The survival of the pagan gods : the mythological tradition and its place in Renaissance humanism and art

The gods of Olympus died with the advent of Christianity--or so we have been taught to believe. But how are we to account for their tremendous popularity during the Renaissance? This illustrated book, now reprinted in a new, larger paperback format, offers the general reader first a discussion of mythology in late antiquity and the Middle Ages, and then a multifaceted look at the far-reaching role played by mythology in Renaissance intellectual and emotional life. The Times Literary Supplement Here is a book . . . that tells us what became of the gods after the fall of Rome, in what strange disguises they lived on, and how they emerged in the Quattrocento with odd attributes and symbols the ancients never knew. . . . It is a formidable task, demanding vast learning in many fields; and it is brilliantly performed. "The gods of Olympus died with the advent of Christianity - or so we have been taught to believe. But how are we to account for their tremendous popularity during the Renaissance? This illustrated book, now reprinted in a new, larger paperback format, offers the general reader a multifaceted look at the far-reaching role played by mythology in Renaissance intellectual and emotional life. After a discussion of mythology in late antiquity and the Middle Ages, Jean Seznec traces the fate of the gods from Botticelli and Raphael to their function and appearance in Ronsard's verses and Ben Jonson's masques."--BOOK JACKET The gods of Olympus died with the advent of Christianity - or so we have been taught to believe. This title offers the general reader first a discussion of mythology in late antiquity and the Middle Ages, and then a multifaceted look at the far-reaching role played by mythology in Renaissance intellectual and emotional life.