When first published in 1928, The Age of the Gods was hailed as the
best short account of what is known of pre-historic man and culture. In
it, Christopher Dawson synthesized modern scholarship on human cultures
in Europe and the East from the Stone Age to the beginnings of the Iron
Age. His focus was not merely on the material development of early
society but more intently on the social and spiritual development of man
that accompanied it. Piece by piece, Dawson fit together the varied
influences that brought into being the ancient foundations on which
modern civilization was built.
Published soon after World War I, the book uncovered the common
tradition and unity of culture of European civilization in hope of
bringing cooperation and peace to the people of Europe. It defined what
a culture is, how cultures change, and what constitutes progress. Dawson
consulted the studies of archaeologists, early historians,
anthropologists, and ethnologists, and presented an uncommonly balanced
and greatly admired survey of the whole.
Presented here with a new introduction by Dermot Quinn, The Age of the
Gods continues the popular Works of Christopher Dawson series. Among
other topics, the book sketches the glacial age and the beginnings of
human life, the Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures and the rise of the
peasant culture in Europe, the development of Sumerian culture, the
archaic culture of Egypt, the megalithic culture in Western Europe, the
age of empire in the Near East, the Bronze Age in Central Europe, the
formation of the Indo-European peoples, the Mycenaean culture of Greece,
and the beginnings of the Iron Age in Europe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Christopher Dawson (1889-1970) is recognized as one of the most
important Catholic historians of the twentieth century, authoring
numerous books, articles, and scholarly monographs. Dawson was lecturer
in the History of Culture, University College, Exeter; Gifford lecturer;
Charles Chauncey Stillman Chair of Roman Catholic Studies at Harvard
University from 1958 to 1962; and editor of the Dublin Review.
