Holofernes

Holofernes was an invading general of Nebuchadnezzar, which appears in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith.

Related Topics:
Nebuchadnezzar - Deuterocanonical - Book of Judith

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Nebuchadrezzar dispatched Holofernes to take vengeance on the nations of the west who had withheld their assistance to his reign. Holofernes proceeds to attack Bethulia, a Jewish city, which was close to surrender until it was saved by Judith, a beautiful Jewish widow. Judith entered the camp of Holofernes and ingratiated herself with him. Judith then beheaded Holofernes while he was drunk. She returned to Bethulia with the decapitated head, and the Jews subsequently defeated the attacking enemy. Given that the Book of Judith is generally considered to be a work of, or possibly inspired by fiction, Holofernes may probably be a fictional character, not a historical person.

Related Topics:
Bethulia - Jew - Beheaded - Fiction

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The beheading of Holofernes by Judith was a subject for several works of art by such names as Donatello, Sandro Botticelli, Andrea Mantegna, Giorgione, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Caravaggio, Horace Vernet and Gustav Klimt. Their story also inspired a medieval Old English poem, Mozart's opera Betulia Liberata, a play by Abraham Goldfaden, and an operetta by Jacob Pavlovitch Adler.

Related Topics:
Donatello - Sandro Botticelli - Andrea Mantegna - Giorgione - Lucas Cranach the Elder - Caravaggio - Horace Vernet - Gustav Klimt - Medieval - Old English - Poem - Mozart - Opera - Betulia Liberata - Play - Abraham Goldfaden - Operetta - Jacob Pavlovitch Adler

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Holofernes is also the name of a character from Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost.

Related Topics:
Shakespeare - Love's Labour's Lost

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