Attitudes towards Mythological Statues at the Crossroads of Cultures and Religions in Late Antiquity: Alexandria and Beyond

This paper presents an overview of the main different attitudes toward mythological statues in Late Antiquity offered by archaeological and literary sources. Mythological statues were an essential part of the urban landscape throughout the Greek and Roman period but with the rise of Christianity they become victims of the controversy between pagans and Christians, and the object of the religious policy by the emperors. Christians condemned mythological statues as cult statues and because they were believed to be 'animated' by demons; pagan writers elaborated theories about the nature of the cult statues and some philosophers admitted the presence of deities within the statues as a result of theurgical actions. Statues were destroyed or hidden, but they were also considered as works of art. Pagan statues played a significant role in religious conflicts in the city of Alexandria, where the episode of the violent destruction of the Serapeum is the most striking case. The city, with its multi-ethnic society, is a vantage point to investigate the different ways in which Christians coped with pagan sculpture and in general with classical culture in Late Antiquity.