Bloomsbury Academic
Adonis : The Myth of the Dying God in the Italian Renaissance
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Adonis
Author(s): Carlo Caruso
In this detailed treatment of the myth of Adonis in post-Classical times, Carlo Caruso provides an overview of the main texts, both literary and scholarly, in Latin and in the vernacular, which secured for the Adonis myth a unique place in the Early Modern revival of Classical mythology. While aiming to provide this general outline of the myth's fortunes in the Early Modern age, the book also addresses three points of primary interest, on which most of the original research included in the work has been conducted. First, the myth's earliest significant revival in the age of Italian Humanism, and particularly in the poetry of the great Latin poet and humanist Giovanni Pontano. Secondly, the diffusion of syncretistic interpretations of the Adonis myth by means of authoritative sixteenth-century mythological encyclopaedias. Thirdly, the allegorical/political use of the Adonis myth in G.B. Marino's (1569-1625) Adone, published in Paris in 1623 to celebrate the Bourbon dynasty and to support their legitimacy with regard to the throne of France.
Review(s):
ISBN: 9781780932149
Author(s): Carlo Caruso
In this detailed treatment of the myth of Adonis in post-Classical times, Carlo Caruso provides an overview of the main texts, both literary and scholarly, in Latin and in the vernacular, which secured for the Adonis myth a unique place in the Early Modern revival of Classical mythology. While aiming to provide this general outline of the myth's fortunes in the Early Modern age, the book also addresses three points of primary interest, on which most of the original research included in the work has been conducted. First, the myth's earliest significant revival in the age of Italian Humanism, and particularly in the poetry of the great Latin poet and humanist Giovanni Pontano. Secondly, the diffusion of syncretistic interpretations of the Adonis myth by means of authoritative sixteenth-century mythological encyclopaedias. Thirdly, the allegorical/political use of the Adonis myth in G.B. Marino's (1569-1625) Adone, published in Paris in 1623 to celebrate the Bourbon dynasty and to support their legitimacy with regard to the throne of France.
Review(s):
“Like a prism that splits a single ray of light into a whole spectrum, this book sheds new light on a wide range of issues in the arts, sciences and humanist thought in the Italian Renaissance. An outstanding book.” —Clifford Cunningham, Sun News Miami
“A very successful contribution to the history of the reception of antique mythology ... featuring a comprehensive and informative set of endnotes, a bibliography and very useful index ... The book not only provides a wealth of knowledge but proposes new interpretations and substantiates them convincingly ... In both method and content this stands as an exemplary contribution to the field.” -Gymnasium
ISBN: 9781780932149