Zodiac of Paris

Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-691-14576-1
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 376 Seiten, Format (B × H): 169 mm x 243 mm, Gewicht: 938 g

The Dendera zodiac--an ancient bas-relief temple ceiling adorned with mysterious symbols of the stars and planets--was first discovered by the French during Napoleon's campaign in Egypt, and quickly provoked a controversy between scientists and theologians. Brought to Paris in 1821 and ultimately installed in the Louvre, where it can still be seen today, the zodiac appeared to depict the nighttime sky from a time predating the Biblical creation, and therefore cast doubt on religious truth. The Zodiac of Paris tells the story of this incredible archeological find and its unlikely role in the fierce disputes over science and faith in Napoleonic and Restoration France. The book unfolds against the turbulence of the French Revolution, Napoleon's breathtaking rise and fall, and the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne. Drawing on newspapers, journals, diaries, pamphlets, and other documentary evidence, Jed Buchwald and Diane Greco Josefowicz show how scientists and intellectuals seized upon the zodiac to discredit Christianity, and how this drew furious responses from conservatives and sparked debates about the merits of scientific calculation as a source of knowledge about the past. The ideological battles would rage until the thoroughly antireligious Jean-François Champollion unlocked the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphs--and of the zodiac itself. Champollion would prove the religious reactionaries right, but for all the wrong reasons. The Zodiac of Paris brings Napoleonic and Restoration France vividly to life, revealing the lengths to which scientists, intellectuals, theologians, and conservatives went to use the ancient past for modern purposes.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Buchwald, Jed Z.

Josefowicz, Diane Greco

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Altes Ägypten & Ägyptische Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: All This for Two Stones? 9

Chapter 2: Antiquity Imagined 28

Chapter 3: The Origin of All Religions 47

Chapter 4: On Napoleon's Expedition 70

Chapter 5: One Drawing, Many Words 99

Chapter 6: The Dawn of the Zodiac Controversies 116

Chapter 7: Ancient Skies, Censored 146

Chapter 8: Egypt Captured in Ink and Porcelain 175

Chapter 9: Egyptian Stars under Paris Skies 222

Chapter 10: The Zodiac Debates 268

Chapter 11: Champollion's Cartouche 312

Chapter 12: Epilogue 334

Acknowledgments 341

Notes 343

Bibliography 379

Figure Sources 407

Subject Index 413

Name Index 419

Über Autor(innen)

Jed Z. Buchwald is the Doris and Henry Dreyfuss Professor of History at the California Institute of Technology. His books include "The Creation of Scientific Effects: Heinrich Hertz and Electric Waves". Diane Greco Josefowicz teaches in the writing program at Boston University.