Egyptian Oedipus
Subtitle: Athanasius Kircher and the secrets of antiquity
By: Daniel Stolzenberg
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Chicago; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 307
ISBN-13: 9780226924144; 9780226924151
Subjects: Egyptian language; Hieroglyphic Writing; Occultism
Description: Stolzenberg presents a new interpretation of Kircher's hieroglyphic studies, placing them in the context of seventeenth-century scholarship on paganism and Oriental languages. Situating Kircher in the social world of baroque Rome, with its scholars, artists, patrons, and censors, he shows how Kircher's study of ancient paganism depended on the circulation of texts, artifacts, and people between Christian and Islamic civilisations.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Oedipus in exile; title: Esoteric antiquarianism; title: How to get ahead in the republic of letters; title: Oedipus in Rome; title: Ancient theology and the antiquarian; title: The discovery of oriental antiquity; title: Erudition and censorship; title: Symbolic wisdom in an age of criticism; title: Oedipus at large; title: Epilogue: the twilight of tradition and the clear light of history.