Fallen from Heaven: the enduring tradition of Europeans as gods in the Americas
Debunking the so-called apotheosis myth, Nicholas Griffiths argues that Indigenous peoples in North America, Mexico, the Andes, and Hawaii during the early modern period (1492-1789) did not believe invading Europeans were gods. Instead, many perceived them as 'more-than-human' intruders of...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| WorldCat: | WorldCat |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY
Cambridge University Press
2024
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| In: | Year: 2024 |
| Series/Journal: | Cambridge Latin American studies
135 |
| Further subjects: | B
Indians
Religion
B Apotheosis (America) B Indian mythology B Indians First contact with other peoples B Europeans First contact with other peoples B America Discovery and exploration European |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Erscheint auch als: 9781009549806 |
| Summary: | Debunking the so-called apotheosis myth, Nicholas Griffiths argues that Indigenous peoples in North America, Mexico, the Andes, and Hawaii during the early modern period (1492-1789) did not believe invading Europeans were gods. Instead, many perceived them as 'more-than-human' intruders of considerable spiritual power. By exploring the Indigenous context and terminology, using published primary and secondary sources, the book investigates what natives meant when they used words that Europeans translated as 'gods.' In contrast to traditional accounts, Griffiths centers native points of view and the dynamic interactions between European and Indigenous perspectives. Ultimately, both groups were fundamentally comparable since both interpreted their mutual contact in terms of their pre-existing mythology. The traditional contrast between the scientific, rational, and modern Europeans on the one hand, and the myth-bound, irrational, pre-modern Indigenous peoples on the other, is entirely misleading. The first book-length synthesis of this myth, Griffiths reinterprets ideas that have long been debated in various regional literatures. |
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| Item Description: | Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 13 Dec 2024) |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xiv, 331 pages), digital, PDF file(s). |
| ISBN: | 978-1-009-54979-0 978-1-009-54980-6 978-1-009-54981-3 |
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/9781009549790 |
