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The collected essays in this volume focus on the presentation,
representation and interpretation of ancient violence – from war
to slavery, rape and murder – in the modern visual and performing
arts, with special attention to videogames and dance as well as the
more usual media of film, literature and theatre. Violence, fury
and the dread that they provoke are factors that appear frequently
in the ancient sources. The dark side of antiquity, so distant from
the ideal of purity and harmony that the classical heritage until
recently usually called forth, has repeatedly struck the
imagination of artists, writers and scholars across ages and
cultures. A global assembly of contributors, from Europe to Brazil
and from the US to New Zealand, consider historical and mythical
violence in Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus and the 2010 TV series of
the same name, in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, in the work of Lars
von Trier, and in Soviet ballet and the choreography of Martha
Graham and Anita Berber. Representations of Roman warfare appear in
videogames such as Ryse: Son of Rome and Total War, as well as
recent comics, and examples from both these media are analysed in
the volume. Finally, interviews with two artists offer insight into
the ways in which practitioners understand and engage with the
complex reception of these themes.
Ancient Magic and the Supernatural in the Modern Visual and
Performing Arts examines the impact of ancient religious,
mythological and magical models on modern mentalities and
ideologies as expressed in the visual and performing arts.To what
extent did mythological figures such as Circe and Medea influence
the representation of the powerful "oriental" enchantress in modern
Western art? What role did the ancient gods and heroes play in the
construction of the imaginary worlds of the modern fantasy genre?
What is the role of undead creatures like zombies and vampires in
mythological films? The heroes, gods and demons of the ancient
world always played a prominent role in the post-classical
imagination.Similarly, the great adventures and the love affairs
between gods and mortals have always influenced the reception of
Classical culture and still features prominently in modern
constructions of antiquity. Examples such the use of magic in
Medea's myth as a symbol of cultural and political strangeness, the
transformation of Circe in a femme fatale, the reshaping of the
oriental cults of the Roman Empire as a menace to new-born
Christianity and the revival and adaptation of ancient myths and
religion in the arts provide an important backdrop for the
exploration of contemporary fears, hopes and ideals across
centuries. The volume further aims to deconstruct certain scholarly
traditions by proposing original interdisciplinary approaches and
collaborations and to show to what extent the visual and performing
arts of different periods interlink and shape cultural and social
identities.This book offers an original approach to different media
- from comics to film, from painting to opera - by authors from
different fields and countries. The volume provides the reader with
a clear insight into mechanisms of re-elaboration and reception
which can be steadily seen at work in artistic and commercial
productions. It also supplies new approaches to the most debated
questions of the relationship between magic, religion and
superstition in the ancient and in the modern worlds. It shows and
discusses the shifting and biased interpretations of these concepts
in modern visual culture.
The collected essays in this volume focus on the presentation,
representation and interpretation of ancient violence - from war to
slavery, rape and murder - in the modern visual and performing
arts, with special attention to videogames and dance as well as the
more usual media of film, literature and theatre. Violence, fury
and the dread that they provoke are factors that appear frequently
in the ancient sources. The dark side of antiquity, so distant from
the ideal of purity and harmony that the classical heritage until
recently usually called forth, has repeatedly struck the
imagination of artists, writers and scholars across ages and
cultures. A global assembly of contributors, from Europe to Brazil
and from the US to New Zealand, consider historical and mythical
violence in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus and the 2010 TV series of
the same name, in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, in the work of Lars von
Trier, and in Soviet ballet and the choreography of Martha Graham
and Anita Berber. Representations of Roman warfare appear in
videogames such as Ryse: Son of Rome and Total War, as well as
recent comics, and examples from both these media are analysed in
the volume. Finally, interviews with two artists offer insight into
the ways in which practitioners understand and engage with the
complex reception of these themes.
To what extent did mythological figures such as Circe and Medea
influence the representation of the powerful 'oriental' enchantress
in modern Western art? What role did the ancient gods and heroes
play in the construction of the imaginary worlds of the modern
fantasy genre? What is the role of undead creatures like zombies
and vampires in mythological films? Looking across the millennia,
from the distrust of ancient magic and oriental cults, which
threatened the new-born Christian religion, to the revival and
adaptation of ancient myths and religion in the arts centuries
later, this book offers an original analysis of the reception of
ancient magic and the supernatural, across a wide variety of
different media - from comics to film, from painting to opera.
Working in a variety of fields across the globe, the authors of
these essays deconstruct certain scholarly traditions by proposing
original interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations, showing
to what extent the visual and performing arts of different periods
interlink and shape cultural and social identities.
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