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This collection vigorously addresses the religious implications of extreme human enhancement technology. Topics covered include cutting edge themes, such as moral enhancement, common ground to both transhumanism and religion, the meaning of death, desire and transcendence, and virtue ethics. Radical enhancement programs, advocated by transhumanists, could arguably have a more profound impact than any other development in human history. Reflecting a range of opinion about the desirability of extreme enhancement, leading scholars in the field join with emerging scholars to foster enhanced conversation on these topics.
The authoritative biography of the ancient Roman general and loyal deputy to Emperor Augustus by the acclaimed historian and author of Augustus at War. When Gaius Octavius became the first emperor of Rome, Marcus Agrippa was by his side. As the emperor’s loyal deputy, he waged wars, pacified provinces, beautified Rome, and played a crucial role in establishing the Pax Romana—but he always served knowing that he would never rule in his own name. Why he did so, and never grasped power for himself, has perplexed historians for centuries. In this authoritative biography, historian Lindsay Powell offers a penetrating new assessment of Agrippa’s life and achievements. Following Caesar’s as...
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During the fourteenth century in Western Europe, there was a growing interest in imitating the practices of a group of hermits known as the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Laypeople and religious alike learned about their rituals not only through readings from the Vitae patrum (Lives of the Desert Fathers) and sermons but also through the images that brought their stories to life. In this volume, Denva Gallant examines the Morgan Library’s richly illustrated manuscript of the Vitae patrum (MS M.626), whose extraordinary artworks witness the rise of the eremitic ideal and its impact on the visual culture of late medieval Italy. Drawing upon scholarship on the history of psychology, eastern mona...
Feathered with illustrations, a deep dive into the meaning of this half-lion, half-bird creature over millennia of human history. Griffinology is a fascinating exploration of the mythical creature’s many depictions in human culture. Drawing on a wealth of historical and literary sources, this book shows how the griffin has captured the imagination of people for over five thousand years, representing power, transcendence, and even divinity. It explores the history and symbolism of griffins in art, from their appearances in ancient Egyptian magic wands to medieval bestiaries, and from medieval coats of arms to modern corporate logos. The use of the griffin as a symbol of power and protection is surveyed throughout history and into modern times, such as in the Harry Potter series. Beautifully illustrated, this book should appeal to all those interested in monsters, magic, and the mystical, as well as art and history.
While there is little evidence of formal rhetorical instruction in Anglo-Saxon England, traditional Old English poetry clearly shows the influence of Latin rhetoric. Verse and Virtuosity demonstrates how Old English poets imitated and adapted the methods of Latin literature, and, in particular, the works of the Christian Latin authors they had studied at school. It is the first full-length study to look specifically at what Old English poets working in a Latinate milieu attempted to do with the schemes and figures they found in their sources. Janie Steen argues that, far from sterile imitation, the inventiveness of Old English poets coupled with the constraints of vernacular verse produced a...
In Mulieres suadentes - Persuasive Women, Martin Homza scrutinises the genesis of ruler ideology among the most prominent East Central and Eastern European dynasties from the early and later Middle Ages. At the center of attention are the Přemyslids, the Piasts, the Rurikids, and the Árpáds, but also the main dynasties of the Balkans, namely the Trpimirović and the Nemanjić dynasties, as well as the House of Bogdan, and the Moldova dynasty of the Muṣatins. Unlike previous work, which has focused on narrative sources of male ruler hagiography, Homza studies texts concerning female royal figures. More broadly, this book also attempts to bridge the artificial gap between West and East in Europe.
Literary critical revolutions-radical shifts in interpretation and evaluation of literary works and their authors-are among the most interesting of cultural phenomena. In order to gain greater understanding of the mechanisms of all critical revolutions, Rationalist Criticism in Greek Tragedy examines the late nineteenth-century 'rehabilitation' of Euripides. Some of the factors which contributed to the Euripidean revolution are well known, but one which is not-one which has been generally forgotten, when it has not actually been denied-is the role of Rationalist Criticism. Rationalist Criticism, founded and dominated by infamous Cambridge University Classicist and English scholar A. W. Verra...