Roberto Calasso; trans. Richard Dixon
Translated from Italian by Richard Dixon, The Celestial Hunter by Roberto Calasso moves at a dizzying pace reflecting the dizzying speed of Calasso’s thoughts. Calasso credits the activity of hunting as the source of rituals, cults, and myths, which, in turn, formed the basis of religions and the pursuit of all areas of human knowledge. Hunting, as represented by the celestial hunter Orion, permeated the divine, human, and animal realms, bleeding from one realm to the other through porous boundaries.
Hunting fundamentally transformed man’s relationship to his environment. Calasso traces the progression from man as the hunted to man as the hunter and beyond. Killing and eating what one has killed precipitated a momentous shift in human consciousness that informed man’s relationship with animals. When humans made the shift from prey to predator, when they changed from the hunted to the hunter, they began to see themselves as distinct from the animal kingdom, possessing a unique ability to exert power over nature.
Each time a hunter wore the skin of the animal he hunted, he experienced a metamorphosis. He straddled both worlds by “becoming” the animal. Accordingly, he developed rituals to merge with the animal, to kill the animal, to separate from the animal after a successful hunt, and to atone for killing the animal through libations and blood sacrifice. These rituals formed the foundation of all religions. From metamorphosis, humans shifted to reliance on a “prosthesis”—an arrow, a javelin, a remote-controlled drone—to become the most formidable species on the planet, the only species able to kill without touching.
Calasso’s knowledge of his subject matter is extensive. He moves with alacrity all over the map, weaving Greek and Egyptian mythology and statuary; Hinduism; the Eleusinian Mysteries; the words of Plato, Ovid, Homer, Nietzsche, Herodotus, Henry James, James Frazer, and a host of others including anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, and academicians, all in a dizzying display of erudition. His process is non-linear, labyrinthine. His chapters encompass the breadth and scope of his vast knowledge as well as his sense of humor. His technique, akin to stream of consciousness, consists of leaping to whatever associations and anecdotes come to mind even though the connections may be centuries and worlds apart, and not evident to a general reader. It is a daunting task to keep up with his breathtaking pace and to follow his train of thought.
Calasso’s theory is fascinating; his insights are stimulating; his analysis is brilliant; his tone can be irreverent. At times, his mental leaps are baffling. One doesn’t quite know where he’s going or why. But always, always, the depth, breadth, and immense scope of his knowledge is evident.
A challenging book, but one that attests to the presence of a brilliant mind at work.
Highly recommended.