What stories do mountains hold?
The project Divine Summits: The Cultural Lives of Mediterranean Mountains invites you to explore the history and cultural relevance of four Mediterranean mountains across time: Vesuvius, Albanus, Parnassus, and Kithairon.
Mountains might seem remote and untouchable. Yet they have for centuries been at the centre of human culture and interaction with the natural environment. The Greeks and Romans built their temples and villas atop commanding heights and breathtaking landscapes. Mountains were both hubs for civilisation, and locations for divine encounters﹘occupying a unique status in how the ancients understood their world.
By contrast, mountains seem to have a more complicated relationship with modernity, with their futures appearing uncertain and threatened by environmental degradation. We have intended to highlight parallels with antiquity, hoping to encourage discussion on how far mountains are viewed differently by the ancient and modern worlds- if at all.
Our short documentary, that you can find on the page Voice of Experts, features the contributions of three St Andrews professors, who share their insights on the historical significance of mountains, emphasising the importance of conserving these landscapes for the preservation of cultural heritage.
On the page Your Story, we have displayed images submitted by students and visitors that capture personal memories of mountains throughout the globe, in an effort to show their importance on even a minor and individual scale. We would be thrilled if you submitted a story too!
Mountains are witnesses to history. But they are also active participants in the human experience. We hope that by lingering on their past we can contribute in some way towards a positive and informed future for all landscapes.
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We thank the Wardlaw Museum, the St Andrews School of Classics, and the kind support and collaboration of several individuals, without which this project would not have been possible: Professor Jason König, Professor Ralph Anderson, Professor Damiano Benvegnù, Mary Woodcock Kroble, Gearoid Mac a’ Ghobhainn, Matthew Sheard, Michael Wu, and Mistral Zerbi.
A project by Carla Longo and Victoria Jackson.
