A truly seminal and original thesis, this is a book that should be read by anyone interested in science, myth, and the interactions between the two. In this classic work of scientific and philosophical inquiry, the authors track world myths to a common origin in early man's descriptions of cosmological activity, arguing that these remnants of ancient astronomy, suppressed by the Greeks and Romans and then forgotten, were really a form of pre-literate science. Myth became the synapse by which science was transmitted. Their truly original thesis challenges basic assumptions of Western science and theories about the transmission of knowledge.

About the Author
Giorgio de Santillana was born in Rome and moved to the United States in 1936. In 1942, he became an Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he would spend the remainder of his academic career. Hertha Von Dechend was born in Heidelberg in 1915. She began her career as an anthropologist in 1934 at the Frobenius Institute. Between 1960 and 1966, she regularly taught and researched at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Reviews
"A book wonderful to read and startling to contemplate. If this theory is correct, both the history of science and the reinterpretation of myths have been enriched immensely." (Washington Post Book World)



Book Information
ISBN 9780879232153
Author Giorgio De Santillana
Format Paperback
Page Count 505
Imprint David R. Godine Publisher Inc
Publisher David R. Godine Publisher Inc