French Literature Reviews - 2026
Sarah Petrella, When the Gods Were Monsters: The Hybrid Mythology of Natale Conti and Vincenzo Cartari
History, Politics and Society
The printed book is a privileged medium for understanding how a fresh perspective on Antiquity was forged in the wake of the Wars of Religion, the implementation of image censorship, and the centralization of political power. Yet the names of those who shaped its physical form—printers, booksellers, engravers, correctors, and so on—do not always appear on the title page. Nevertheless, they translated, modified, and at times rearranged texts and images to satisfy the demands of an audience hungry for novelty.
This captivating investigation takes as its starting point a book reconstructed from a text by Natale Conti and illustrations by Vincenzo Cartari. Hastily put together in a Lyon print shop at the beginning of the 17thth century, it enjoyed extraordinary success. Its sources and legacy are analyzed through monstrous figures spanning fable, religious caricature, natural sciences, and travel literature, ranging from the three-headed Hecate and demons with sagging breasts to the witches of Brazil.
During the early modern period, European print shops frequently adapted classical learning to meet the shifting demands of readers and political authorities. Mythographic compendiums served as key repositories for classical lore, circulating widely among scholars, artists, and the broader public. These works often combined textual narratives with visual representations, reflecting broader shifts in how Renaissance and seventeenth-century culture engaged with the pagan past. Printers and artisans played a decisive role in shaping these volumes, mediating between traditional sources and the contemporary appetite for novelty, visual illustration, and interpretive commentary.
Readers interested in the history of the early modern book, the transmission of classical mythology, and the interplay between text and image during the Counter-Reformation may find this study relevant. The printed book is a privileged medium for understanding how a fresh perspective on Antiquity was forged in the wake of the Wars of Religion, the implementation of image censorship, and the centralization of political power. Its sources and legacy are analyzed through monstrous figures spanning fable, religious caricature, natural sciences, and travel literature, ranging from the three-headed Hecate and demons with sagging breasts to the witches of Brazil.