LIVING WITH THE GODS: On Beliefs and Peoples

Faith, ideology, religion - these concepts have the power to unite and divide a civilisation. This book is not a history of religion nor an argument regarding faith but rather a collection of stories that have formed our lives and how humans have imagined their place in the world, all understood by studying history around the globe. Neil MacGregor, author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and receiver of the Order of Merit, the UK's highest civil honour, takes us through six sections: Our Place in the Pattern, Believing Together, Theatres of Faith, The Power of Images, One God or Many, and Powers Earthly and Divine. This is a museum in book form as it looks behind the meaning of objects, whether that is a 1350 gilded ivory sculpture which depicts Saint Margaret miraculously bursting from the back of a dragon that has just swallowed her, or silver tokens from the Golden Temple of Amritsar: Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith who sits between Hindu and Muslim friends. Understand the meaning of Atash Behram, the fire of victory and sacred flame in Zoroastrian belief, a symbol which everyone contributes to, from bakers and metal workers to priests and warriors who all use flame in one form or another, and admire the flame burning on the back of Bahram I's golden dinar coin. Be transported on pilgrimage with the followers of Buddha, exploring locations clustered in the north-east of the Indian sub-continent: Lumbini in Nepal (where the Buddha was born), Kushinagar (within the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where he died), Bodh Gaya (home to the Bodhi tree under which he was enlightened) and a stupa in the deer park at Sarnath, near Varanasi, where he preached his first teachings. In the chapter 'Harvest and Homage', consider the ideology of respecting the equal partnership between animals and humans, as seen through the study of an Alaskan parka made from seal gut alongside other items such as harpoons made from seal bone, drums from stomach, fur for clothing and even seal whiskers in playfully made decorations - all not only suggest a resourceful community but also signify the honour and acknowledgement of that seal's gift of life. The places, people and objects that have shaped our beliefs are also shown in technicolour images, from photographs of a golden shrine in Cologne Cathedral which was rebuilt to house the relics of the Three Kings, to The Lion Man of Ulm, made from mammoth ivory 40,000 years ago (the earliest-known representation of something beyond human experience) and a San Bushman rock painting in the Free State Province of South Africa where eland and shamans move across the rock surface on a journey into the world of the spirits. This is a stunning history that will transport you across millennia and civilisations. Extensive list of illustrations. Glamorous US first edition, colour illus. Remainder mark. 490pp. 16 x 24 cm.