Making and breaking the gods : Christian responses to pagan sculpture in Late Antiquity / Troels Myrup Kristensen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kristensen, Troels Myrup, author.

Series:

Aarhus studies in Mediterranean antiquity ; 12.

Aarhus studies in Mediterranean antiquity (ASMA) ; 12

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sculpture, Ancient.

Paganism in art.

Christian art and symbolism.

Christianity and other religions--Paganism.

Christianity and other religions.

Paganism--Relations--Christianity.

Paganism.

Art and society--History--To 1500.

Art and society.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Aarhus : Aarhus University Press, [2013]

Summary:

The basic premise of the book at hand is that there is meaning to be 'excavated' (in both meanings of the word) from Christian responses to pagan sculpture in the period from the fourth to the sixth century. More than mindless acts of religious violence by fanatical mobs, these responses are revelatory of contemporary conceptions of images and the different ways in which the material manifestations of the pagan past could be negotiated in Late Antiquity. Statues were important to the social, political and religious life of cities across the Mediterranean, as well as part of a culture of representation that was intricately bound to bodily taxonomies and visual practices

Contents:

Making and breaking the gods: from Roman visual practices to Christian response

The semantics of Christian response: pagan sculpture in the sacred spaces of Egypt

Re-imagining idols: Christian responses to pagan sculpture in the urban spaces of the near east

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-288) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

87-7124-412-3

OCLC:

1372413651