Gemini and the Sacred: Twins and Twinship in Religion and Mythology

Why do twins remain uncanny to those born alone—in other words, most of us? Even with the rise of IVF and an increase in multiple births, why do we still do “a double take” when we encounter twins? Why has this been a near-universal response throughout human history, and how has it played out in religion and myth?
Through the work of leading scholars in religion, folklore and mythology, anthropology, and archaeology, Gemini and the Sacred explores the sacred imagination of twinship and the relationship of twin traditions to “twins on the ground” in biology and in lived experience. The book considers the multiple ways in which the “doubling” of a human being may be religiously and culturally expressed as auspicious and powerful—or suppressed as unstable and dangerous.
Treating both famous and lesser-known twins—including supernatural animal twins—in the ancient Near Eastern and classical Mediterranean worlds; early Christianity and Gnosticism; West African, Afro-Atlantic, and native American traditions; ancient Mesoamerica; Celtic Roman Britain; and Scandinavia, the book offers a variety of perspectives on this fascinating topic. Gemini and the Sacred makes a major contribution to a field of great cultural significance.