Everything from aaron to zygius, with thousands of articles in between. Mythology from the greek mythos for storyofthepeople, and logos for word or speech, so the spoken story of a people is the study and interpretation of often sacred tales or fables of a culture known as myths or the collection of such stories which deal with various aspects of the human condition. Basically if you get this book for a friend that i already involved with the subject matter then this one is a good one, filled with text and excellent imagery. Encyclopedia definition of encyclopedia by merriamwebster. As with a dictionary one either goes straight to the topic needed or one browses and cross referencesand.
Joseph john campbell march 26, 1904 october 30, 1987 was an american professor of literature at sarah lawrence college who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. The macmillan illustrated encyclopedia of myths and legends arthur. The macmillan illustrated encyclopedia of myths and. Myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief. The definitions in the characters and concepts section are good but do not reflect the. By extension from this primary religious meaning, the word myth may also be used. Gordon presents a wide ranging survey of the global mythology and symbols, past and present. A major source of information about norse mythology is a book called the poetic edda, sometimes known as the elder edda. Encyclopedia mythica is an internet encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, and religion. Full text of the womans encyclopedia of myths and secrets. Full text of the womans encyclopedia of myths and secrets see other formats. It consists of mythological and heroic poems, including voluspa, an overview of norse mythology from the creation to the final destructive battle of the world, called ragnarok.
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives or stories that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. The creation story as related in the biblical book of genesis, for example, where. In the entry for daphne, for example, the list is as follows. The facts on file encyclopedia of world mythology and legend. The myth is told in ovids metamorphoses book 1, alluded to by chaucer and milton, painted by.
Covers books on folklore from asia, the americas, and europe. Check out these retro videos from encyclopedia britannicas archives. Timeless tales of gods and heroes is a book written by edith hamilton, published. Each region has many clearly defined subdivisions that will ease your search. The myths plato invents, as well as the traditional myths he uses, are narratives that are nonfalsifiable, for they depict particular beings, deeds, places or events that are beyond our experience. Encyclopedia definition is a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by. Myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional. General mythology websites world mythology and folklore. Auto suggestions are available once you type at least 3 letters. Mythology the gods, heroes, and monsters of ancient greece ologies. Aam, amar, arbe, beca, cacr, crdr, drfi, figo, gohi, hoiv, izle, leme, mini, nipa, papr, prsa, sasp, sptl, trwa, and waz. Contains articles like wayland myth encyclopedia, werewolves myth encyclopedia, white shell woman myth encyclopedia, whittington, dick myth encyclopedia, witches and wizards myth encyclopedia, woman who fell from. Gordon explores, in a complete, comprehensive manner, the myths and legends of the worlds past and present civilizations.
Myths are also fantastical, but they are not inherently irrational and they are not targeted at the irrational parts of the soul. The ultimate encyclopedia of mythology arthur cotterell on. Campbells most wellknown work is his book the hero with a thousand faces 1949, in which he discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero. It is distinguished from symbolic behaviour cult, ritual and symbolic places or objects temples, icons. His work covers many aspects of the human experience. The main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods or supernatural humans. Campbells answer, ultimately, is that myths teach meaning. This book is geared to kinds 7 i found it to be a wonderful foundation to start into this book. Arthurian myth, norse legend, aztecs, eskimos, and maoris.