The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art - Revised and Expanded Edition

✍ Scribed by Thomas F. Mathews

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 250
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Between the third and sixth centuries, the ancient gods, goddesses, and heroes who had populated the imagination of humankind for a millennium were replaced by a new imagery of Christ and his saints. Thomas Mathews explores the many different, often surprising, artistic images and religious interpretations of Christ during this period. He challenges the accepted theory of the "Emperor Mystique," which, interpreting Christ as king, derives the vocabulary of Christian art from the propagandistic imagery of the Roman emperor. This revised edition contains a new preface by the author and a new chapter on the origin and development of icons in private domestic cult.

✦ Table of Contents

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREFACE
CHAPTER ONE The Mistake of the Emperor Mystique
CHAPTER TWO The Chariot and the Donkey
CHAPTER THREE The Magician
CHAPTER FOUR Larger-than-Life
CHAPTER FIVE Christ Chameleon
CHAPTER SIX Convergence
CHAPTER SEVEN The Intimate Icon
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
NOTES
LIST OF FIGURES
INDEX