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

(Paperback, Revised and Expanded Edition)

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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.

Reviews

"This is a sumptuously illustrated book, in which the pictures are well married to the text. It makes an illuminating way into patristic theology and the religions of the first six centuries."--Leslie Holden, Theology "Mathews's argument is convincing. In his determination to challenge and overturn a long-held theory, he does not allow his chameleon Christ, who is both man and woman, magician and god, any role as Christ the king. The pendulum may swing back, but not on the same course again. This book has cleared the way for new understandings of the iconography of Christ. It should stimulate a reconsideration of stereotyped readings of other images and in other periods."--Ann Moffatt, Parergon

Author Bio

Thomas F. Mathews is John Langeloth Loeb Professor of the History of Art at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. Among his most recent books is Byzantium from Antiquity to the Renaissance (1998).