Ancient Mythologies of the Wilderness
eBook - PDF

Ancient Mythologies of the Wilderness

Narrative, Nature, and Religious Identity Formation from the Babylonians to the Late Antique Christians

  1. 356 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Ancient Mythologies of the Wilderness

Narrative, Nature, and Religious Identity Formation from the Babylonians to the Late Antique Christians

About this book

Ancient wilderness mythologies have been criticised for their role in forming anthropocentric outlooks on the natural world, and idealising human separateness from the rest of the living world. Laura Feldt here challenges these ideas and presents a new approach to the question of the formative role of ancient wilderness mythologies. Analysing seminal ancient myths from Mesopotamia and ancient Jewish and Christian texts, she argues that these narratives do not idealise the destruction of and dominion over wildlands. Instead, they kindle emotions like awe and wonder at the wild powers of nature. They also provide a critical perspective on human societies and power and help form identities and experiences that resonate with the more-than-human world. Feldt also demonstrates how ancient wilderness mythologies played a decisive role in shaping the history of religions. As a sphere of intense emotion and total devotion, wilderness generates tendencies towards the individualisation and interiorisation of religion.

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Information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2025
Topic
Social Sciences
eBook ISBN
9781009574532
Subtopic
Archaeology
Index
Social Sciences

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half-title
  3. Title page
  4. Imprints page
  5. Table of Contents
  6. List of Tables
  7. Acknowledgements
  8. 1 Wilderness and Narrative
  9. 2 Approaching Ancient Wildernesses: Concepts and Strategy of Analysis
  10. 3 The Mountain Forest Wilderness and Old Babylonian Heroes
  11. 4 Raging against the Dying of the Light: Wildernesses and Wilding in the Standard Babylonian Gilgameš Epic
  12. 5 Wilderness Memories: Desert Mythology and the Formation of the People of Israel
  13. 6 Wild Men: The Fantastic, Fertility, and Radical Religion in the Books of Kings
  14. 7 The Wilderness in Isaiah: Hybrid Images, Rewilding, and Green Utopia in Isa 34–35
  15. 8 Wilderness Mythology in Jesus Devotion and Early Christianity
  16. 9 If You Wish to Change Your Life
  17. 10 Training Transformability: Islands and Forests in Late Antique Gaul
  18. 11 Wilderness and Religion
  19. Bibliography
  20. Index

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Yes, you can access Ancient Mythologies of the Wilderness by Laura Feldt in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Archaeology. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.