Eros and Magic in the Renaissance

Eros and Magic in the Renaissance

Author: Ioan P. Culianu

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1987-11-15

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0226123162

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It is a widespread prejudice of modern, scientific society that "magic" is merely a ludicrous amalgam of recipes and methods derived from primitive and erroneous notions about nature. Eros and Magic in the Renaissance challenges this view, providing an in-depth scholarly explanation of the workings of magic and showing that magic continues to exist in an altered form even today. Renaissance magic, according to Ioan Couliano, was a scientifically plausible attempt to manipulate individuals and groups based on a knowledge of motivations, particularly erotic motivations. Its key principle was that everyone (and in a sense everything) could be influenced by appeal to sexual desire. In addition, the magician relied on a profound knowledge of the art of memory to manipulate the imaginations of his subjects. In these respects, Couliano suggests, magic is the precursor of the modern psychological and sociological sciences, and the magician is the distant ancestor of the psychoanalyst and the advertising and publicity agent. In the course of his study, Couliano examines in detail the ideas of such writers as Giordano Bruno, Marsilio Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola and illuminates many aspects of Renaissance culture, including heresy, medicine, astrology, alchemy, courtly love, the influence of classical mythology, and even the role of fashion in clothing. Just as science gives the present age its ruling myth, so magic gave a ruling myth to the Renaissance. Because magic relied upon the use of images, and images were repressed and banned in the Reformation and subsequent history, magic was replaced by exact science and modern technology and eventually forgotten. Couliano's remarkable scholarship helps us to recover much of its original significance and will interest a wide audience in the humanities and social sciences.


Eros, Magic, & the Murder of Professor Culianu

Eros, Magic, & the Murder of Professor Culianu

Author: Ted Anton

Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9780810113961

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Anton (writing, DePaul U.) synthesizes the research he has done since the beginning on the still-unsolved May 1991 murder of Chicago Divinity School professor Ioan Culianu, a protege of pioneering mythologist Mircea Eliade. Culianu had been taunting the communist government of his native Romania, and Anton suggests the murder was political. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


A Companion to the Worlds of the Renaissance

A Companion to the Worlds of the Renaissance

Author: Guido Ruggiero

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 0470751614

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This volume brings together some of the most exciting renaissance scholars to suggest new ways of thinking about the period and to set a new series of agendas for Renaissance scholarship. Overturns the idea that it was a period of European cultural triumph and highlights the negative as well as the positive. Looks at the Renaissance from a world, as opposed to just European, perspective. Views the Renaissance from perspectives other than just the cultural elite. Gender, sex, violence, and cultural history are integrated into the analysis.


Man and Nature in the Renaissance

Man and Nature in the Renaissance

Author: Allen G. Debus

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1978-10-31

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780521293280

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An introduction to science and medicine during the earlier phrases of the scientific revolution.


The Boundaries of Eros

The Boundaries of Eros

Author: Guido Ruggiero

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0195056965

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Using the records of several Venetian courts that dealt with sex crimes, Ruggiero traces the evolution of both licit and illicit sexuality during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, providing insight into Venetian society and, ultimately, the Renaissance itself.


Rereading Ancient Philosophy

Rereading Ancient Philosophy

Author: Verity Harte

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-12-28

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1107194970

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Revisits central texts and themes in ancient philosophy in order to throw fresh light on some familiar passages and debates.


Out of this World

Out of this World

Author: Ioan P. Culianu

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13:

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This book, by the editor of the journal Incognita, takes the reader on a fantastic journey through a wide range of cultures and traditions to examine the phenomenon of ecstatic visionary experiences--from Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Taoist Immortals to the imaginative fiction of Jorge Luis Borges. The author provides a comprehensive tour of otherworldly journeys common from immemorial times among shamans, magicians and witches, and illustrates their connection with such modern phenomena as altered states of consciousness, out-of-body experiences, and near-death experiences.--From publisher description.


The Cabinet of Eros

The Cabinet of Eros

Author: Stephen John Campbell

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2004-01-01

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 9780300117530

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The Renaissance studiolo was a space devoted in theory to private reading. The most famous studiolo of all was that of Isabella d'Este, marchioness of Mantua. This work explores the function of the mythological image within a Renaissance culture of collectors.


Ancient Greek Love Magic

Ancient Greek Love Magic

Author: Christopher A. FARAONE

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-06-30

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 0674036700

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The ancient Greeks commonly resorted to magic spells to attract and keep lovers. Surveying and analyzing various texts and artifacts, the author reveals that gender is the crucial factor in understanding love spells.