Book contents
- The Death of Myth on Roman Sarcophagi
- Greek Culture in the Roman World
- The Death of Myth on Roman Sarcophagi
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- One Myth a Casualty of Christianity
- Two Bucolic Sarcophagi and Elite Retreat
- Three Refuge from the Third-Century Crisis
- Four Culture, Status, and Rising Populism
- Five Myth Abstracted
- Six Distinguishing the Mythological
- Seven Conclusion
- Eight Coda
- Works Cited
- Index of Objects by City/Museum
- General Index
Four - Culture, Status, and Rising Populism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2023
Book contents
- The Death of Myth on Roman Sarcophagi
- Greek Culture in the Roman World
- The Death of Myth on Roman Sarcophagi
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- One Myth a Casualty of Christianity
- Two Bucolic Sarcophagi and Elite Retreat
- Three Refuge from the Third-Century Crisis
- Four Culture, Status, and Rising Populism
- Five Myth Abstracted
- Six Distinguishing the Mythological
- Seven Conclusion
- Eight Coda
- Works Cited
- Index of Objects by City/Museum
- General Index
Summary
This chapter turns from religious and political explanations to those that frame demythologization in terms of other social and cultural shifts. Some have proposed that it reflects a rising populism, a widespread decline in education levels, or a diminution in the value Romans assigned to mythological culture. Others have seen in the rise of mythless genres a growing desire for imagery that more clearly projected social status. All are examined.
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- Information
- The Death of Myth on Roman SarcophagiAllegory and Visual Narrative in the Late Empire, pp. 111 - 140Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022