Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance

Professor Wind’s exploration of the revival of pagan mysteries in the Neoplatonic philosophy and art of the Renaissance was widely acclaimed, when it first appeared, for its impeccable scholarship and its remarkable elucidation of masterpieces by Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian.

In 1967-8 Professor Wind prepared a revised and extended edition, with new appendixes and plates, which is here made available in paperback. Pagan Mysteries has made a unique contribution to the exploration of the philosophy of the Renaissance and to the lifting of the veil of obscurity which has spread over some of the greatest of its paintings. Its arguments have excited and inspired both scholars and the general reader, and will continue to do so for a long time to come.