Salome the princess
Daughter of Herodias, her languorous dance for the birthday of Herod is the pretext taken by her mother to ask for the head of John the Baptist.[1] Herod soon comes to despise her[2] and states this openly and harshly when she comes to complain about being turned away by Jesus.
Character and Appearance
A pretty silhouette of a veiled little girl. She runs, light as a butterfly.
"Salome, as if she were possessed by a demon, is shaken by such eroticism that would degrade even a slave girl. The Royal palace stinks more than a sewer."[3]
Apostolic Journey
At the 3rd Passover, she comes to provoke Jesus then in the palace of Chuza, near that of Herod. She is firmly turned away:
"«You approach even lepers…» [...] «They are diseased. You are a wanton girl. Go away!»"[4]
Her Name
Salome, like Solomon, comes from Shalom and means "the peaceful one".
Where is she mentioned in the work?
Learn More About This Character
This descendant of both the Maccabees (Asmoneans) and the Idumeans, married one of her uncles: Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea, 30 years her senior (to be distinguished from his father, (Herod Philip, the first husband of Herodias)) then Aristobulus, son of Herod, king of Chalcis, her first cousin.