Ancient Magic and the Supernatural in the Modern 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?

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.

Filippo Carla is Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter, UK.

Irene Berti is Research Fellow at the Ruprecht Karls Universitat, Heidelberg, Germany, and a member of the Collaborative Research Centre 'Material Text Cultures, Materiality and Presence of Writing in Non-Typographic Societies'.