In Praise of PolytheismWhat ancient polytheistic religions can teach us about building inclusive and equitable futures At the heart of this book is a simple comparison: monotheistic religions are exclusive, whereas ancient polytheistic religions are inclusive. In this thought-provoking book, Maurizio Bettini, one of today’s foremost classicists, uses the expansiveness of ancient polytheism to shine a bright light on a darker corner of our modern times. It can be easy to see ancient religions as inferior, less free, and remote from shared visions of an inclusive world. But, as Bettini deftly shows, many ancient practices tended to produce results aligned with contemporary progressive values, like pluralism and diversity. In Praise of Polytheism does not chastise the modern world or blame monotheism for our woes but rather shows in clear, sharp prose how much we can learn from ancient religions, underscoring the limitations of how we view the world and ourselves today. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Contents
The Gods in Exile | 1 |
Animals Shepherds Three Kings | 20 |
Sigilla | 26 |
Thou Shalt Have No Other God Before | 34 |
Translating the Gods Translating | 41 |
Polytheism Curiosity and Knowledge | 61 |
What If Monotheisms Were Just Polytheisms | 67 |
Polytheism as Language | 76 |
Giving Citizenship to the Gods | 82 |
The Long Shadow of Words | 90 |
The Twilight of Writing the Sunset of Scripture | 101 |
Appendix A Religious Tolerance | 113 |
Appendix B The Ups and Downs of Paganus | 119 |
| 143 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
according allow ancient ancient religions antiquity aspect associated Augustine become beginning believe belonging Bettini birth called Catholic century chapter Christian Church classical comes common compared concept considered contemporary context cultural defined describe divine edited equally establish example exclusive existence expression fact foreign gods German Idealism give given Greek happened human idea identify images important indicate interesting interpretatio interpretation Italy known language Lares Latin laws less linguistic live meaning mention monotheism monotheistic nativity scene nature objects offer one’s original pagan particular person philosophers polytheism polytheistic possibility practice principle question reason relationship reli religion religious tolerance represented respect Roman Rome seems side similar single societies speak specifically term things thinking tion tradition translation true truth unique University various worship writing written
Bibliographic information
| Title | In Praise of Polytheism |
| Author | Maurizio Bettini |
| Translated by | Douglas Grant Heise |
| Publisher | Univ of California Press, 2023 |
| ISBN | 0520342240, 9780520342248 |
| Length | 164 pages |
| Subjects | › Religion / Ancient Religion / General Religion / Theism |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |