ABSTRACT
The Renaissance as the 'rebirth of the ancient world' is an invention of special significance for the history of esotericism, as many scholars tend to speak of a kind of watershed between the 'early periods' of esotericism and its 'actual' formulation in the Renaissance. The prejudices often prove an obstacle to the description of esotericism in the cultural and religious context of the Middle Ages and the supposed Renaissance of the fifteenth century. Many Muslim rulers were extremely receptive to philosophy and science and interested in the preservation and study of ancient texts. The continuities of esoteric themes between the tenth and sixteenth centuries were greater than the 'watershed' notion of the Renaissance suggests. Scarcely anyone in the ancient world and the Middle Ages thought of making a radical distinction between Plato and his pupil Aristotle. Moreover, Gemistus Pletho's ideal state well demonstrates that polytheism is not necessarily more tolerant than monotheism.
