Preface: The Myth of the Eternal Return

Abstract

It is necessary to ask what induces the cyclical perception of the universe, common to so many cosmologies in every epoch and latitude: the desire to master the future, the terror the inexorable passing of time inspires ―the principal vector of existential emptiness ("horror vacui")―, or the impression left in our imaginations by the continual repetition of events? Humans are beings of routine. S/he is also a being who is eager for knowledge. Along these lines, it is important to know why the Eternal Return is inseparable from other myths appertaining to knowledge: catabasis (Persephone, Orpheus, Theseus, Eneas) and numerous prophecies reveal (Ultima Thule, Apocalypse, Chilam Balam of Chumayel), in their own way, what has happened and what will. Probing other cultures and ourselves, we are beings of habit who crave understanding of our enigmatic world.