Gemini and the Sacred: Twins and Twinship in Religion and Mythology

(Paperback)

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Why do twins remain uncanny to those born alonein other words, most of us Even with the rise of IVF and an increase in multiple births, why do we still do a double take when we encounter twins Why has this been a near-universal response throughout human history, and how has it played out in religion and myth Through the work of leading scholars in religion, folklore and mythology, history, anthropology, and archaeology, Gemini and the Sacred explores how twinship has long been imagined, especially in the complex relationship of sacred twin traditions to twins on the ground in biology and lived experience. The book considers the multiple ways in which the doubling of a human being may be interpreted as auspicious and powerfulor suppressed as unstable and dangerous. Why has this been so and how does it affect living twins today Treating both famous and lesser-known twinsincluding supernatural animal twinsin the ancient Near Eastern and classical Mediterranean worlds; early Christianity and Gnosticism; Vedic, Hindu, West African, Black Atlantic, and native American traditions; ancient Mesoamerica, Celtic Roman Britain, and Scandinavia; and in the special, fraught bond shared by all twins, the book offers a variety of perspectives on this topic of great cultural significance.

Reviews

Kimberley C. Patton has compiled a treasure-trove of humanitys experience of and insight into the cosmic significance of twinning/doubling. Through the expert analysis of twenty contributors on topics in material culture, ritual, mythology, and lived experience, Gemini and the Sacred offers the wisdom of the worlds great civilizations on the meaning of the cosmos, human nature, and identity. A must-read for all interested in the productivebut ambiguoustension of sameness and difference fundamental to so much of our world. * Ayodeji Ogunnaike, Bowdoin College, USA *
Intergalactic in its breadth and scope, this extraordinary comparative religion collection reveals twins as Alpha and Omega in the truest sense: as co-creators of life and harbingers of death. The myriad twins of Gemini and the Sacred illuminate our endless search for wholeness in multiplicity. * Kyrah Malika Daniels, Emory University, USA *

Author Bio

Kimberley C. Patton is Professor of the Comparative and Historical Study of Religion at Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, USA.