The City of the Gods: A Study in Myth and Mortality

by John S. Dunne

Book Overview

In The City of the Gods, John S. Dunne traces humanity's political and social mythologies from ancient Sumer to the present, showing how they reflect the diverse responses of each era to the inevitability of death.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0268007268
• ISBN13: 9780268007263
• Release Date: September 1978
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.9"

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"The modern man, it is said, is not any and every man who lives in the present epoch but only the man who lives on the leading edge of contemporary experience. Every epoch will have its modern man according to this definition since the leading edge of experience will be constantly changing like a wave front. The standpoint of the modern man of one epoch...will appear to have been merely the myth of that period to the modern man of another epoch...There will be an existential truth in every myth...and in our myth too...a truth which can be measured...by the power of the myth to solve what [Dunne calls] the 'problem of death.' In its most general form the problem of death would be this: 'If I must some day die, what can I do to satisfy my desire to live?'" With these prefatory remarks, Dunne takes his fortunate readers on an incredible adventure to tour the cities of the gods throughout history to find the answers offered to this still compelling issue. Here are intellectual insights at the highest, most accessible levels. Timely and timeless for every one who lives on the leading edge. Highest recommendation.