Looking to the Past

In Act IV of the The Tempest, Prospero decided to put on a masque to celebrate Miranda and Ferdinand's new union and to honor and bless them with fertility and happiness through the goddesses he has Ariel conjure. This masque involves Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, and Juno, the goddess of marriage. Especially in reference to everything we have learned and discussed in class, it is interesting that, at this time period when religion was such a big influence on peoples' lives and could result in their death, goddesses would be invoked in order to leave blessings on people, even if it was just for entertainment. It seems like a risky thing to do, but it also just seems out of place in this play. Similar to the appearance of Helen in Doctor Faustus, where this mythical figure of beauty is conjured in a similar way for entertainment, and then later on to give Faustus some comfort in his last days. Like in Doctor Faustus, this play already involves magical elements that definitely do not go along with what is believed in the Christian religion, but The Tempest also includes conjured goddesses giving marriage blessings to Miranda and Ferdinand for entertainment. I can't help but wonder at what point did using references to ancient gods and goddesses stop being blasphemous and start being accepted in forms of entertainment or works of literature?