Salome, siostra Heroda Wielkiego - jej życie i działalność

Abstract

Undoubtedly, Salome, Herod the Great’s sister was one of the most prominent women figures in the Herodian dynasty. Her personality had a strong influence over the events during the historic period from 37 to 4 B.C. With few exceptional cases, she always loyally supported her brother helping him out many times in difficult situations. She was very successful at discovering plots against Herod the Great. Unfortunately, she was also a skillful intriguer who removed inconvenient people ruthlessly out of her way. The analysis of her deeds leads to the conclusion that her main goal, apart from securing her brother’s wellbeing, was a fight with the Hasmonean dynasty, and its most conspicuous manifestation was the conflict with Mariamme I, Herod’s wife. The fact was that Salome had a strong personality and she was capable of confronting Herod the Great’s will, which was the case with the planned marriage with Syllaeus. Salome is even more fascinating for the historian because she evades any established criteria of evaluation and she may not be viewed exclusively in a negative or positive perspective.