Book ID: CBB001252754

Exploring the Kingdom of Saturn: Kircher's Latium and Its Legacy (2012)

unapi

Evans, Harry B. (Author)


University of Michigan Press


Publication Date: 2012
Physical Details: pp.; ill.; maps; bibl.; index
Language: English

Exploring the Kingdom of Saturn assesses a pioneering study of ancient Latium by one of the most interesting figures in the history of learning, the Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher. Although Kircher's Latium, published in 1671, is not without errors in its reading of the ancient monuments and topography of the area around Rome, this highly influential work launched future topographical study of the Roman campagna. Harry B. Evans investigates Kircher's Latium, its methods and accuracy, its possible use as a reference now, the scholarly quarrel between Kircher and rival scholar Raffaello Fabretti, and the Vatican's publications committee's involvement with Latium. While Kircher himself is well known for his many publications on a wide variety of subjects---Egyptian hieroglyphs, linguistics, natural science, musicology, and the history of China---his work as an archaeologist and topographer has often been dismissed. But his Latium is worth a detailed assessment: not only was it an early attempt to link ancient literary and historical sources to physical evidence, with splendid illustrations and maps, but the book spurred enormous interest in the region, prompting a more sophisticated study of it by Kircher's contemporaries and later generations. Anyone interested in the history of archaeology, the world of seventeenth-century Italian antiquarians and scholars, and the fascinating region of Latium itself will want to learn more about Kircher's achievements and the scholarly legacy of his book.

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Description On Athanasius Kircher's work as an archaeologist and topographer.


Reviewed By

Review Olshin, Benjamin B. (2013) Review of "Exploring the Kingdom of Saturn: Kircher's Latium and Its Legacy". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 163-164). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001252754/

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Authors & Contributors
Rowland, Ingrid D.
Cams, Mario
Zanovello, Giovanni
Jensen, Amanda
Sampietro, Daniele
Bertuzzi, Giordano
Concepts
Science and religion
Surveying
Natural philosophy
Cartography
Geography
Maps; atlases
Time Periods
17th century
Early modern
18th century
16th century
Qing dynasty (China, 1644-1912)
Renaissance
Places
Rome (Italy)
Germany
Italy
Europe
Beijing (China)
Saxony
Institutions
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
Académie des Sciences, Paris
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