In what we would now regard as an excess of zeal, some Christians in the fourth and fifth centuries a.d. took to demolishing statues of pagan deities, either as symbols of idolatry or, in some cases, because they were thought to be the literal abode of demons. Catherine Nixey, an arts journalist at the Times of London, is in high dudgeon visualizing the scene: “Art lovers watched in horror as some of the greatest sculptures in the ancient world were smashed by people too stupid to appreciate them — and certainly too stupid to recreate them.” She has been moved to write a book, The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World, bludgeoning the “stupid” Christians in her scenario.
It's understandable that someone with a strong devotion to classical art should feel a sense of grief at contemplating what has been lost. For the sake of charity, I assume that something of the sort is her motivation. Speculating overmuch on such autobiographical tidbits as she has chosen to divulge — not only has she left Catholicism for atheism, but her parents were a former Catholic monk and nun — is probably pointless.
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