Before postmodern literary criticism emerged, it was common for Westerners to think that a literary work is a distinct entity, with a beginning, climax, and
The Rigveda is one of the world’s most influential texts, since Indian culture has deep roots in it. It’s also one of the most dense
It’s easy to take the importance of agriculture for granted, but composers of the Rigveda didn’t emphasize farming. They inherited the traditions of their animal-herding
The Homeric poems are ravishingly visual; both are full of similes. The Iliad compares advancing troops to surging waves and a lion, and its
The first Greek philosophers looked for something that, on the surface, sounds like what the Upanishadic composers in India were seeking: the underlying unity and
The Kabbalah is a very deep spiritual tradition (the word literally means tradition) with fascinating assumptions about language and reality. By the beginning of the
What a beautiful image of peace to see just before the south gate of the Khmer capital, Angkor Thom–a heck of a lot prettier than
I was in one of the Bayon’s inner sections in the above shot, just next to the central platform. The area was dense with columns
Recent articles here have explored Western culture in the 13th century, when the great Gothic cathedrals were built. What was happening in Khmer society at
The last article here explored the transition from thought in the Middle Ages to the modern world, but the medieval world was much more dynamic