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

by Karl A. Enenkel, Jan L. de Long, Jeanine de Landtsheer

Modern artists, historians and writers have always looked back on the Classical past for inspiration and as a source of factual material. This group of essays looks at how these people have represented or recreated history from ancient sources such as Plutarch, Polybius, Lipsius, and many others. The contributors study aspects of classical historiography as well as examining art and literature from the 15th to 18th century in terms of the aims and motives of their creators, whether they used ancient sources in the original language or in translation, their use of later commentaries, their manipulation and adaptation of sources, the audience they were serving and how sharing in the glory of the past enabled them to legitimise the present. Sixteen papers in English and one in German.

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First published February 22, 2001