"John the Baptist"

Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee under the Roman Empire, had imprisoned John the Baptist because he had criticized Herod for divorcing his wife (Phasaelis of Nabataea) and unlawfully taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip I. On Herod's birthday, Herodias' daughter danced before the king and his guests, pleasing Herod so much that he promised her anything she desired. When Salome asked her mother what she should request, she was told to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Although Herod was appalled by the request, he reluctantly agreed and had John executed by beheading in the prison.