Talk Back

[Eisworth]

The subtitle of the book is "From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries", so that gives some idea of the scope of this first of three volumes.

The book is a scholarly work, but it was still a pleasure to read. I'm looking forward to finishing the follow-up volumes soon. The subject is more fascinating than you might think --- the scope of the work is such that cross-cultural influences become clear. Especially interesting is the interplay between Semitic and Indo-European religious ideas; I have known of the 'indo-european family of languages' since 10th grade English, but the similarities become crystal clear in the context of religion.
Consider:

Agni (Indian god of fire) vs. igni as in igneous.

or

Jupiter vs. Zeus Pater vs. Dyaus Pita (<--- Indian sky god)

or

Deus vs. Zeus vs. Deva

etc.

Neat stuff!
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_________________
Todd Eisworth
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Ohio University

[jeffp]

I see that Focault continues to rot beside the litterary road, at least some of the time.

What I find fascinating, though, is that this is a choice for some sort of lighter reading. Interesting.

--jeffp

[crystaldearest]

in a religion class that i took last semester, we read a book titled "Seven Theories of Religion", consisting of excerpts from works of Marx, Freud, and others regarding the definition and function of religion in various cultures. Eliade made an appearance. while the points were clear and sensical, i found the style of writing to be pompous and fairly decorated. i don't know how i'd fare if i tried to read an entire work of eliade.