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How have the goddesses of ancient myth survived, prevalent even now
as literary and cultural icons? How do allegory, symbolic
interpretation, and political context transform the goddess from
her regional and individual identity into a goddess of philosophy
and literature? Emilie Kutash explores these questions, beginning
from the premise that cultural memory, a collective cultural and
social phenomenon, can last thousands of years. Kutash demonstrates
a continuing practice of interpreting and allegorizing ancient
myths, tracing these goddesses of archaic origin through history.
Chapters follow the goddesses from their ancient near eastern
prototypes, to their place in the epic poetry, drama and hymns of
classical Greece, to their appearance in Platonic and Neoplatonic
philosophy, Medieval allegory, and their association with
Christendom. Finally, Kutash considers how goddesses were made into
Jungian archetypes, and how some contemporary feminists made them a
counterfoil to male divinity, thereby addressing the continued role
of goddesses in perpetuating gender binaries.
Proclus' commentary on Plato's "Timaeus" is perhaps the most
important surviving Neoplatonic commentary. In it Proclus
contemplates nature's mysterious origins and at the same time
employs the deductive rigour required to address perennial
philosophical questions. Nature, for him, is both divine and
mathematically transparent. He renders theories of Time, Eternity,
Providence, Evil, Soul and Intellect and constructs an elaborate
ontology that includes mathematics and astronomy. He gives ample
play to pagan theology too, frequently lapsing into the arcane
language of the "Chaldaean Oracles." "Ten Gifts of the Demiurge" is
an essential companion to this rich but complex and densely wrought
text, providing an analysis of its arguments and showing that it,
like the cosmos Proclus reveres, is a living coherent whole. The
book provides aides to understanding Proclus' work within the
complex background of Neoplatonic philosophy, familiarising the
reader with the political context of the Athenian school, analysing
Proclus' key terminology, and giving background to the
philosophical arguments and ancient sciences upon which Proclus
draws.Above all, it helps the reader appreciate the varicoloured
light that Proclus sheds on the secrets of nature.
How have the goddesses of ancient myth survived, prevalent even now
as literary and cultural icons? How do allegory, symbolic
interpretation, and political context transform the goddess from
her regional and individual identity into a goddess of philosophy
and literature? Emilie Kutash explores these questions, beginning
from the premise that cultural memory, a collective cultural and
social phenomenon, can last thousands of years. Kutash demonstrates
a continuing practice of interpreting and allegorizing ancient
myths, tracing these goddesses of archaic origin through history.
Chapters follow the goddesses from their ancient near eastern
prototypes, to their place in the epic poetry, drama and hymns of
classical Greece, to their appearance in Platonic and Neoplatonic
philosophy, Medieval allegory, and their association with
Christendom. Finally, Kutash considers how goddesses were made into
Jungian archetypes, and how some contemporary feminists made them a
counterfoil to male divinity, thereby addressing the continued role
of goddesses in perpetuating gender binaries.
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