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I'm certain almost all of my readers remember seeing the wonderful Cecil B. DeMille spectacular “Samson and Delilah” starring Hedy Lamar and Victor Mature. I had the occasion to revisit the film recently and it precipitated my finally writing this paper that I had been planning for some time.
The epic's biblical account of Samson and Delilah immortalized Samson's heroic service to God and his rejection of the beautiful and lyrical Delilah, which eventually proved to be their undoing. Delilah, so very much in love with the handsome and powerful Samson, could not accept his rejection. She cunningly learned the secret of Samson's strength, his great mane of hair. Then, in a pact with the evil Roman, Saran, she promised to deliver the fugitive Samson, so long as not a drop of his blood would be shed. Beguiling Samson into drinking drugged wine, Delilah sheared his hair, thereby depriving him of his extraordinary strength. But Delilah had been double-crossed. Samson was captured, blinded, and imprisoned under forced-labor for life. Still, Delilah continued to visit the hapless Samson in his prison where Samson, in a prayer of contrition, was redeemed and his strength restored.
In the final scene, Samson was taken to the coliseum to be publicly ridiculed. Delilah tauntingly whipped him and lead him to the great columns supporting the huge structure. Samson positioned himself to push the columns down. He called out to be sure Delilah had gotten away. But Delilah was hiding behind him, not fleeing as planned. Samson pushed the columns off their bases and they were then all destroyed.
The story of Samson and Delilah is reminiscent of the enduring story of Narcissus and Echo. A man and a woman locked