What relation to King Herod was Salome?
Herod Antipas uses her long-concealed daughter, Salome, to manipulate Herod sexually for her own political purposes. This conceit (original with Flaubert) inspired Oscar Wilde's play "Salome" (1891), the first version of the legend to show Salome with a will of her own, opposing her mother and lusting after John the Baptist herself. Naive and puzzled by her stepfather's lascivious attentions, the young girl arouses Herod in order to avenge herself on the prophet who has refused her advances. Flaubert's novella was turned into an opera by Jules Massenet (1881) in which Salome, ignorant of her royal parentage, becomes a disciple of the
Salome Dancing before Herod of King Herod's daughter is not stated in the New Testament, but it is Salome according to Flavius Josephus' "Antiquities of the Jews". Salome became widely known as a through the centuries, and has inspired numerous artists. The subject has become fashionable in the late 19th century, this work of art, along with Moreau's series, sparked a Salome craze lasting into the 20th century, permeating all forms of art. Oscar Wilde also wrote in 1891 a play titled "Salome". Salome Dancing before Herod Salome Dancing before Herod () is an oil painting produced in 1876 by the French Symbolist artist