Book contents
- The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination
- Greek Culture in the Roman World
- The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations, Text References and Translations
- Part I The Moon in the Mythic Imagination
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Moon in Ritual, Myth and Magic
- Part II The Moon in the Scientific Imagination
- Part III The Moon in the Fantastic Imagination
- Bibliography
- Index
- Index Locorum
Chapter 1 - The Moon in Ritual, Myth and Magic
from Part I - The Moon in the Mythic Imagination
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 October 2020
Book contents
- The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination
- Greek Culture in the Roman World
- The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imagination
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations, Text References and Translations
- Part I The Moon in the Mythic Imagination
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Moon in Ritual, Myth and Magic
- Part II The Moon in the Scientific Imagination
- Part III The Moon in the Fantastic Imagination
- Bibliography
- Index
- Index Locorum
Summary
Strands of ancient ritual tradition, scientific inquiry and imaginative fancy cluster thickly around the Moon. Its most ancient, probably prehistoric, role was as a celestial body whose phases measured out the months for the Greeks; indeed, Plato identified the Moon, Sun and planets with the creation of time itself, and attributed to the Moon, with its monthly cycle of phases, a formative epistemological effect by teaching us how to count.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Moon in the Greek and Roman ImaginationMyth, Literature, Science and Philosophy, pp. 8 - 48Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020