Art History Journal

Pagan elements have been used in Christian art for hundreds of years. Some people find this offensive and others think it is beautiful and adds to the creation. There are advantages and disadvantages to these pagan elements being in the art. One advantage is that it can help make a point. Up to this time period, Greek mythology was well-known to many people and Christians took some of these Greek myths and put them into their art. They used some of these elements to possibly make a point about the power of God in a way that people would really understand. It could have also been to compare the powers of the deities. The idea that there was just one God instead of multiple gods was becoming more widely known and maybe by adding pagan elements helped to make people more curious about what Christianity was all about. It could have been used to draw more people in and make them more accepting. Adding some of these pagan elements can also add to the story of what the art is trying to portray. Different rulers would sometimes use this element by making themselves look god-like in their art work.
A disadvantage of this pagan element is that it takes away from God and what the Christians say they believe their art should really be about. It also does not pertain to Christianity. An example would be when rulers put themselves in the Christian art along with Jesus and his disciples. When Christians use pagan elements in their art, it can seem hypocritical to other people because there are things included that are not about God or Jesus. Those are some of the advantages and disadvantages about pagan elements in Christian art.