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

by Thomas F. Mathews

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691246994
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	156 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

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).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Ch. 1	The Mistake of the Emperor Mystique	3
Ch. 2	The Chariot and the Donkey	23
Ch. 3	The Magician	54
Ch. 4	Larger-than-Life	92
Ch. 5	Christ Chameleon	115
Ch. 6	Convergence	142
Ch. 7	The Intimate Icon	177
List of Abbreviations	181
Notes	183
List of Figures	205
Index	213

What People are Saying About This

G. W. Bowersock

Not only does Mathews present bold arguments that I find persuasive, but his book is exciting to read. He removes the images of Christ from the iconography of the emperor and puts them into the far more plausible context of late antique teachers and wonder-workers.

Hugo Buchthal

This book presents an up-to-date and original survey of Early Christian art and its origins, and attacks the current idea of continuity between the Roman emperor cult and the art of the early church. Conservative readers may well be shocked by this lucid but utterly unconventional presentation of an often treated subject. I find Thomas Mathews's work convincing and impressive.

From the Publisher

"This book presents an up-to-date and original survey of Early Christian art and its origins, and attacks the current idea of continuity between the Roman emperor cult and the art of the early church. Conservative readers may well be shocked by this lucid but utterly unconventional presentation of an often treated subject. I find Thomas Mathews's work convincing and impressive."—Hugo Buchthal

"Not only does Mathews present bold arguments that I find persuasive, but his book is exciting to read. He removes the images of Christ from the iconography of the emperor and puts them into the far more plausible context of late antique teachers and wonder-workers."—G. W. Bowersock

Editorial Reviews

"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

"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

From the Publisher

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.

Parergon - Ann Moffatt

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.

Theology - Leslie Holden

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

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