Recreating Ancient History: Episodes from the Greek and Roman Past in the Arts and Literature of the Early Modern Period

This volume deals with the question: how did scholars and artists in the early modern period represent, or rather, recreate (Greek and Roman) history? It appears that ancient history was not just studied so as to reconstruct the past, it was used as a way of understanding and legitimizing the present. Sixteen authors from various disciplines have studied the works of scholars and artists in different media so as to reveal how they used ancient history as a rich field of raw material, that could be used, recycled and adapted to new needs and purposes. The studies in this volume should be of value to historians of the early modern period from all disciplines, and for all those interested in the reception of classical antiquity.