Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T20:49:31.769Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Counterintuitive Mischwesen

Hybrid Creatures in Syro-Palestinian Iconography and Cognition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2020

Brett E. Maiden
Affiliation:
Emory University, Atlanta
Get access

Summary

This chapter uses current theories in the cognitive science of religion (CSR) to examine the widespread popularity of hybrid monsters in ancient Syro-Palestinian and Near Eastern art and the role of material culture in enhancing memory and expanding the ordinary boundaries of the religious imagination. The chapter analyzes the iconography of hybrid figures from the perspective of two current cognitive frameworks: Dan Sperber’s epidemiological approach to cultural representations and Pascal Boyer’s theory of minimally counterintuitive (MCI) concepts. Artifacts and imagery include hybrid creatures on glyptic and minor art, monsters and demons, as well as a discussion of hybrid creatures such as the seraphim and cherubim in the biblical books of Isaiah and Ezekiel. It is argued that culturally specific depictions of hybrid animals exhibit a core set of properties, which helps to account for their stability across geographical and temporal distances. The MCI theory is also empirically tested with recourse to the ancient iconographic data.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cognitive Science and Ancient Israelite Religion
New Perspectives on Texts, Artifacts, and Culture
, pp. 133 - 176
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Counterintuitive Mischwesen
  • Brett E. Maiden, Emory University, Atlanta
  • Book: Cognitive Science and Ancient Israelite Religion
  • Online publication: 17 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108767972.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Counterintuitive Mischwesen
  • Brett E. Maiden, Emory University, Atlanta
  • Book: Cognitive Science and Ancient Israelite Religion
  • Online publication: 17 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108767972.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Counterintuitive Mischwesen
  • Brett E. Maiden, Emory University, Atlanta
  • Book: Cognitive Science and Ancient Israelite Religion
  • Online publication: 17 September 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108767972.004
Available formats
×