The Handy Mythology Answer Book

David A. Leeming

Description

Vainglorious gods and irresistible seductresses. Beastly beasts and brutal warriors. Stories centuries in the making, and centuries worth of stories, are explained in this fascinating guide to mythology.

Mythology forms our understanding of our origin, history, and traditions. They tell of our heroes and deities. Myths are vehicles for understanding religion, learning language, and understanding society, but they can often be difficult to understand and confusing. From a world of gods and goddesses to classic heroes and epic journeys to beastly monsters and irresistible seductresses, The Handy Mythology Answer Book answers nearly 600 questions and offers fun facts about the treachery and violence, the inspirational and epic, the supernatural monsters and heroic mortals found in mythology, including …

What is the nature of Creation Myths?

How can myths be compared to dreams?

What was the Egyptian Book of the Dead?

Why is the biblical flood story so like the Babylonian flood myth?

How and why are the Odyssey and the Iliad so different from each other?

How is myth used in politics?

What was the Metamorphosis?

How did the Vedas contribute to Hindu mythology?

Who invented Chinese writing?

What was the Aztec pantheon?

What is the story of the Cherokee Grandmother Sun?

Who are some Native American tricksters?

What is the story of Schrödinger’s Cat?

How did Freud use myths?

A glossary of commonly used terms and an appendix of parallel mythology exploring universal themes, motifs, and archetypes from across various cultures further explains the world of mythology. With many photos, illustrations, and other graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.

Sujets

• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Mythology
• Folklore

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 18 août 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578595228
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

About the Author

David Leeming (photo by Leopold Quarles)
David Leeming received his B.A. in English from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from New York University. He spent eight years teaching at Robert College in Istanbul and twenty-six years at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where he is an emeritus professor of English and Comparative Literature. He has traveled widely, studying world myths and traditions. His books include a biography of James Baldwin and many books on mythology, including Myth: A Biography of Belief (Oxford, 2002), Jealous Gods and Chosen People: The Mythology of the Middle East (Oxford 2004), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology (Oxford, 2005), Creation Myths of the World (ABC-CLIO, 2010), Medusa: In the Mirror of Time (Reaktion, 2013), and a revised edition of The World of Myth (Oxford, 2014). He is also editor in chief of The Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion (second edition, Springer, 2014).
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THE HANDY MYTHOLOGY ANSWER BOOK
Copyright 2015 by Visible Ink Press
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or website.
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
Visible Ink Press
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Canton, MI 48187-2075
Visible Ink Press is a registered trademark of Visible Ink Press LLC.
Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press, www.visibleink.com , or 734-667-3211.
Managing Editor: Kevin S. Hile
Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski
Typesetting: Marco Di Vita
Proofreaders: Dorothy Smith and Aarti Stephens
Indexer: Shoshana Hurwitz
Cover images: Ulysses and the Sirens courtesy The Art History Archive.
All other images courtesy Shutterstock.
ISBN: 978-1-57859-475-7 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-57859-521-1 (pdf ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-57859-523-5 (Kindle ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-57859-522-8 (ePub ebook)
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leeming, David Adams, 1937-
The handy mythology answer book / by David A. Leeming Ph.D.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-57859-475-7 (paperback)
1. Mythology-Miscellanea. I. Title.
BL312.L435 2014
201 .3-dc23 2014013298
Contents
P HOTO C REDITS
I NTRODUCTION
DEFINITIONS AND ORIGINS
Definitions
Prehistoric Mythology
Myth-Makers
Mythographers and Mythologists
Types of Myths: Creation, Gods, and Heroes Philosophy and Psychological Myths
MIDDLE EASTERN MYTHOLOGIES
Sumerian Gods and Heroes
Inanna s Descent
The Semites
Mythology of Babylon
The Gilgamesh Epic
The Hebrews and Canaanites
The Bible and Judaism
The Arabs and Islam
Muhammad
The Christian Story
Iran: Zoroastrianism and Mithraism
The Phrygians
EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY
Egyptian Religion and Mythology
The Egyptian Pantheons
Egyptian Creation Myths
The Myth of Isis, Osiris, and Horus
Other Egyptian Myths and Influences
CYCLADIC, MINOAN, MYCENAEAN, AND ARCHAIC GREEK MYTHOLOGY
The Cyclades and Crete
Daedalus, Icarus, and Theseus and the Minotaur
Minoan Religion and Mythology
The Mycenaeans and Homer
The Trojan War and the Iliad
The Odyssey
Hesiod, the Greek Creation Myth, Wars among the Gods
CLASSICAL GREEK MYTHOLOGY
The Greek Pantheon and the Olympians
The Greek Gods and Human Life
Origins of the Greek Gods
The Greek Mystery Cults and Hero Sagas
Herakles and the Twelve Labors
Theseus
Perseus and Medusa
Jason and the Golden Fleece
The Meaning of the Greek Hero Myths
The Dramas of Ancient Athens
Aeschylus and the Oresteia
Sophocles and the Oedipus Cycle
Euripedes, Medea, and Dionysus
Orpheus, Orphism, and Philosophical Myths
ROMAN MYTHOLOGY
Indo-Europeans
Latins, Etruscans, and Archaic Rome
Romulus and Remus
Mythology of the Roman Republic
Aeneus and Virgil s Aeneid
Ovid and the Metamorphoses
The Emperor-God and Foreign Borrowings
CELTIC MYTHOLOGY
The Insular Celts: Ireland and Wales
The Tuatha de Danaan
Cuchulainn and the Tain
Fionn and the Fenian Cycle
Welsh Mythology
The Welsh Pantheon
Heroes of Wales
King Arthur
NORSE MYTHOLOGY
Snorri and the Eddas
The Norse Pantheon
The Norse Creation Myth and Wars in Heaven
The Hanging of Odin and Ragnarok
The Norse Hero Sagas: The Volsungs
Norse Mythology and the World
INDIAN MYTHOLOGY
The Indo-Iranians and the Indus Valley Culture
Vedic Culture
Post-Vedic Hinduism
The Indian Creation
The Hindu Pantheon
Vishnu
Krishna
The Mahabharata
The R m yana
Shiva
Devi: The Great Goddess
Buddhism
EAST ASIAN MYTHOLOGY: CHINA AND JAPAN
Sources of Chinese Mythology
The Chinese Pantheon
The Chinese War in Heaven, Creation, and Flood
Chinese Heroes
Historizing Chinese Myths; Confucism and Taoism
Buddhism, Shamanism, and Chinese Mythology
The Japanese
Sources of Japanese Mythology
The Creation: Izanagi and Izanami
Amaterasu: The Great Goddess
The Japanese Buddhist and Shinto Pantheons
CENTRAL ASIAN MYTHOLOGY
Central Asian Themes and Gods
Master Spirits and Shamans
Central Asian Creation and Devil-Tricksters
Central Asian Heroes
OCEANIC MYTHOLOGIES: AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINE AND POLYNESIAN
Australian Aborigines and the Dreaming
Australian Creations and Floods
The Polynesians: From New Zealand to Hawaii
Polynesian Pantheons
Polynesian Creation and Flood Myths
Maui, the Hero and Trickster
AFRICAN MYTHOLOGIES
The African Supreme Being and Creation
African Goddesses and Tricksters
Legba and Ananse
African Heroes
MESOAMERICAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGIES: MAYA, AZTEC, INCA
Mesoamerica
The Maya and the Popol Vuh
The Mayan Gods and Heroes
Monte Alban and Teotihuacan
The Toltec and Aztec
Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl
The South Americans
The Inca
NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGIES
Native American Spirits and Creators
The Native American Great Goddess
Native American Tricksters
Earth Divers and Emergers
Native American Hero Myths
MODERN MYTHS
Modern Attempts to Explain Existence
Psychology and Myth
The Heroic Monomyth and Modern Gods
THE WORLD MYTH
Principal Components of the World Myth
The Supreme Being and Great Goddess
Fertility and Animal Gods
Tricksters
War in Heaven and the Creation
The Flood
The Hero
The World Myth
APPENDIX 1: PARALLEL MYTHOLOGY
Chart of Universal Mythological Types and Themes
APPENDIX 2: SELECTED MYTHOLOGICAL TEXTS
The Descent of Inanna (Ishtar) into the Lower World
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI, The Story of the Flood
Noah s Flood
The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani
The Odyssey
Metamorphoses
The Words of Odin the High One
C HARACTERS IN M YTHOLOGY
G LOSSARY
B IBLIOGRAPHY
I NDEX
Photo Credits
Thomas Aleto