From Gabriel to Lucifer: A Cultural History of Angels
For sceptics, angels may be no more than metaphors: poetic devices to convey, at least for those with a religious sensibility, an active divine interest in creation. But for others, angels are absolutely real creatures: manifestations of cosmic power with the capacity either to enlighten or annihilate those whose awestruck paths they cross. Valery Rees offers the first comprehensive history of these beautiful, enigmatic and sometimes dangerous beings, whose existence and actions have been charted across the eons of time and civilization.Whether exploring the fevered visions of Ezekiel and biblical cherubim; Persian genii; Arab djinn; Islamic archangels; the austere and haunting icons of Andrei Rublev; or Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire and the more benign idea of the watchful guardian angel, the author shows that the ubiquity of these celestial messengers reveals something profound, if not about God or the devil, then about ourselves: our perennial preoccupation with the transcendent.
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From Gabriel to Lucifer: A Cultural History of Angels
For sceptics, angels may be no more than metaphors: poetic devices to convey, at least for those with a religious sensibility, an active divine interest in creation. But for others, angels are absolutely real creatures: manifestations of cosmic power with the capacity either to enlighten or annihilate those whose awestruck paths they cross. Valery Rees offers the first comprehensive history of these beautiful, enigmatic and sometimes dangerous beings, whose existence and actions have been charted across the eons of time and civilization.Whether exploring the fevered visions of Ezekiel and biblical cherubim; Persian genii; Arab djinn; Islamic archangels; the austere and haunting icons of Andrei Rublev; or Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire and the more benign idea of the watchful guardian angel, the author shows that the ubiquity of these celestial messengers reveals something profound, if not about God or the devil, then about ourselves: our perennial preoccupation with the transcendent.
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From Gabriel to Lucifer: A Cultural History of Angels

From Gabriel to Lucifer: A Cultural History of Angels

by Valery Rees
From Gabriel to Lucifer: A Cultural History of Angels

From Gabriel to Lucifer: A Cultural History of Angels

by Valery Rees

Paperback

$30.95 
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Overview

For sceptics, angels may be no more than metaphors: poetic devices to convey, at least for those with a religious sensibility, an active divine interest in creation. But for others, angels are absolutely real creatures: manifestations of cosmic power with the capacity either to enlighten or annihilate those whose awestruck paths they cross. Valery Rees offers the first comprehensive history of these beautiful, enigmatic and sometimes dangerous beings, whose existence and actions have been charted across the eons of time and civilization.Whether exploring the fevered visions of Ezekiel and biblical cherubim; Persian genii; Arab djinn; Islamic archangels; the austere and haunting icons of Andrei Rublev; or Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire and the more benign idea of the watchful guardian angel, the author shows that the ubiquity of these celestial messengers reveals something profound, if not about God or the devil, then about ourselves: our perennial preoccupation with the transcendent.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781784534318
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 12/18/2015
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

A prominent scholar of the Renaissance, Valery Rees is a Senior Member of the School of Economic Science in London. She co-edited Marsilio Ficino: His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy (2002), and has featured as a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's flagship ideas programme, In Our Time.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Angels – Universal and Archetypal
2. Filling the Space between Earth and Heaven
3. Angels in the Judaean Desert
4. Gnostic Angels
5. Neoplatonic Daemons
6. The Celestial Hierarchy
7. Ficino's Angels
8. Angels and Humans
9. Angels and Demons
10. Angelology
11. Angels of the Reformation
12. Nineteenth-century Angels
13. Demons
14. Angels at the Edge
15. Wings or No Wings? Angels as Messengers
16. The Great Protectors
17. Origins of the Cherubim
18. Cherubim in the Bible
19. Cherubim after the Bible
20. Constant Praise
21. The Chariot and the Throne
22. Angels and Archangels
23. Michael
24. Gabriel
25. Raphael
26. The Fourth Archangel
27. Angel Guides in the World to Come
28. Angel Guides in this World
29. Healing Powers of Guardian Angels
30. Fallen Angels
31. Angels of Retribution and Redemption
32. Redemption
33. Epilogue
34. Bibliography
35. Selected Further Reading
36. Index

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