The Salome Project: Salome and Her Afterlives
Ebook
We are not even sure of her name: it might have been Salome; it might have been Herodias, like that of her mother. She appears very briefly in only two Gospels of the New Testament, to dance at the birthday party of her mother's husband, Herod, the ruler of Galilee. We do not even know what kind of dance it was, but we are told that it pleased him so much he promised to give her anything she asked for. What she asked for was the head of the prophet John the Baptist on a platter. Although she disappeared from the pages of the New Testament, Salome and her dance have puzzled, intrigued, and dominated the imaginations of artists and writers for two millennia. Was she just a little girl doing a dance performance to please her stepfather and his guests? Was she a nubile teenager bent on seduction? Was she a femme fatale who aimed at the death of a man she could not possess? The Salome Project is the result of a quest to answer these questions and find the real Salome.
“In this book, Streete, a scholar of early Christianity, who has
"dared to dip her toe" into the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the
Reformation, and beyond, takes us on a fast paced and insightful
tour into literary, historical, art historical and feminist
questions concerning Salome, daughter of Herodias. Here we find
Salome the seductress, the innocent child, the lesbian, the
vampire, and more. A fascinating and entertaining entry into this
story and its afterlives.”
—Shelly Matthews, Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity
School
“This is a delightful and engaging journey thorough the story of
Salome and its many permutations, ancient and modern. A judicious
historian and careful reader, Streete sifts through layers of
tradition and speculation, and collects a wide array of
interpretations of Salome from various genres, media, and
periods.”
—Susan Hylen, Candler School of Theology
“Gail Streete takes us on a marvelous journey through the
tales of the biblical Salome and their many retellings in art,
literature, and accounts in Christian writings. This book offers an
engaging scholarly account of one of the most layered biblical
stories. Streete presents the evidence and the imaginative
gap-filling. . . Streete shows us a multifaceted and multi-named
Salome, in the company of Esther, Judith, Jael and Jezebel, just in
time for the #metoo movement.”
—Tina Pippin, Professor of Bible and Religion, Agnes Scott
College
Product Details
- Title : The Salome Project: Salome and Her Afterlives
- Author: Streete, Gail P.
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Publication Date: 2018
- ISBN: 9781498244718
Gail P. Streete is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee. Streete is the author of Her Image of Salvation (1992), The Strange Woman (1997), and Redeemed Bodies (2009).