Gemini and the Sacred

Why do twins remain uncanny to those born alone-in 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 powerful-or suppressed as unstable and dangerous. Why has this been so and how does it affect living twins today?Treating both famous and lesser-known twins-including supernatural animal twins-in 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.

Covers aspects of ancient literature, folklore and myth

List of ImagesList of ContributorsAcknowledgements1. A Mirror: Reflecting on Gemini and the Sacred, Kimberley C. Patton, Harvard Divinity School, USAPart I: Twins in African and the African Diaspora2. The Code of Twins: Ìbejì in Yorùbá Cosmology, Ritual, and Iconography, Jacob Kéhìndé Olúpònà3. Twins: Welcome and Unwelcome Danglers in Africa, Pashington Obeng4. Marasa Elou: Twins and Uncanny Children in Haitian Vodou, Adam Michael McGeePart II: Hero-Twins in the Americas5. Twins in Native American Mythologies: Relational Transformation, John Grim6. Junajpu and XB'alamkiej: The Maya Hero Twins of the Popol Wuj, Vincent James StanzionePart III: South Asian Legacies7. Wars within the Womb, Wendy Doniger8. Twins in Hindu Mythology and Everyday Life: In the California Diaspora, Vijaya NagarajanPart IV: Twins in the Ancient Mediterranean9. Entangled Bodies: Rethinking Twins and Double Images in the Prehistoric Mediterranean, Lauren Talalay10. Achilles and Patroklos: As Models for the Twinning of Identity, Gregory Nagy11. Achilles and Patroclus as Indo-European Twins: Homer's Take, Douglas Frame12. Cosmas and Damian: Synergistic Brother Healers, James C. SkedrosPart V: Divine Twinship in the Ancient Near East and Eastern Christianity13. Primordial Twins in Ancient Iranian Myth Prods, Oktor Skjærvø14. Didymos Judas Thomas: The Twin Brother of Jesus, Gregory J. Riley15. The Divine Double in Late Antiquity, Charles M. StangPart VI: Powerful Twins in the Archaeology of Myth16. Óðinn's Twin Ravens, Huginn and Muninn, Stephen A. Mitchell17. Twinning and Pairing: Rethinking Number in the Roman Provincial Religious Imagery of Gallia and Britannia, Miranda Aldhouse-Green18. Yoking the Winds: The Tears of Xanthos and Balios, Kimberley C. PattonPart VII: Epilogue19. Epilogue: Dialogue, Joseph O. Garrity and Philip S. GarrityIndex