Light as mythological context in literature and the visual or performing arts

The origin myths of multiple cultures describe a primordial order of life which emerges from the subterranean world into an upper world of light and growth. In recent eras, light has come to serve as a metaphor for learning and technological advancement. The term “enlightenment” continues to portray humankind as both the embodiment of spiritual growth and an historic era in which science and the humanities grew intertwined. Like moths, we are drawn to the light—everything from the sun to gilded manuscripts to the screens of our own computers.