Heroine of one of the books of the
Apocrypha. Her story goes like this:
The Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar sent his chief general Holofernes to lead an army west to Judaea. On the way, Holofernes plundered numerous towns, so that news of his approach reached across the land. Despite a warning from one soldier that the people of the western lands were defended by God, Holofernes planned to capture the small Jewish town of Bethulia.
Hearing of Holofernes' plot, Judith, a widowed resident of Bethulia, put on her vamp costume and entered the Assyrian camp, purporting to be a spy against the Jewish people. She charmed Holofernes, and promised to tell him how to destroy the Jews: but when Holofernes became drunk at a celebration, she followed him into his tent and cut off his head.
Thrown into chaos by the death of their leader, the Assyrian army was easily defeated by the Jews of Bethulia, who celebrated Judith's bravery and resourcefulness. Judith never remarried, but was celebrated for the rest of her life as the heroine of Bethulia.