
Demons and the Devil
Moral Imagination in Modern Greek Culture
Charles Stewart(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 21. September 1991
Book
Paperback/Softback
354 pages
978-0-691-02848-4 (ISBN)
Description
In present-day Greece many people still speak of exotikNB--mermaids, dog-form creatures, and other monstrous beings similar to those pictured on medieval maps. Challenging the conventional notion that these often malevolent demons belong exclusively to a realm of folklore or superstition separate from Christianity, Charles Stewart looks at beliefs about the exotikNB and the Orthodox Devil to demonstrate the interdependency of doctrinal and local religion. He argues persuasively that students who cling to the timeworn folk/official distinction will find it impossible to appreciate the breadth and coherence of contemporary Greek cosmology. Like the medieval cartographers' fantasies, which were placed on the "edges" of the physical world, Greek demons cluster in marginal locations--outlying streams, wells, and caves. The demons are near enough to the community, however, to attack humans--causing illness or death, according to Stewart's informants.
Drawing on an unusual range of sources, from the author's fieldwork on the Cycladic island of Naxos to Orthodox liturgical texts, this book pictures the exotikNB as elements of a Greek cognitive map: figures that enable individuals to navigate the traumas and ambiguities of life. Stewart also examines the social forces that have by turns disposed the Greek people to embrace these demons as indicative of links with the classical past or to eschew them as signs of backwardness and ignorance.
Drawing on an unusual range of sources, from the author's fieldwork on the Cycladic island of Naxos to Orthodox liturgical texts, this book pictures the exotikNB as elements of a Greek cognitive map: figures that enable individuals to navigate the traumas and ambiguities of life. Stewart also examines the social forces that have by turns disposed the Greek people to embrace these demons as indicative of links with the classical past or to eschew them as signs of backwardness and ignorance.
Reviews / Votes
"The major contribution of Charles Stewart's study is the evidence he provides of the essential link between the demons that have had an important part in modern village life and the traditional demons in the Greek Orthodox cosmology."--New York Review of BooksMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
535 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-02848-4 (9780691028484)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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E-Book
10/2016
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€154.95
Available for download
Person
Charles A. Stewart, a highly decorated U.S. Army combat veteran of Desert Storm, was also a sniper in Iraq and Afghanistan under Special Operations Command. During his twenty-six-year career, he served worldwide in the most dangerous places on earth. Charles was also a High Threat Personal Security Specialist for government agencies. Charles has completed his new book "Sky Thunder": a gripping and potent work of fiction that keeps the pages turning until its provocative conclusion.
Content
*Frontmatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*List of Figures and Illustrations, pg. ix*A Note on Transliteration, pg. xi*Abbreviations, pg. xiii*Preface, pg. xv*Introduction, pg. 1*CHAPTER ONE. Naxos: History, Demography, and Identity, pg. 19*CHAPTER TWO. Traditions and Values in Apeiranthos, pg. 43*CHAPTER THREE. Cosmology and Morality, pg. 76*CHAPTER FOUR. Modernization and Rationality, pg. 116*CHAPTER FIVE. From Devil to Exotika: Orthodox Tradition and Beyond, pg. 137*CHAPTER SIX. The Symbolism of the Exotika, pg. 162*CHAPTER SEVEN. Baptism: Of Holy Spirit and Evil Spirits, pg. 195*CHAPTER EIGHT. Exorcism: The Power of Names, pg. 211*CHAPTER NINE. Spells: On the Boundary between Church Practice and Sorcery, pg. 222*Conclusion, pg. 244*APPENDIX 1. A Glossary of Exotika, pg. 251*APPENDIX 2. Xiropotamou 98, pg. 255*Notes, pg. 261*Bibliography, pg. 295*Index, pg. 323