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This series deals with ancient pagan deities who were problematic either in some way to the people who believed in them or are to modern historians, or both. All were celebrated in the societies which honoured them and remain so in modern literature, art and spirituality. Most were regarded as dangerous even by their worshippers, being associated with madness, wildness, ecstasy, transgression, magic or bloodshed. One was mysterious and another may have been a pagan goddess turned into a Christian saint, or never have existed as either. Each lecture will be devoted to exploring what can now be known about one of them, and discussing how their images came to develop and what what was attractive about them. The series will enable viewers to explore some of the most exciting, revealing, inspiring and enduring aspects of the ancient pagan heritage. It will also show how scholars can now understand that heritage and the sources and methods that they use to do so.
