Europeans and ancient Greece and Rome

Europeans had always been aware of the gods of ancient Greece and Rome, but their attitudes towards the non-Christian religions of other lands were mostly negative and ill-informed.

During the Enlightenment, encounters with the rest of the world led to an increase in knowledge and curiosity about other religions. At the same time, some intellectuals developed more openly critical views of Christianity and the church. The credibility of religion itself, including Christianity, became a subject of heated debate.

Religious objects were collected as comparative evidence for beliefs and practices the world over. To many eighteenth-century British eyes, they demonstrated the superstitious nature of what they described as pa­gan idol-worship, though sceptics regarded Christianity as no different.

Others studied them as surviving evidence of ancient religions or used similarities between objects from different cultures to chart the spread of religious ideas, and to reconstruct the history of religion.

Interest in the gods and myths of other cultures expanded rapidly during the Enlightenment. The translation of religious texts from Asia and the de­cipherment of hieroglyphs revealed the religious worlds of India, East Asia, and Egypt to British readers for the first time. Travellers and researchers also brought new information from the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific.

They classified the gods into pantheons, extended divine families, and identified their specific areas of responsibility. The quest was on for uni­versal themes underlying the diversity of human religion, and for its ulti­mate source. Egypt and India were many people's preferred options.

Writers on religion drew parallels between gods and rituals from differ­ent cultures, and especially with the familiar worlds of Greece and Rome. Supposed similarities between the religious imageries of far distant cul­tures were often used to derive one mythological tradition from another.

Many Enlightenment collectors and thinkers were fascinated by reli­gions, ancient and modern. They gathered amulets, charms and religious objects as evidence of the variety of rituals and superstitions worldwide. Objects found in temples were studied to reveal ancient beliefs and rites, including sacrifice. Artefacts found in tombs shed light on the 'afterlife' in different cultures. Objects used in magic and alchemy were collected from all over the world. Collectors were particularly interested in ancient forms and parallels between Greek, Roman, Indian and Egyptian fertility cults.

The British also studied their own use of amulets and magic. Sir Hans Sloane, the founder of the British Museum, had a collection of rings and stones supposed to have healing or protective powers. Later collectors prized the instruments of Dr John Dee, the great Elizabethan mathematician and astrologer.

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