Religion: ‘Samson and Delilah’—an oil on wood painting by Peter Paul Rubens, 1609-10.

In the classic tale from the Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, Samson is an Israelite of great physical strength. He confides in his lover, Delilah, that the secret of his strength is his long hair, which has never been cut since the day he was born. Delilah—perhaps one of history’s first ‘femmes fatales’—betrays Samson by informing his enemies.

In this famous scene, Samson is asleep in the lap of his mistress who urges two accomplices to cut Samson’s hair with the scissors she wields.

His hair cut and strength diminished, Samson is overpowered and arrested by the soldiers at the door. But when he is taken in chains to a temple feast, Samson pushes over two great pillars causing the entire temple to fall down, killing everyone inside, including himself.

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Pictures From History