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Salammbo is a fantasy 1862 novel by Gustave Flaubert and a 1988 play by Charles Ludlam based on that book. Salammbo was also very freely adapted for the Italian silent movie classic Cabiria in 1914, which was the first of many films to star the recurring character Maciste.
Flaubert's novel is set immediately before and during the revolt of its mercenary allies against Carthage in the third century BC.
The title character, a priestess and the daughter of Hamilcar, an aristocratic Carthaginian general, is the object of the obsessive lust of Matho, leader of the mercenaries.
Matho steals a sacred veil, the Zaimph, prompting Salammbo to enter the mercenaries' camp in an attempt to steal it back.
The book is largely an exercise in sensual exoticism.
Salammbô is an opera based on the novel, written by Ernest Reyer in 1890.
Salammbo was also the name of the fictitious opera portrayed in Orson Welles's 1941 film Citizen Kane. Kane's second wife, Susan Alexander, played the lead role in the opera.
Salammbô was the title of a science fiction comic books series by Phillippe Druillet.
Salammbo: Battle for Carthage is the title of a 2003 Windows game by Dreamcatcher Interactive. Its story is based on both Gustave Flaubert's and Phillipe Druillet's works. Phillippe did the artwork for this game.
External links
- Texts
- The famous sculpture 'Salammbo' (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/picture-of-month/displaypicture.asp?venue=7&id=25) at the Lady Lever Art Gallery (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/index.asp)
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