Homo Maximus

Homo Maximus is a historico-philosophical essay comprising a discussion on the phenomenon of civilisation. Just as man as a species entered the evolutionary scene very recently, so civilisation entered the history of man only 5,000 years ago. The speed at which society has since evolved, from rural villages to high-tech mega-cities, is staggering. The ideals and values of democracy have recently been woven into the social fabric, creating a relativistic world in which modern man simultaneously seeks to overthrow religious beliefs and forge himself a new spiritual identity. A new outlook on life is required in which science and the soul are no longer perceived as mutually exclusive.

Homo Maximus suggests that man must assume full responsibility, not only for his own actions, but in a symbolic and existential sense, for all of Creation. Its hypothesis is that neither Man, nor God or the Universe was ever 'created' in any image other than ours. Inversely, it is our task to turn the accident of existence into a meaningful plan. We are the artists; we create the world in our image. Both our freedom and responsibility as human beings ultimately depend on this, not upon any deity.

To support this idea, the book explores a number of topics, such as the origins of monotheism and the concept of the soul, aristocracy, language, wine, gates, walls, and mirrors, culminating in an analysis of the age of the masses and its social, spiritual, cultural and psychological implications. Yet what is most important is the human factor, and the fact that no matter where we turn in this world, we are always staring at the image of ourselves.

Lars Holger Holm was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Apart from being a prolific writer on a variety of subjects, and with a solid background within cultural media, he is also a performing classical violinist and a translator. A number of his books are available through Arktos, his most recent title available in English being The Owls of Afrasiab, a historical novel on the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. (For further information, see list inside this volume.)