Scholarship has tended to assume that Luther was uninterested in the Greek and Latin classics, given his promotion of the German vernacular and his polemic against the reliance upon Aristotle in theology. But as Athens and Wittenberg demonstrates, Luther was shaped by the classical education he had received and integrated it into his writings. He could quote Epicurean poetry to non-Epicurean ends; he could employ Aristotelian logic to prove the limits of philosophy's role in theology. This volume explores how Luther and early Protestantism, especially Lutheranism, continued to draw from the classics in their quest to reform the church. In particular, it examines how early Protestantism made use of the philosophy and poetry from classical antiquity. Contributors include: Joseph Herl, Jane Schatkin Hettrick, E.J. Hutchinson, Jack D. Kilcrease, E. Christian Kopf, John G. Nordling, Piergiacomo Petrioli, Eric G. Phillips, Richard J. Serina, Jr, R. Alden Smith, Carl P.E. Springer, Manfred Svensson, William P. Weaver, and Daniel Zager.

In Cicero in Heaven: The Roman Rhetor and Luther's Reformation, Carl Springer traces the historical outlines of Cicero's rhetorical legacy, paying special attention to the momentous impact that he had on Luther, his colleagues at the University of Wittenberg, and later Lutherans. While the revival of interest in Cicero's rhetoric is more often associated with the Renaissance than with the Reformation, it would be a mistake to overlook the important role that Luther and other reformers played in securing Cicero's place in the curricula of schools in modern Europe (and America). Luther's attitude towards Cicero was complex, and the final chapter of the book discusses negative reactions to Cicero in the Reformation and the centuries that followed.