An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

114. Stonehenge, ancient ritual and the origins of paganism

November 02, 2021

Description

Like Merlin, who lived his life in reverse, we go backwards in time as we continue our two-part series on paganism. Renaissance philosophers; green men; a pagan city in the early caliphate; hooded...
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Books Referenced

On the Nature of the Gods (De Natura Deorum)

Author: Cicero

Context:

Ronald Hutton mentions that Cicero wrote 'an entire book...on the nature of the gods' in which he discusses every theory about the divine in his time, demonstrating that ancient Greeks and Romans debated religious matters extensively.

Pagan Britain

Author: Ronald Hutton

Context:

Dominic references 'your wonderful book, Pagan Britain' when asking Ronald Hutton about the elderly women found at Kimmeridge in Dorset with their heads chopped off and jaws removed.

The Stations of the Sun

Author: Ronald Hutton

Context:

At the end of the episode, the hosts recommend this book (transcribed as 'statues of the sun') for readers interested in festive paganism, particularly as winter approaches.

The Making of Oliver Cromwell

Author: Ronald Hutton

Context:

Described as Ronald Hutton's 'most recent book' and praised as 'absolutely superb' for its treatment of Cromwell as well as its descriptions of the English countryside, seasons, flowers, and landscape.