Category:Goliath (subject)
According to Jewish (Christian and Islamic) traditions, Goliath was a giant warrior defeated in battle by young David.
Overview
The fight between David and Goliath is described in the Hebrew Bible (1 Samuel 17) and, more briefly, in the Koran (Al-Baqarah 2:249-51). The episode is often mentioned and commented in Jewish, Christian and Islamic literature.
Goliath, in literature 7 the arts
In Christian iconography, the victorious David is often portrayed "with the head of Goliath"; see David.
More rare are representations and accounts of the actual fight between David and Goliath in the arts (Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio), as well as in literature and cinema.
Goliath the Hero
In popular culture the name Goliath has always been associated with power and strength.
Golia (=Goliath) is a brand of licorice gummy candies made in Italy since 1945 and now commercialized internationally by the Perfetti Van Melle company.
The metamorphosis of the Biblical Goliath from villain to superhero happened in the 1950s after the success of the movie Hercules (1958). Suddenly, Goliath also took a life of his own in a series of Italian movies, which were completely detached from the biblical account and had different historical and geographical settings. Goliath joined the company of Hercules, Maciste, and Samson as muscular superheroes fighting in exotic, ancient locations.
- Golia contro i giganti / Goliath Against the Giants (1960)
- Golia e la schiava ribelle / Goliath and the Rebel Slave (aka The Tyrant of Lydia vs. The Son of Hercules) (1963)
- Golia e il cavaliere mascherato / Goliath and the Masked Rider (aka Hercules and the Masked Rider) (1964)
- Golia alla conquista di Bagdad / Goliath at the Conquest of Baghdad (aka Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus) (1964)
It worked so well that in those years the American market also found convenient to turn into Goliath-movies four Italian films that originally had other protagonists:
- Il terrore dei barbari / Goliath and the Barbarians (1959)
- La vendetta di Ercole / Goliath and the Dragon (1960)
- Maciste e i vampiri / Goliath and the Vampires (1961)
- Maciste e i peccati di Babilonia / Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (1963)
In 1967 an animated series by Hanna Barbera (Young Samson & Goliath) featured two superheroes with magic powers--a young boy named Samson and his dog Goliath.
Goliath, in ancient sources
External links
Pages in category "Goliath (subject)"
The following 13 pages are in this category, out of 13 total.
1
- The Shepherd King (1923 Edwards), film
- David and Bathsheba (1951 King), feature film
- Saul e David (1964 Baldi), film
- The Story of David (1976 Rich, Segal), film
- Greatest Heroes of the Bible: David & Goliath (1978 Conway), TV episode
- The Greatest Adventure: David and Goliath (1985 Patterson), animated TV short film
- David and Goliath (1986 Benagh), novel
- David and Saul (1996 Hurst), animation
Media in category "Goliath (subject)"
This category contains only the following file.
- 1960 Baldi (film).jpg 214 × 317; 27 KB