Ecology and Theology in the Ancient World: Cross Disciplinary Perspectives

Ailsa Hunt & Hilary Marlow (eds.). (2019). London: Bloomsbury.

The emphasis in this book is placed on its multi-disciplinary approach to ancient eco-theological thought. The volume is comprised of a series of essays written by scholars of Christianity, Classics, Judaism, Philosophy and Politics, focussing on a wide range of texts including the (Hebrew) Bible and Sibylline Oracles, as well as works by Plato, Empedocles, Cicero, and Aeschylus. The focus is placed on how classical texts display the acute awareness that ancient peoples had of the world they inhabited, particularly in the pre-industrialised context. This awareness is seen through an ‘ecological triangle’ that connects humanity, nature, and divinity. Ultimately, these essays look back to the ancient world not for concrete solutions on how to fix the modern climate crisis but rather to initiate ‘a radical shift in our thinking, an outside-the-box kind of thinking’ (p.7) in how we approach conversations concerning the contemporary climate crisis.

Example quotation

ancient ecotheology is not only worthy of study in its own right, ignoring which is to is to undermine the richness of ancient thinking about how humans, nature and the divine intersected. It is also the case that contemporary thinkers will be far poorer for not considering how ancient ideas have impacted, could impact and should impact on modern responses to the ecological situation that we, and all future generations, face.

(p.12)