The Dancer Whose Dance Led to the Beheading of John the Baptist in the New Testament
The New Testament records that at King Herod’s birthday feast a young woman danced for the guests, and Herod, delighted, swore to grant her any request; egged on by her mother Herodias, she asked for the head of John the Baptist, and Herod, though troubled, ordered the execution and had John’s head brought to her on a platter. The New Testament text does not directly name her; the name "Salome" comes from the record of the contemporary Jewish historian Josephus, and later literature and art (such as Oscar Wilde’s play) elaborated on it heavily, departing from the original biblical account.
Herodias, resentful that John the Baptist had condemned her marriage to Herod as unlawful, seized the moment when her daughter’s dance had won Herod’s favor at his birthday feast to have her ask for John’s head. Though troubled, Herod, having sworn publicly, could not go back on his word, and had John beheaded in prison, his head brought on a platter to the girl and passed on to her mother.
The New Testament text does not directly name this young woman; the name "Salome" comes from the record of the contemporary Jewish historian Josephus, and later literature and art (Oscar Wilde’s play of the same name, Richard Strauss’s opera of the same name) elaborated on it heavily, departing considerably from the original biblical account; the "Who they are" section here clearly distinguishes the biblical record from the later literary adaptation.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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