Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology & Practice - Softcover

Lincoln, Bruce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226482006 ISBN 13: 9780226482002

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1991

Synopsis

One of the world's leading specialists in Indo-European
religion and society, Bruce Lincoln expresses in these essays
his severe doubts about the existence of a much-hypothesized
prototypical Indo-European religion.

Written over fifteen years, the essays—six of them
previously unpublished—fall into three parts. Part I deals
with matters "Indo-European" in a relatively unproblematized
way, exploring a set of haunting images that recur in
descriptions of the Otherworld from many cultures. While
Lincoln later rejects this methodology, these chapters remain
the best available source of data for the topics they
address.

In Part II, Lincoln takes the data for each essay from a
single culture area and shifts from the topic of dying to
that of killing. Of particular interest are the chapters
connecting sacrifice to physiology, a master discourse of
antiquity that brought the cosmos, the human body, and human
society into an ideologically charged correlation.

Part III presents Lincoln's most controversial case
against a hypothetical Indo-European protoculture.
Reconsidering the work of the prominent Indo-Europeanist
Georges Dumézil, Lincoln argues that Dumézil's writings
were informed and inflected by covert political concerns
characteristic of French fascism. This collection is an
invaluable resource for students of myth, ritual, ancient
societies, anthropology, and the history of religions.

Bruce Lincoln is professor of humanities and religious
studies at the University of Minnesota.

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce Lincoln is the Caroline E. Haskell Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, where he is also affiliated with the Departments of Anthropology, Classics, Medieval Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies.

From Library Journal:

This is a fascinating collection of scholarly essays on Indo-European religions and mythologies by a leading specialist in the field. While focusing on beliefs about death and dying, and on practices of legitimized killing (as in war and sacrifice), Lincoln (religious studies, Univ. of Minnesota) expresses his doubts against the existence of a prototypical Indo-European religion. Extensive examples are given and comparisons are drawn among Greek, Roman, Nordic, Celtic, British, Indian, and Iranian beliefs and practices. This excellent source for students of mythology and religion is highly recommended for religion and mythology collections of academic and large public libraries. It will appeal to readers of popular mythologist and storyteller Joseph Campbell as well as to scholars.
- Marilyn E. Schafer, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic Coll., Toronto
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0226482006
• ISBN 13: 9780226482002
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312