The Ancient World in Rock Music
Playing the Classics in the 1960s and 1970s
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Description
This is the first volume to investigate how Classic Rock music engaged with the ancient world from lyrics to performance to the curation of the personalities of the singers and bands themselves. Though Classic Rock is treated simultaneously as the leading edge of modern music and already a thing of the past, the contributors to this volume break this dichotomy. They consider how artists such as Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, the Doors, Bruce Springsteen, Marc Bolan, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rush, Meat Loaf, and Stevie Nicks looked to the ancient world for direction and inspiration: for example, Freddie Mercury to Zoroastrianism, Stevie Nicks to Celtic myth, and Jim Morrison to Nietzsche's reading of the Greek god Dionysus.
The contributors come from across musicology and classical studies, and from across the globe. Their sixteen chapters are organized around examples of musicians who employed elements of ancient history and myth, performative features, and philosophy and religion. Ultimately, as a study of reception, this volume demonstrates how this overlooked aspect of Classic Rock can contribute to the classical tradition and its continued significance for our world.
Table of Contents
REFLECTING ANTIQUITY IN SONG
1 Rock's Discovery of the Ancient World Nicholas D. Cross
2 Layers of Allusions: Black Sabbath's, Led Zeppelin's, and Queen's Oblique References to Ancient Religions Grace Odell
3 Breathing Fire before the Apocalypse: “Changing of the Guards” and Bob Dylan's Pre-Christian Phase Nicholas R. Wagner
4 Icarus and Kansas Elizabeth Romero
5 Don't Look Back: Orpheus in Rock Music Around the World Nicholas D. Cross
EMBODYING ANTIQUITY ON STAGE
6 Reimagining Greek Tragedy: the Doors and Mythic Storytelling Megan Michele Stypinski
7 Ancient mahasiddhas and the Grateful Dead: the Esoteric Art of Transformation Casey Rae
8 Magic, Mythology, and Nostalgia in Marc Bolan's Carnivalesque World Alison Blair
9 The Second Coming: Genesis' Mystical Climax with God in “Supper's Ready” Jeff Zittrain
10 Sisters of the Moon: Rhiannon, Fan Culture, and the Mystical Birth of Stevie Nicks McKenzie L. Isom
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | Nov 26 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 208 |
| ISBN | 9781350469174 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 6 bw illus |
| Series | IMAGINES – Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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