The Sistine Secrets by Benjamin Blech

Author:Benjamin Blech
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

Judith and Holofernes spandrel, northeastern corner of the chapel. See Fig. 9 in the insert.

David and Goliath spandrel, southeastern corner of the chapel. See Fig. 10 in the insert.

First, let’s quickly review the stories.

The book of Judith is from the Apocrypha, the collection of religious stories canonized in the Catholic Bible but not in the Jewish one, but nevertheless important to both faiths. The Apocrypha thus serves as a bridge between the two religions, something that would obviously have been greatly appreciated by Michelangelo. The book of Judith is linked by Jewish tradition to the book of Maccabees, which relates the war of religious liberation fought by Judah Maccabee against the Greco-Assyrian Hellenists, a victory today celebrated as the story of Hanukkah. Judith is a beautiful Jewish widow, defenseless in her city, Bethulia, in Israel as Holofernes prepares to annihilate it as a first step toward destroying Jerusalem. The terrified populace declares a public fast and prays for the Almighty’s deliverance. Judith plots a daring strategy; she adorns herself in her most enticing finery and leaves the city, accompanied only by her trusted handmaiden, entirely unarmed. Unarmed, that is, except for her faith, beauty, and wisdom. They are quickly stopped by Holofernes’ soldiers, who would surely have raped and killed them both but for Judith’s offer to submit sexually to Holofernes, as well as to provide him with secret information that will help the Hellenist army take the city without losing a single man. This convinces the armed men to take the two women directly to the tent of their leader. He immediately is seduced by Judith’s great beauty and charm. Holofernes declares an anticipatory victory celebration for his men, and a private erotic dinner for two in his tent. Judith makes him and his bodyguards drink so many toasts to the destruction of the Jews that they all pass out. She then prays for strength and, using Holofernes’ own battle sword, cuts off his head while he lies unconscious on his bed. She and her handmaiden then conceal the head in a basket and bring it back to their city. She displays it to her people, who rejoice and regain their spirit. The head is then hung on the front wall of the city. When the Greco-Assyrian troops see their leader’s head thus impaled, they lose all courage and flee. The Jews pursue them and vanquish them so completely that it takes several days to collect all the spoils of battle from the once-mighty Hellenistic army.

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