When and how did classical mythology subjects start to appear in art in medieval/Renaissance Europe?
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This short essay called "Mythology and Ideology in Italian Renaissance Art" is quite relevant. The key idea is that in the prosperous city-states of Italy, "Neoplatonist ideas were translated into allegorical and symbolic images: images drawn from pre-Christian mythology, and interpreted as symbols for concepts acceptable to Renaissance Christians."
However, according to the Wikipedia article on the Italian Renaissance:
There has been much debate as to the degree of secularism in the Renaissance, which had been emphasized by early 20th-century writers like Jacob Burckhardt based on, among other things, the presence of a relatively small number of mythological paintings. Those of Botticelli, notably The Birth of Venus and Primavera, are now among the best known, although he was deeply religious (becoming a follower of Savonarola) and the great majority of his output was of traditional religious paintings or portraits
Regarding The Birth of Venus Wikipedia further mentions:
As depictions of subjects from classical mythology on a very large scale they were virtually unprecedented in Western art since classical antiquity, as was the size and prominence of a nude female figure in the Birth. It used to be thought that they were both commissioned by the same member of the Medici family, but this is now uncertain.
They have been endlessly analysed by art historians, with the main themes being: the emulation of ancient painters and the context of wedding celebrations (generally agreed), the influence of Renaissance Neo-Platonism (somewhat controversial), and the identity of the commissioners (not agreed).
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