8 IV: Luigi Silvano (Università di Torino), Imagining the other world in Late Antiquity: visions and tales in the Greek and Latin tradition

Abstract

My talk will survey some of the main features of the Late Antique imagery of the other world, taking into consideration a selection of Greek and Latin literary sources, such as collections of edifying tales, the sayings and deeds of the Desert Fathers, and visions embedded in hagiographic narratives. I will concentrate on some motifs that will become part of the medieval descriptions and depictions of hell and heaven.

Photo: Painting representing hell in the Church of Debra Berhan Selassie, Gondar, Ethiopia, photo by Bernard Gagnon (Wikimedia commons)