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- Convenors:
-
Fabio Guidetti
(Università di Pisa)
Chiara Tommasi (Università di Pisa)
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- Format:
- Panel
- Location:
- Beta room
- Sessions:
- Tuesday 5 September, -
Time zone: Europe/Vilnius
Short Abstract:
The panel investigates the role of tools and technological innovations for the cross-cultural transfer and dissemination of religious ideas, focusing on different historical and cultural contexts in the wider Eurasian area between antiquity and the early modern period, up to contemporary times.
Long Abstract:
The role of technologies in the cross-cultural transfer and dissemination of ideas is a key topic in the history of science, but has been generally neglected by historians of religions so far. This panel aims to fill this gap by investigating the relationship between technologies and religious ideas in different historical and cultural contexts in the wider Eurasian area between antiquity and the early modern period. The topics investigated by the presenters include Greek astronomical instruments (Guidetti), Indian writing techniques (Fregosi), Roman divination and interpretation of prodigies (Lietz), Egyptian time-reckoning devices (Barbagli), Byzantine liturgical furnishings (Andriollo), Chinese alchemical processes (Tommasi), as well as case studies from Central Asia (Ferrari). A final paper (Menon) approaches the question of digital religion in contemporary society and the ethical question raised by new media. The presentations will show how tools, techniques, and technological innovations interacted with religious ideas, contributing to their dissemination in a variety of contexts, geographically distant but closely interconnected.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Tuesday 5 September, 2023, -Paper short abstract:
The paper is focused on the Graeco-Roman astro-medical technique called melothesia. The aim is to explain its main features and to show how this technique had been influenced by Middle Eastern conceptions about humans, astral bodies, and divinities.
Paper long abstract:
Melothesia is the name of a branch of Graeco-Roman astrology according to which every part of the human body is subjected to a celestial body which influences his health status. We find evidence of this system in quite a few literary works such as, to give some examples, Manilius' Astronomica and the hermetic writings. The paper, through an analysis of several documents, will give an overview of the different types of melothesia (zodiacal, decanic and planetary) investigating their features and especially focusing on their origin. Indeed, recent studies have demonstrated that the antecedents of this discipline came from Egypt and Babylonia. The paper aims at showing in which ways the classic world incorporated foreign ideas in its religious thought and in its approach to astrology in shaping this healing technique. We will furthermore try to examine the relation between the astro-medicine and other ancient medical practices and its success in later historical ages.
Paper short abstract:
The paper examines how the celestial globe built by Eudoxus of Cnidus in the 4th century BC, containing the earliest complete depiction of the constellations as observable from the latitude of Greece, was described by the Stoic poet Aratus (3rd century BC) as a visualisation of divine providence.
Paper long abstract:
In the first half of the fourth century BC the astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus produced a celestial globe containing the earliest complete depiction of the constellations as observable from the latitude of Greece. Almost a hundred years later, the Stoic philosopher Aratus of Soli, working at the request of king Antigonus of Macedon, composed a poetic description of the constellations based on Eudoxus' globe, presenting them as visibly demonstrating the Stoic concept of divine providence. This poem, entitled "Phaenomena", enjoyed enormous success throughout antiquity and the middle ages, ensuring the dissemination of Eudoxus' astronomical knowledge and Aratus' philosophical and religious ideas. The paper will examine the link between Eudoxus' innovative astronomical instrument, the natural phenomena it describes, and the religious ideas attached to it by Aratus, showing how scientific and technological innovation was put at the service of the dissemination and popularisation of Stoic theology.
Paper short abstract:
The paper will explore the theological symbolism and devotional practices connected with the use of liturgical covering for icons, considering examples from Byzantium and medieval Italy.
Paper long abstract:
In medieval Byzantium the reverence towards icons could find material expression also in the partial or total covering of sacred images with revetments and hangings of various kind, such as gold or silver cladding and precious textiles. Literary and material sources from the 11th-13th centuries provide valuable information about the devotional practices connected with these liturgical devices. Some famous Constantinopolitan icons, which were regarded as particularly ancient and venerable and were believed to act as foci of miraculous power, appear to have been privileged recipients of such liturgical adjuncts, often offered by wealthy members of the aristocratic group. Interestingly, similar practices are attested in relation to medieval icons (probably coming from the East or perceived as such) venerated in some Italian cities, notably in Pisa. The present paper aims at reconstructing the religious meaning, liturgical function and social significance of objects which were meant to adorn sacred images but also to conceal them from the direct gaze of the faithful, and at tracing the possible dissemination of related devotional habits across the medieval Mediterranean.