The name of Salome, who captivated Tsar Herod with her dance and asked for the head of John the Baptist as a reward, means "peaceful," "calm" in Russian, which does not coincide with the centuries-old reputation of this fatal woman. Nezhinskaya's book traces the history of the emergence of the myth of Salome and the transformation of her image, as well as the formation and change of attitudes towards this New Testament character in different eras depending on the prevailing ideas about gender roles in society.