Valery Rees

For sceptics, angels may be no more than metaphors: poetic devices to convey, at least for those with a religious sensibility, an active divine interest in creation. But for others, angels are absolutely real creatures: manifestations of cosmic power with the capacity either to enlighten or annihilate those whose awestruck paths they cross. Valery Rees offers the first comprehensive history of these beautiful, enigmatic and sometimes dangerous beings, whose existence and actions have been charted across the eons of time and civilization.Whether exploring the fevered visions of Ezekiel and biblical cherubim; Persian genii; Arab djinn; Islamic archangels; the austere and haunting icons of Andrei Rublev; or Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire and the more benign idea of the watchful guardian angel, the author shows that the ubiquity of these celestial messengers reveals something profound, if not about God or the devil, then about ourselves: our perennial preoccupation with the transcendent.

A Cultural History of Angels

From Gabriel to Lucifer

Martin Davies

Michael J. B. Allen

This volume consists of 21 essays on Marsilio Ficino (1433-99), the Florentine scholar-philosopher-magus-priest who was the architect of Renaissance Platonism. They cast fascinating new light on his theology, philosophy, and psychology as well as on his influence and sources.

His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy

Marsilio Ficino

Guido Giglioni

Laura Follesa

Anna Corrias

Francesca M. Crasta

Platonism, Ficino to Foucault explores some key chapters in the history Platonic philosophy from the revival of Plato in the fifteenth century to the new reading of Platonic dialogues promoted by the so-called ‘Critique of Modernity’.

Ficino to Foucault

Platonism

Stephen Clucas

Peter J. Forshaw

Proceedings of a conference held in Sept. 2004 at Birkbeck College.

Marsilio Ficino and His Influence

Laus Platonici Philosophi

Fiery the angels fell; slow thunder rolled around their shores, burning with the fires of Orc.' Whether in recent popular culture, or back across countless centuries, angels have perpetually enthralled, mystified and even terrified us. 'Every single angel is terrible,' wrote the German Romantic poet Rilke: 'and so I hold myself back from the dark bird-cry of my anguished sobbing.' For some in the sceptical, post-Enlightenment West, angels may be no more than metaphors: poetic devices to convey, at least for those with a religious sensibility, an active divine interest in creation. But for others, angels are absolutely real beings: manifestations of cosmic power and energy with the capacity either to enlighten or annihilate those whose awestruck paths they cross. Valery Rees here offers the first comprehensive history of these beautiful, enigmatic and sometimes dangerous beings, whose existence and actions have been charted across the eons of time and civilizations. From the ancient Sumerian and Akkadian winged figures, to Egyptian representations of Ma'at, Persian genii, Arab djinn, biblical cherubim, daemons of Hermes Trismegistus and Milton's defiant fallen angels, From Gabriel to Lucifer reveals a mesmerising trajectory of angelic belief. Whether exploring the feverish visions of Ezekiel and biblical cherubim; the Islamic archangels Jibra'il, Azra'il, Mika'il and Israfil; the austere and haunting icons of Andrei Rublev; or Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, and the more benign idea of the ever-watchful guardian angel, the author shows that the very ubiquity of these implacable celestial messengers reveal something fundamental, if not about God and the devil, then about ourselves: our perennial preoccupation withhow to depict the transcendent.

Valery Rees

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