Mythology & Folklore

It's easy to dismiss myths simply as lies. After all, did Apollo really pull the Sun around in a chariot? Did Coyote really create the Indian tribes by flinging a defeated monster in several directions? Did Onamuji really die twice and have to be rescued by his mother? Who on earth is Onamuji? As children of the Enlightenment we have little patience for such absurd stories, condescendingly studying them (if we pay attention at all) as artifacts of primitive societies, or simply transforming them into comic book adventures.

Which is probably exactly what most of the originators of the myths would have wanted, at least the comic book part. As the great Roman poet Ovid demonstrated in his masterful Metamorphoses, myths aren't about telling what actually happened or describing the physical realities of the world so much as they're concerned with renewal, transfiguration and change.

There is a sense in which myths are intended to explain some perplexing aspect of the known world, as when the Scandinavians attributed lightning and thunder to Thor charging around in his goat-drawn chariot. But there's another sense in which it didn't really matter if they believed the stories they told at religious gatherings or by the fire at night; the mythologies of the Greeks, Chinese, Sioux tribes, Congolese and Slavs were all intended to impart to their listeners particular ideas about the world, about justice, about life and death, and about themselves.

Postmodernists like to call this sort of thing metanarrative, a universal story that imparts meaning on the chaos of existence. Men like G.K. Chesterton and J.R.R. Tolkien preferred to call it a search for truth. It was in this sense that Chesterton called the Christian Gospel a Myth—not because it was in any sense not true; quite the opposite, because it is perfectly true. Old mythologies worked hard to discover truth, while the Christian myth (the only completely true myth, as C.S. Lewis would say) is truth.

This is not to undermine the Christian narrative as found in the Bible, nor is it to apotheosize the ancient myths. There's plenty the old mythologists got wrong, and nothing untrue in the Word of God. Not only that, whereas the old myths are complete fabrications, the narrative of Scripture presents real historical events that actually transpired.

What is also true, however, and what is often ignored, is that what the Bible does for real, the myth-writers were trying to do. They wanted understanding, and the often bizarre stories they conjured weren't weird for the sake of weirdness: they were attempts at building a framework that would make sense of everything they knew existed, its origins, and its ultimate destiny.

Folklore shares a similar goal, though it's generally less universal, more homespun and culture-specific. Zeus is a mythic figure; Paul Bunyan is a folk hero. The folk hero is generally a national symbol, a human distillation of the peoples' spirit, someone they can identify with while looking up to them at the same time. Mythology and folklore often merge, especially in places with a long and deep heritage. The United States has no mythology, but its people have developed a rich folklore to make up for it.

At its best, mythology promotes noble conduct, self-sacrifice, and peacefulness. At its worst, it depicts a universe at the hands of capricious deities with appetites only different from ours in that they're bigger, more depraved, more destructive. We don't suggest building a worldview out of ancient myths, but if you have any desire to understand how people of the past thought and what motivated them, we do suggest starting with their stories.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Adventures of Robin Hood
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Paul Creswick, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
1991 Edition from Reader's Digest
for 6th-12th grade
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$8.00 (3 in stock)
Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald
from Vintage Classics
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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Aesop's Fables
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Fairy Tales & Fables for 10th grade-adult
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Aesop's Fables
Puffin Classics
by Aesop
Reprint from Puffin Books
Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Kindergarten-4th grade
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Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights
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Andersen's Fairy Tales
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Arabian Nights
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Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
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$29.99
Arabian Nights I
Signet Classics
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Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
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Atarax the Wolf Tells: Greek Myths
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Aztec and Maya Myths
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$30.00
Beautiful Stories of Life
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1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Bremen Town Musicians
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1981 Caldecott Honor Book
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Scandinavia Fairy Tales
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Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
Dover Thrift Editions
by Thomas Bulfinch
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$6.00
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Dover Thrift Editions
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
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$10.00
Bulfinch's Mythology: A Modern Abridgment
by Thomas Bulfinch
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$7.99
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry
by Thomas Bulfinch
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$5.09
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum
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Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$10.99
Children of Odin
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Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Chronicles
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$18.00
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Scandinavia Fairy Tales
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Complete Fables of Aesop
Penguin Classics
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Fables for 9th-Adult
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$14.00
Complete Fairy Tales
Penguin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Penguin Classics
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
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$17.00
Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
Signet Classics
by Oscar Wilde
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Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 10th-Adult
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$5.95
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
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3rd edition from Bantam Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
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$25.00
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
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Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
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Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
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Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
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Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
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$50.00
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
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Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Greek Mythology for 4th-9th grade
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$29.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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$25.00
D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Memoria Press Package
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$75.64
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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$29.95
Deirdre
by David Guard; illustrated by Gretchen Guard
2nd edition from Celestial Arts
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Egypt: Gods, Myths and Religion
by Lucia Gahlin
from Barnes & Noble
for 11th-Adult
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Elfin Knight
by Edmund Spenser & Toby Sumpter
from Canon Press
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$20.00
Emperor's New Clothes
by Virginia Burton, illustrator
from Sandpiper Books
Fairy Tale/Allegory for 1st-3rd grade
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$6.95
Enchanted Book
by Janina Porazinska, translated by Bozena Smith, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eternal Cycle
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
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Faerie Queene
Penguin Classics
by Edmund Spenser
from Penguin Classics
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$22.00
Faerie Queene Book 1
by Edmund Spenser, edited with an introduction by Carol V. Kaske
from Hackett Publishing Company
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$15.00
Faerie Queene Book 2
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Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$14.00
Faerie Queene Book 3 & 4
by Edmund Spenser
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Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$16.00
Faerie Queene Book 5
by Edmund Spenser
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Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$14.00
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by Edmund Spenser
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Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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Faerie Queene Books 1-6
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Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$68.40
Fairy Tales and Stories
by Hans Christian Andersen, Edited by Signe Toksvig, Illustrated by George and Doris Hauman
from Macmillan
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm - Comprehension Guide
by Emily Fischer
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Fairy Tales of Hans Christen Andersen
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Reginald Spink and illustrated by W. Heath Robinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$18.00
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Kay Nielsen
from Viking Press
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales: The Brothers Grimm
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 2nd-6th grade
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Famous Legends Adapted for Children
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2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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$7.99
Favorite Folktales from Around the World
by Jane Yolen
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Greek Myths
by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Scholastic Inc.
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Greek Myths
by Bob Blaisdell
from Dover Publications
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$2.50 (2 in stock)
Favourite Tales from Grimm and Andersen
by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Jirí Trnka
1983 Printing from Paul Hamlyn
for 4th-8th grade
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves
by Roy Maynard & Edmund Spenser
from Canon Press
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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$20.00 $9.00 (3 in stock)
Freedom's Fruit
by William H. Hooks
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh (retold)
by Bernarda Bryson
from CreateSpace
for 4th-8th grade
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$26.87
Glittering Plain
by William Morris
from Newcastle Publishing Co
for 7th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
God Beneath the Sea
by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen, illustrated by Zevi Blum
from Pantheon Books
for 3rd-6th grade
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$30.00 (1 in stock)
Gods of Sun & Sacrifice
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Greek Gods
by Bernard & Dorothy Evslin, Ned Hoopes, illustrated by William Hunter
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$2.00 (19 in stock)
Greek Myths
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edouard Sandoz
from Houghton Mifflin
Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
$10.99
Greek Myths
by Marcia Williams
from Walker Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.99
Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
by Brothers Grimm, translated by Margaret Hunt
from Canterbury Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.99
Grimms' Fairy Tales
Puffin Classics
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Don Daily
from Applesauce Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
Puffin Classics
by Hans Christian Andersen, retold by Naomi Lewis
3rd edition from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales for 2nd-6th grade
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$7.99
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-8th grade
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$11.95
Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories
by Hans Christian Andersen, Translated by Erik Christian Haugaard
1983 Anchor Books Edition from Anchor Books
for 2nd-Adult
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$27.00
Hans in Luck
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, retold and illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Parents Magazine Press
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Hansel and Gretel
by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Berta & Elmer Hader
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hansel and Gretel
by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from William Morrow & Company
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Heroes & Monsters Of Greek Myth
by Bernard Evslin, Dorthy Evslin, ned Hoopes
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Heroes of Asgard
from Yesterday's Classics
$13.95
History of the Kings of Britain
Penguin Classics
by Geoffrey of Monmouth
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fairy Tale for 10th-12th grade
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$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Howard Pyle King Arthur Series
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Iliad
Everyman's Library
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$23.00
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$20.00
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Ancient Literature for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$17.00
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$18.00
Iliad
Signet Classics
by Homer (translation by W.H.D. Rouse), Afterword by Adam Nicolson
from Signet Classics
Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$6.95
Iliad & Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
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$38.00 (1 in stock)
Iliad of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
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Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
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$15.00
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