Götter und Schriften rund ums Mittelmeer

Book Description

This scholarly exploration emerges from a symposium conceived by Friedrich Kittler, bringing together experts in the diverse writing cultures that flourished around the Mediterranean basin. The work examines a profound question: how do the ways cultures write and record their thoughts shape their relationship with the divine?

At its core, this book investigates how gods reveal themselves through the medium of written language itself. Just as literature depends on recording systems and programmable machines rely on command structures, the divine realm operates through the most fundamental medium of all: letters and alphabets. The authors explore how different writing systems have influenced whether gods communicate with mortals, issue commands, deliver punishments, or respond to pleas for mercy.

The collection traces how various scripts and alphabets have evolved through contact, competition, and innovation since ancient times across the Mediterranean region. Hegel called this sea the "medium of communications," while Kittler recognized it as an exceptional "place of scripts." The contributors examine how these writing traditions have shaped religious expression in epic poetry, opera, and tragedy, ultimately influencing the spiritual destiny of Western civilization.

Through this lens of written communication, readers discover how the technical aspects of recording divine encounters have profoundly affected humanity's understanding of the sacred. This interdisciplinary approach offers fresh insights into the intersection of technology, spirituality, and cultural development across Mediterranean civilizations.