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Boccaccio was very much interested in the classical past and can be considered to be one of the great mediators between the classical world and Renaissance Italy. His encyclopedia on classical myths did much to generate interest in Ancient history and culture and persuaded many to study Greek-Roman civilization. Boccaccio was like his friend Petrarch fascinated by the classical past and he popularized the works of Homer in Florence and this persuaded many to study the works of the poet who sang of the destruction of Troy and the adventures of Odysseus. Boccaccio was one of the first Italians who celebrated the Greeks and their culture, especially in his role as a public lecturer. The Florentine  Boccasccio was a deeply religious man, but he saw value in this life and believed that earthly pleasure was not inherently sinful. There is a real delight in nature and people in the works on the writer and he stressed that everyone was an individual <ref>Burckhardt, p 19</ref>. In his works, his characters are struggling with circumstances and using their reason and foresight to improve their lot in life. In his main work, he shows young people enjoying and celebrating life despite the fact that the Black Death is raging all around them <ref> Steel, David. "Plague writing: from Boccaccio to Camus." Journal of European Studies 11, no. 42 (1981): 88-110 </ref>. The Decameron was influential in promoting the humanistic worldview in the Renaissance.