The Visual Perception of Deities from the Palaeolithic to the Present: Faces of Gods

Considering that figurines, such as the Venus from Willendorf, or the Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel were already created approximately 30,000 years ago, it must be assumed that humans have had a desire to see a visual expression of their sacred beings for an exceedingly prolonged period of time. It is dialectical that visual interpretations of deities always result in a physical/body structure, resembling the shape of humans. This book is a fusion of multiple independent investigations regarding visual interpretations of deities and religions over a period of 30,000 years. A survey about the psychological necessity for humans to create images of gods and goddesses provides the background for the book's presentation of images of deities, placed in a historical context. An accompanying text supports the illustrations to position them accordingly.

About the Author :
Peter Hupfauf is an artist and art historian who obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney for his research on the iconography of Old Norse culture. His studio in Sydney was located in the neighbourhood of the indigenous community of Redfern, which inspired him to travel to Central Australia where he lived and worked with Aboriginal artists from the Warlukurlangu artists' collective. Uta Herzog completed her Master's in Applied Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia. She has worked in the field of psychology for over 40 years, both in various academic and clinical settings. She trained in a wide range of therapeutic approaches, and is currently in private practice in Sydney.Rudolf Simek, PhD, held academic positions in Edinburgh and Vienna, and is currently Professor for Medieval German and Scandinavian Literature at the University of Bonn, Germany. His publications include books on early Germanic religion and culture and Vikings and Viking ships, as well as translations of Old Norse Sagas. His research interests include Early Medieval religion, Viking and Medieval Norse studies, Late Medieval religious literature, and the history of science in the Middle Ages. He served as advisor and presenter for nearly three dozen TV documentaries and one feature film.Sirpa Aalto received her PhD in History at the University of Eastern Finland in 2010. Her thesis "Categorizing Otherness in the Kings' Sagas" dealt with otherness and especially the Sámi in Old Norse literature. She is currently Adjunct Professor in Scandinavian Medieval History at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Oulu, Finland. Her research interests include cultural contacts, the Viking Age and Medieval northern Europe, Sámi food culture, and hunting.