But Salome Alexandra, his brother's widow, who released him from prison on the death of her husband and married him, was connected with the Pharisees through her brother Simon ben Shetach.
The frescoes in the choir, with scenes from the life of St John the Baptist and St Stephen, are by Fra Filippo Lippi (1456-1466) and are his best work; the dance of Salome and the lying in state of St Stephen are the finest of the series.
In 1893 the licenser of plays refused a licence to Wilde's Salome, but it was produced in French in Paris by Sarah Bernhardt in 1894.
The accession of his widow Salome Alexandra (78-69) witnessed a complete reversal of the policy pursued by Jannaeus, for she chose to rule in accordance with the ideals of the Pharisees.
Berenice, daughter of Salome, sister of Herod I., and wife of her cousin Aristobulus, who was assassinated in 6 B.C. Their relations had been unhappy and she was accused of complicity in his murder.
