1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910511795303321

Autore

Cotesta Vittorio <1944->

Titolo

Kings into gods : how prostration shaped Eurasian civilizations / / by Vittorio Cotesta ; translated by Matthew D'Auria

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Leiden, [Netherlands] ; ; Boston, [Massachusetts] : , : Brill, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

90-04-28842-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (164 p.)

Collana

International Studies in Sociology and Social Anthropology, , 0074-8684 ; ; Volume 127

Disciplina

321/.6095

Soggetti

Monarchy - History

Kings and rulers - History

Ritual

Rites and ceremonies

Communication and culture

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"First published in Italian by Bevivino Editore as Prosternarsi: Piccola indagine sulla regalita divina nelle civilta euroasiatiche, Milan, 2012."

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Proskýnesis in Herodotus’s Histories -- An Enquiry on Alexander: Apotheosis, Multicultural Empire and Clash of Civilization -- La Dimension Manifestaire du ces. image Identitaire du Groupe -- Proskýnesis at the Centre of the Clash of Civilizations -- Proskýnesis in the Euroasiatic Continent: Unity and Diversity -- Conclusion -- Dialogue between the Old Oligarch and the Neo-illuminist -- A Short Glossary of the Main Terms and the Main Characters -- Bibliography -- Index of Names.

Sommario/riassunto

One might be surprised, astonished or indignant seeing men and women prostrating themselves in front of other men and other women. Or one might feel it is right to bow down before God, Allah, the saints, the Holy Virgin or the gods. Kings into Gods: How Prostration Shaped Eurasian Civilizations investigates the reasons why men prostrate themselves before deities or before powerful men. Through an in-depth historical and cultural analysis, this book highlights the



connection between rituality and royalty within the Eurasian civilizations. The narrative and iconic documentation gathered and analyzed concerns the Greek and Roman world, the Mongolian civilization during the Middle Ages, the Hindu and Chinese civilizations, the Islamic civilization in India in the fourteenth century, the Mughal civilization and European civilization in the late Middle Ages. The different forms of the rituals in the courts of kings and emperors are tightly connected with the concept of royalty. The prostration is an act of humiliation of defeated enemies, a means to establish a abysmal distance between powerful elite and the people, a way of creating hierarchies within the elite itself.