: This is John the Baptist; he rose from the dead, and therefore miracles are performed by him. For Herod took John, bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother; because John said to him, You must not have it. And he wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people, because he was revered as a prophet.
Hood. Gustave Moreau.
During the celebration of the birthday of Herod, the daughter of Herodias danced before the assembly and pleased Herod;
Therefore, with an oath, he promised to give her whatever she asked. She, at the instigation of her mother, said: give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist. And the king was sad; but, for the sake of the oath and those reclining with him, he ordered to give it to her, and sent to cut off John's head in prison. And they brought his head on a platter and gave it to the maiden, and she took it to her mother.
Herodias and Salome
Such is the story of Herodias and John the Baptist in the canonical gospels. Now let us briefly recall the historical circumstances that served as the basis for these legends. For this, we turn to Z.
Kosidovsky "Tales of the Evangelists":
"John, called by the authors of the New Testament, and also by Josephus Flavius the Baptist, most spent his adult life as a hermit in the desert, eating locusts and forest honey. In the fifteenth year
reign of the emperor Tiberius, that is, in the year 28 AD, he came out of the desert and began to prophesy. In clothes made of camel cloth, girded with a leather belt, he walked around the country, with a thunderous voice prophesying about the imminent onset of the kingdom of God on earth and calling the people to repentance. For those who are baptized by washing in the waters of the Jordan, he promised remission of sins and access to the future kingdom
god on earth.
... There is no need to retell the story of his further fate described by the evangelists Matthew and Mark. The tetrarch Herod imprisoned John in a fortress because he accused him of incest: Herod took his brother's wife Herodias away from him and married her. A tragedy broke out, which later served as the plot for many works of music, painting and literature: the feast of Herod, the dance of Salome, the revenge of Herodias, the head of the executed John, brought on a platter to the hall where the feast took place.
For the sake of truth, it should be noted that the daughter of Herodias, who captivated Herod with her dance, is not named in any way in the gospels. Only non-gospel sources report that her
called Salome. We would also not have known the place of John's execution if Josephus had not told us that it happened in the border fortress of Macheron.
By the way, this Jewish historian, whose veracity we have had occasion to verify more than once, explains the causes of the tragedy in a different way. In his opinion, Herod was simply frightened by the growing popularity of the former hermit, who, with his passionate, angry sermons, earned himself the glory of a new prophet, almost a messiah. This popularity of his is reported, in particular, also by Luke: "... everyone thought in their hearts about John, whether he was not the Christ ..." (3:15).
The hysterical crowds of the common people who besieged John, brought to an extreme degree of exaltation, caused alarm, did not bode well. At any moment, riots could break out, ending, as a rule, with the armed intervention of Roman cohorts and the massacre of the fooled population. John's messianism was as dangerous to the existing order as the messianism of the self-appointed prophets and leaders of the people who preceded him. And among the oppressed and awaiting savior segments of the Jewish population, such moods reigned that Herod had every reason to fear John, and therefore he decided to eliminate him. However, this by no means excludes the feeling of personal revenge caused by sharp criticism from the daring newcomer from the desert.
What attracted the writer Flaubert to this gospel story? Woman. Of course, a woman. Not a prophet, with his fanaticism - Flaubert could not stand churchmen; not a tetrarch, that is, not a problem of power; and the position oriental woman in those distant times, her psychology, her insecurity even being at the top of the hierarchical ladder. Possessing everything, she is lonely, unhappy, vulnerable and at any moment can lose everything, including her life. Herodias is deeply unhappy. Flaubert is primarily interested in how Herodias solves the issue of her safety, by what means. Frans Herodias is a bitch. Flaubert's Herodias is an unfortunate single woman, a rejected wife, an intriguer and at the same time a victim. Actually everything female characters Flaubert - victims.
Passion and lust for power, vanity make her leave one brother for another, but soon she fails. The family did not work out, and she secret life from her husband - raising the daughter of Salome to manipulate in right time Herod. beautiful daughter as a means to achieve
goals. Deceit, vindictiveness, pride ... and fear. Fear of losing everything. Is this situation exceptional? Not at all. This eternal plot in the history of both East and West. Quite often, crowned cousins or even blood relatives enter into incestuous marriages for the sake of dynastic or "state" interests. Quite often it ends in hatred, bloodshed, betrayal, and it’s good if a civil war is not unleashed at the same time.
Titian (1490-1576) - Salome con la testa del Battista
The union of Herod and Herodias brings problems and gives rise to hatred for each other in them. But time works mainly against the woman, she grows old and finally loses interest in the eyes of her husband. Can a somewhat aged beauty come to terms with the loss of her influence on her husband-king, how power is slipping out of her hands, and soon the loss of life is also possible. She has nothing to choose from, any choice is a defeat: imprisonment and exile in the wilderness, poverty, oblivion, death. Weak person- would submit to fate, but Herodias strong in spirit woman. She is fighting. He fights with accessible and from time immemorial means familiar in the East - deceit, outward humility.
She wins the battle with the help of Salome - the head of John is on a platter in front of her, and loses the war - Herod will never forgive her the head of the prophet. The beheading of John's head will not solve her problems with her husband, not without reason in any source there is no
information about how her life ended.
As you know, when God wants to punish, he fulfills our desires. So is Salome, the princess of the Jews, beautiful and white, like a dove, or luminous in a clear dark night the moon, swore that her desires would be fulfilled by the gods. By the will of fate and chance, she happened to see Jokaan John the Baptist a dirty, shackled prophet, and lust for him to such an extent that she does not need anything else for any of the treasures of the world. And entangling the prophet with fine threads precious stones monologues, Salome receives in response only his curses, stinging her like balls of poisonous snakes. And the more he stigmatizes the depravity of her soul, the stronger the fire flares up in her, for "the secret of love is greater than the secret of death"
Al Pacino, not the first time shooting classics, apparently starving for juicy dramatic roles after films with endless mafia showdowns (by the way, "Finding Richard" was beautiful illustration of how grandiose he is as a Shakespearean actor), here material is taken on that is much more ungrateful and complex. Decadent, permeated from beginning to end with the theme of the inevitability of death, a play by Oscar Wilde, who, in principle, has no luck on screen adaptation, as if this is another curse that has befallen him, only posthumously, here he suddenly acquires full-fledged flesh and blood and becomes quite worthy of his eminent author.
Making a deliberately theatrical production, Pacino himself chooses Herod Antipas as characters, and on leading role invites Jessica Chastain, thereby bringing his idea to perfection. A fantastic actress, she fills not only the role, but the entire space of the play, every cell of it, and even when she is not on the screen, she is invisibly present in every frame. Whatever the characters talk about, they implicitly mean only her. The furious energy of Salome breaks through the screen and enslaves the viewer as well as all the characters in the play.
However, with all the accuracy and significance of Pacino's production, with one extremely simple director's decision, he shifts the emphasis in the play to the opposite, thereby completely changing the whole concept of the author's intention. Pacino transfers the culmination of the play programmed by Wilde from the moment Salome kisses the dead head of Iokaan to the “dance of the seven veils”, making it, however, the dance of one veil very short, stormy and sensual, when the viewer reacts to it in the same way as he himself devouring naked Salome with his eyes Herod. But it is impossible to resist the emotional onslaught caused by this dance, it obscures everything, thereby cutting off the first part of the play, where the message of violent carnal desire dominated rationality and the call of reason, as if with a sword of mad passions.
And therefore, the fulfillment by Herod of the promise given to him becomes not madness, but an indispensable condition, and no promised sapphires and beryls, as well as no fear of the death predicted to him by the prophet, can force him to dissuade Samolea from her reward, because there was no innocence or purity in her, so there is no wisdom in it. And now she mindlessly stands her ground, reveling in the power of her femininity and beauty. Beauty not glamorous and not imposed by fashion, but driven by that primordial instinct about which Mandelstam wrote, “when it were not for Elena, what would Troy be for you alone, Achaean men?”
And as they prove Greek myths, and modern myths only confirm that not love, but the promise of love is an even stronger weapon and a guiding star. Jokaan rejects Salome, but the promise of possession and the thirst for revenge will not give her peace until last breath, and under the shields of the soldiers who will crush this storm to death, Salome will still possessively press the bloodied head of the prophet to herself, and Herod will turn away in horror, because nothing frightens the rulers more than desires that they are unable to command.
STRING.
John the Baptist openly opposed this marriage. The prophet of God openly rebuked Herod for cohabiting with Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. After the Baptism of the Lord, Saint John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod Antipas. He did not stop reproaching Herod even after he was imprisoned in the fortress. Therefore, the prisoner was dangerous for Herodias and she was looking for a reason to deal with him.
Giotto, Feast at King Herod, 1320
CULMINATION.
On the day of his birth, Herod arranged a feast. There were many guests of honor from military leaders to the elders of Galilee. Herod asks to dance the daughter of Herodias - Salome ritual dance seven veils, with which a woman tells a man that she is in his power, Salome agrees for a reward that she will announce later. She performed an incendiary Syrian dance in front of the guests and pleased the birthday man. The guests, as if bewitched, looked after her - she was so beautiful, her movements were so light and graceful. They asked her to dance again and again.
And when Salome finished, the drunken Antipas exclaimed: “Ask me for whatever you want! I swear - everything you want will be yours, at least half of the kingdom !!!
He called those present to witness that he would swear to fulfill any wish of the princess. Salome decided to consult with her mother. The mother, hating the prophet for his words that he dared to say about her, suggested: "The head ... Demand the head of John! And that they bring it immediately!"
Salome, returning to the hall, said: “I ask for the head ... .. the head of John the Baptist himself”
And the guests fell silent. More recently, they admired Salome's dance. And now they were dumb with horror. Many of them were dishonorable people. They have done many bad things in their life. Yes, and John himself, many disliked. But kill the prophet! None of them would have dared to do this. Antipas' face darkened. The Prophet always inspired him with respect. However, Herod, wanting to keep his word given in front of distinguished guests, ordered the young girl to fulfill the request. John the Baptist was immediately beheaded and brought to Salome. And then the servants appeared with a large shiny dish. Recently, on those dishes, the same servants brought refreshments to the guests. Now on one of them lay the severed head of John. Salome took the terrible gift to her mother.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Herod's Feast, 1530
EPILOGUE.
God's wrath fell upon those who dared to destroy the prophet. In winter, on the Salome River, she fell through the ice. Her head, cut off by a sharp ice floe, was brought to Herod and Herodias, just as the head of St. John the Baptist, but her body was never found. The former father-in-law, the Arabian king Aretha, moved his troops against Herod and defeated him. The Roman emperor, in anger, exiled Herod along with Herodias to Spain, where they died.
Benozzo Gozzoli, The Dance of Salome at the Feast of King Herod and the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, 1461-1462
"Salome" Gaston Bussiere (1862-1929)
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dance-dance appeared in ancient times, and then he was treated with reverent respect. He served not for the entertainment of mere mortals, but for the delight of the gods. Revenge of the seven veils. Strip dancing. The Jews also had almei. The dancers were girls from noble families. They received excellent education and were highly respected. The gospel tells how the strip dance enchanted the children of Israel. In AD 39, at the birthday party of the Jewish king Herod, guests were entertained by his great-granddaughter, the dancer Salome. After the “dance of the seven veils”, which the beauty threw off one after another, the admiring king declared that he would give her everything she wanted. At the instigation of her mother, Salome demanded the head of John the Baptist. This request was granted. So Salome - perhaps for the first time in history - used striptease as a weapon of revenge. The strip dance began to transform from a sacred ritual into a source of personal gain for the performer.
Hans Memling, Altar of St. John the Baptist, 1474-1479
Salome. Bartolomeo Veneto
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Coins with her image have been preserved, dating back to the years. On the front side of the coins, her husband Aristobulus of Chalcis is depicted with the signature ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΡΙΣΤΟΒΟΥΛΟΥ ("King Aristobulus"), on the back - Salome with the signature ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣ ΣΑΛΟΜΗΣ ("Queen Salome").
Initially, Salome married her uncle, tetrarch Herod Philip II. After his death, she married her maternal cousin, Aristobulus, son of Herod of Chalcis; gave birth to him three sons: Herod, Agrippa and Aristobulus.
