Category:Goliath (subject)

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According to Jewish (Christian and Islamic) traditions, Goliath was a giant warrior defeated in battle by young David.

Overview

Goliath in ancient sources

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 (sources) -- survey of ancient sources

Goliath in Literature & the Arts

In Christian iconography, the victorious David is often portrayed "with the head of Goliath."

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.

• See Goliath--fiction (art, 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.

External links

• Wikipedia