|
|
Legends of the Plumed Serpent: Biography of a Mexican God
You can find the book in these categories:
Product Description：
Few images hold an active claim on the imaginations of countless generations, but the Plumed Serpent, or Quetzalcoatl, has endured through 5,000 years of Mesoamerican history. Visualized as part bird and part snake and also in human form, this benevolent god remained a potent symbol of creation from the time of the ancient Olmec to the Mexican revolution. Quetzalcoatl took root ten years ago in the fertile imagination of seasoned biographer Neil Baldwin when he toured the sites of Mexico. The result of Baldwins research into Mexicos mythological figure is a fascinating tour through the archaeological treasures of Mexico, an unusual biography of myth, and a detailed cultural history beautifully illustrated with nearly 100 photos and illustrations.
Amazon.com Review：
"He was the wind, he was the guide, the roadsweeper of the rain gods, of the masters of water, of those who brought rain."
So wrote the Spanish priest Bernardo de Sahagún of the pale-skinned Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who, Mexican mythology had it, left his homeland but promised his people that he would one day return to them from the eastern sea. Neil Baldwin, the author of biographies of Thomas Edison and Man Ray, offers an intriguing life of the god--a biography, that is, of Quetzalcoatl as viewed by the Mexican people before and after the European conquest. In doing so, he captures the feel of the Mexican places in which Quetzalcoatl held sway: the temples and pyramids of Teotihuacán, the great fortresses of Mitla and Monte Albán, the ball courts of Chichén Itzá. He also provides a convincing portrait of Aztec and other ancient Mesoamerican lifeways, inviting his readers to share the "fear and terror" those people felt when they entered the god's sacred precincts. Baldwin's sympathetic readings of indigenous texts, coupled with his easy style, make Legends of the Plumed Serpent a fine introduction to ancient Mexico; his account of the god's fortunes after the arrival of the Europeans will also be of interest to students of comparative mythology and religion. --Gregory McNamee |
About Us - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Contact Us - Our Blog
BookGadget: Your Online Bookshelf © 2008