- 465 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Celestial Hunter
About this book
In this analysis of human history and myth, "[Calasso's] flow of associations leaves you feeling not out of your depth, but smarter and better read" (
The New York Times Book Review).
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
There was a time, even before prehistory, when man was simply a defenseless animal. The gods he worshiped took the form of other beasts or were the patterns of the stars he saw above him each night in the sky, which he transformed into figures and around which he created stories. Soon, however, man learned to imitate the animals that attacked him and he became a hunter. This transformation, Roberto Calasso posits, from defenseless victim to hunter was a key moment, the first step on man's ascendance to power. Suddenly the notion of the hunter became fundamental. It would be developed over thousands of years through the figures that became central to Greek mythology, including the constellations. Among them was Orion, the celestial hunter, and his dog, Sirius.
Vivid and strikingly original, and expertly translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon, T he Celestial Hunter traces how man created the divine myths that would become the cornerstones of Western civilization. As Calasso demonstrates, the repercussions of these ideas would echo through history, from Paleolithic to modern times. And they would be the product of one thing: the human mind.
"Calasso is vital." — The Guardian
"At a moment when atavistic kinds of peril, awe and terror seem close at hand, it feels no great stretch to share Calasso's core belief that 'The gods always return.'" — Financial Times
"Elliptical, allusive and dazzlingly eclectic." — The Spectator
"Thought-provoking." — Publishers Weekly
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
There was a time, even before prehistory, when man was simply a defenseless animal. The gods he worshiped took the form of other beasts or were the patterns of the stars he saw above him each night in the sky, which he transformed into figures and around which he created stories. Soon, however, man learned to imitate the animals that attacked him and he became a hunter. This transformation, Roberto Calasso posits, from defenseless victim to hunter was a key moment, the first step on man's ascendance to power. Suddenly the notion of the hunter became fundamental. It would be developed over thousands of years through the figures that became central to Greek mythology, including the constellations. Among them was Orion, the celestial hunter, and his dog, Sirius.
Vivid and strikingly original, and expertly translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon, T he Celestial Hunter traces how man created the divine myths that would become the cornerstones of Western civilization. As Calasso demonstrates, the repercussions of these ideas would echo through history, from Paleolithic to modern times. And they would be the product of one thing: the human mind.
"Calasso is vital." — The Guardian
"At a moment when atavistic kinds of peril, awe and terror seem close at hand, it feels no great stretch to share Calasso's core belief that 'The gods always return.'" — Financial Times
"Elliptical, allusive and dazzlingly eclectic." — The Spectator
"Thought-provoking." — Publishers Weekly
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Yes, you can access The Celestial Hunter by Roberto Calasso, Richard Dixon in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & European History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Epigraph
- I. In the Time of the Great Raven
- II. The Mistress of the Animals
- III. The Gold-Tipped Javelin
- IV. The Brief Age of Heroes
- V. Sages and Predators
- VI. Zeus’s Last Night on Earth
- VII. Spuma Fui
- VIII. Nocturnal Council
- IX. The Night of the Hermocopids
- X. The Contemplator
- XI. Statues
- XII. O Egypt, Egypt …
- XIII. The Divine Before the Gods
- XIV. Return to Eleusis
- Sources
- Index
- Also by Roberto Calasso
- A Note About the Author and Translator
- Newsletter Sign-up
- Contents
- Copyright