The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Bible, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Similar allusions are contained in the Old Testament books of Ezekiel and Zechariah, written about six centuries prior. Though the text only provides a name for the fourth horseman, subsequent commentary often identifies them as personifications of Conquest (Zelus), War (Ares), Famine (Limos), and Death (Thanatos).
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov. From left to right are Death, Famine, War, and Conquest; the Lamb is at the top.
The first Horseman of the Apocalypse as depicted in the Bamberg Apocalypse (1000–1020). The first "living creature" (with halo) is seen in the upper right.
Albrecht Dürer, Knight, Death and the Devil, 1513
The second Horseman, War on the Red Horse, as depicted in a thirteenth-century Apocalypse manuscript
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921 American silent epic war film produced by Metro Pictures Corporation and directed by Rex Ingram. Based on the 1916 Spanish novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, it was adapted for the screen by June Mathis. The film stars Pomeroy Cannon, Josef Swickard, Bridgetta Clark, Rudolph Valentino, Wallace Beery, and Alice Terry.
Tchernoff (Nigel de Brulier) shows Julio (Valentino) and his manservant (Bowditch M. Turner) the Four Horsemen.
The tango sequence with Valentino dancing with Beatrice Dominguez
The affair between Julio (Valentino) and Marguerite (Terry) was considered scandalous by many for its time, as Marguerite was married to Etienne Laurier (St. Polis).