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Beschreibung

What will happen to us next? From the earliest beginnings of human civilization, people have searched for signs, patterns, and clues to address the last unanswerable question. Looking into the future has obsessed human beings since written records began. As soon as communities could conceive of higher powers, they tried to look into the future. Prophets and priests have delivered divine messages. Shamans and seers have channeled spirits and interpreted visions, portents, revelations, and signs.

This unique and richly illustrated volume reveals the long history of prophecy in every human society--from Egyptian oracles, Roman augurs, and Aztec omens to Japanese divination and the active magic of Norse seers. It traces the parallels in different traditions and cultures, exploring the signs and images found in antique documents, rare books, imaginative projections, and divinatory paraphernalia.

In nine chapters, art historian Chrisopher Dell explores extraordinary oracles from ancient Greece and western Africa to Mesopotamia and the mountains of Tibet; omens, portents, and auspicious signs in indigenous societies in Asia; Zoroastrian priests of Iran and astrologers of China; dreams and visions from Australia to North America; and finally reckons with the many predictions of the end of the world, from ancient days to our present moment.

What will happen to us next? From the earliest beginnings of human civilization, people have searched for signs, patterns, and clues to address the last unanswerable question. Looking into the future has obsessed human beings since written records began. As soon as communities could conceive of higher powers, they tried to look into the future. Prophets and priests have delivered divine messages. Shamans and seers have channeled spirits and interpreted visions, portents, revelations, and signs.

This unique and richly illustrated volume reveals the long history of prophecy in every human society--from Egyptian oracles, Roman augurs, and Aztec omens to Japanese divination and the active magic of Norse seers. It traces the parallels in different traditions and cultures, exploring the signs and images found in antique documents, rare books, imaginative projections, and divinatory paraphernalia.

In nine chapters, art historian Chrisopher Dell explores extraordinary oracles from ancient Greece and western Africa to Mesopotamia and the mountains of Tibet; omens, portents, and auspicious signs in indigenous societies in Asia; Zoroastrian priests of Iran and astrologers of China; dreams and visions from Australia to North America; and finally reckons with the many predictions of the end of the world, from ancient days to our present moment.

Über den Autor
Christopher Dell holds a degree in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute, London. He has written and edited many bestselling titles on art and visual culture, including Freemasonry, Mythology, Monsters, What Makes a Masterpiece? and The Occult, Witchcraft & Magic, all published by Thames & Hudson.
Details
Erscheinungsjahr: 2026
Genre: Importe, Soziologie
Rubrik: Wissenschaften
Medium: Buch
ISBN-13: 9780500029633
ISBN-10: 0500029636
Sprache: Englisch
Einband: Gebunden
Autor: Dell, Christopher
Hersteller: Thames & Hudson
Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, D-36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr@libri.de
Abbildungen: Illustrated in colour
Maße: 261 x 213 x 35 mm
Von/Mit: Christopher Dell
Erscheinungsdatum: 30.04.2026
Gewicht: 1,178 kg
Artikel-ID: 135063225

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