Ancient Mythologies of the Wilderness

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

Inbunden, Engelska, 2025

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Beskrivning

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.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2025-04-17
Mått:152 x 229 x 24 mm
Vikt:625 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:354
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781009574549

Utforska kategorier

Biblar inom Filosofi och religion
Forntidens historia inom Historia och arkeologi

Mer om författaren

Laura Feldt is Professor of the Study of Religions at the University of Southern Denmark. President of the Danish Association for the Study of Religions, she is the Principal Investigator of the research project Total Devotion – Radical Religion in the Ancient World and served as Editor-in-Chief of NVMEN 2017–2021.

Innehållsförteckning

1. Wilderness and narrative; 2. Approaching ancient wildernesses – concepts and strategy of analysis; 3. The mountain forest wilderness and old-Babylonian heroes; 4. Raging against the dying of the light – wildernesses and wilding in the standard-Babylonian Gilgameš epic; 5. wilderness memories: desert mythology and the formation of the People of Israel; 6. Wild men: the fantastic, fertility, and radical religion in the books of kings; 7. The wilderness in Isaiah: hybrid images, rewilding and green utopia in Isa 34-35; 8. Wilderness mythology in Jesus devotion and early Christianity; 9. If you wish to change your life: the desert and identity transformation in inquiry about the monks of Egypt; 10. Training transformability: islands and forests in late antique Gaul; 11. Wilderness and religion; bibliography.