[OpiumTales] Salome was one of the most famous femme fatales in history.
King Herod
| …Herod Antipas (~20BC - ~40AD), son of Herod the Great and his second wife, Malthake, his actual Roman title was tetrarch, but the New Testament calls him a king, like his father … |
was unlawfully married to Herodias, his brother’s
| …Herod II (27BC - 33AD) son of Herod the Great and his fourth wife, Mariamne II, so half-brother. For a while he was his father’s heir apparent, until Pops changed his mind… |
wife. John the Baptist warned Herod that their marriage is unlawful and adulterous.
Which made Herodias hate John the Baptist with all her entire black heart.
Well, it’s now King Herod’s birthday. And they throw one heck of a party.
Salome, Herodias’s gorgeous daughter, dances for King Herod at the party.
| Beautiful but historically inaccurate paintings at the link, which are really the point of the post.. |
She dances so well that King Herod promised to give her anything she wanted. Salome had no idea what to ask for so she asked her mother. And her mother told her to ask for John the Baptist’s head.
So King Herod reluctantly ordered John the Baptist’s head for Salome. |