The artists of the Renaissance often drew inspiration from Biblical legend and classical mythology to depict scenes of good triumphing over evil. St. George slaying the Dragon and the Virgin Mary standing on the head of the Serpent are two well-known examples.

One of the most often portrayed, though little known stories is that of the violent assasination of the Assyrian conquerer Holofernes. Graphic, gruesome detail combined with dramatic use of light and shadow and the masterful technique of that era produced some of the most startlingly memorable paintings in Western culture.

The Book of Judith, which describes this tale, was perhaps the first historical novel and is not a part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Christian Era, it was included in the Roman Catholic Old Testament. In centuries past, it was an often told parable which some believe to be based in historical fact.

This is the literary inspiration behind these magnificent paintings.

In the years preceding 160 BC, the armies of Nebuchadnezzar extended their dominance to the East and West in wars of conquest from the land of Assyria. The general Holofernes commanded a legion westward toward the Mediterranean Sea.

The vastness of the invading host was compared to a sea of locusts, and struck terror into all in its path. At last Holofernes came to prepare for his advance on Jerusalem, but in his path lay the City of Bethulia, which was built upon a commanding height in the hill country. The general gave orders that it should be surrounded and laid siege to. From the city walls, the people of Bethulia looked down upon an army of 120,000 foot-soldiers and 12,000 men at arms on horseback.

At that time, a newly widowed young girl of Bethulia named Judith was deep in prayer and mourning over the loss of her husband. As the seven days of mourning ended, the girl prayed for deliverance from the Assyrian invaders, and she conceived a plan to defeat them.

Judith shed her cloaks of mourning and dressed in her finest clothes and jewelry. With her handmaiden to accompany her, she fled the city and came to present herself to the Assyrian soldiers at the front line of the siege. The girl explained how she could assist them in capturing the difficult hill country without the loss of a single soldier, by her knowledge of hidden paths.

A formation of 100 men was commanded to escort Judith to the lavish tents of Holofernes, where he welcomed her graciously. The girl prostrated herself on the ground before Holofernes, pledging her undying fealty to him and to Nebuchadnezzar the Assyrian king. Judith explained that in her eyes, her people had become sinful and deserved nothing less than to be defeated by his hand.

She vowed, "'I will lead you through Judaea until you come to Jerusalem; there I will set your throne. You will drive them like sheep that have no shepherd, and no dog will so much as growl at you.'

The general was filled with lust for her beauty and Impressed by her oaths of allegiance. He bid his soldiers to make a place for her among them.

She had stayed among the Assyrians for four days when Holofernes sent his eunuch, who had been Judith's overseer, to bring her to a great feast in the General's tent. Judith made obeisance at Holofernes' feet and her handmaiden laid animal skins on the ground beside him where Judith sat and shared in the feast.

Holofernes fell more and more deeply under the girl's spell, remarking often upon her beauty and wisdom. He reveled in the feast as never before, eating much, and drinking even more. When the night's pleasures were come to an end, the servants and waiters took to their beds, and the general's guard was stationed outside the tent with the flaps closed, to grant their commander privacy with Judith.

Holofernes, who had dreamt of a moment alone with the seductress since first setting eyes upon her, but now drunk with wine, laid down upon his bed. Bereft of his strength and cunning, he closed his eyes, his head thrown back, mouth agape.

Judith seized the moment she had been waiting for. She drew Holofernes' short, curved sword from its scabbard where it hung upon the bed-pillar. She grabbed the hair of the sleeping tyrant in her fist and struck twice at his neck with the razor-sharp blade. The first blow silenced him forever, and the second hacked his head off completely. Holofernes lifeless corpse fell heavily from the bed onto the floor. Judith and her handmaiden stole away into the shadows with the decapitated head wrapped in a cloth bag.

Judith returned in stealth to her city and urged that the army of Bethulia should gather at dawn to attack the enemy. The butchered head was placed on the point of a spear on a parapet at the city gate. When the Assyrian guards saw the army that was gathering against them, they sent word to rouse their general Holofernes from his slumber. They found his headless corpse, dead by a woman's hand, and were seized by panic and confusion. The far smaller army of Bethulia fell upon them and slaughtered the invading army.

Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio