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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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Aeneid
by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald
from Vintage Classics
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.00 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
by JoAnne Fletcher
First Edition from Duncan Baird
for 5th-9th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends
by Lewis Spence
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
Arabian Nights
by Sir Richard Burton, trans.
from Bracken Books
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Arabian Nights
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, editors, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Arabian Nights
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, editors, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Arabian Nights
by Sir Richard Burton, trans.
from Book League of America
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Arabian Nights
by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, editors, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Book-of-the-Month Club
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
Arabian Nights - Two Volume Set
by Sir Richard Burton (translator), illustrated by Arthur Szyk
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Arabian Nights I
Signet Classics
by Richard Burton (Translator), Jack Zipes (Adapter)
from Signet Classics
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.95
Arabian Nights II
Signet Classics
by Anonymous, Sir Richard Burton (Translator), Jack Zipes (Adapter)
from Signet Classics
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$8.95
Atarax the Wolf Tells: Greek Myths
by Adam De Gree
from Classical Historian
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$7.50
Atlanta's Race
by Shirley Climo (reteller), illustrated by Alexander Koshkin
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aztec and Maya Myths
by Karl Taube
from British Museum Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Stories of Life
by Cynthia Rylant
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
$17.99
Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Bulfinch's Medieval Mythology
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch
from International Collectors Library
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch, illustrated by Stanley William Hayter
from Heritage Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Complete Texts
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Gramercy Books
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Legends of Charlemagne
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Castles
from McGraw-Hill
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$10.99
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Companion to World Mythology
by Richard Barber, illustrated by Pauline D. Baynes
from Kestrel Books
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Complete Illustrated Stories of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by E.H. Wehnert
Redesigned Edition (1st Edition in this form) from Chancellor Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths - Memoria Press Package
from Memoria Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$62.90
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$29.95
Diamond Path
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Egypt: Gods, Myths and Religion
by Lucia Gahlin
from Barnes & Noble
for 11th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Egyptian Myths
by Jacqueline Morley (reteller), illustrated by Giovanni Caselli
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
Enchantment Tales for Children
by Margaret Evans Price (reteller & illustrator)
from Rand McNally
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Eternal Cycle
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Greek Myths
by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Greek Myths
by Mary Pope Osborne
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
Favorite Greek Myths
by Bob Blaisdell
from Dover Publications
for 4th-6th grade
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Forests of the Vampire
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
God Beneath the Sea
by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen, illustrated by Zevi Blum
from Pantheon Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Maya
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Holiday House
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
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 (20 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 Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 3rd-6th grade
Greek Myths
by Marcia Williams
from Walker Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.99
Greek Myths
by Olivia Coolidge
from Houghton Mifflin
Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
Hercules and Other Tales from Greek Myths
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by David Lockhart
from Scholastic Inc.
Greek Mythology for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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 the Dawn
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
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
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Franklin Library
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
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 (retold)
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
Iliad of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
from University of Chicago
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$15.00
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Legends of Charlemagne
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry
by Thomas Bulfinch, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli
from Macmillan
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Imitation in Writing: Greek Myths
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
2nd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
in Imitation in Writing (Location: WRI-LSIW)
$15.00
Imitation in Writing: Greek Myths
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
3rd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
in Imitation in Writing (Location: WRI-LSIW)
$20.00
Journeys through Dreamtime
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
King of Men
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Ellen Raskin
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Land of the Dragon
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Legends of the North
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edouard Sandoz
from Houghton Mifflin
Norse Myths for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Lost Realms of Gold
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lovely War
by Julie Berry
from Penguin Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.99
Mother Earth, Father Sky
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Myth Made Fact
by Louis Markos
from Classical Academic Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
Myth Made Fact
by Louis Markos
from Classical Academic Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$18.95
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Grand Central Publishing
Mythology for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Little, Brown & Company
Mythology for 7th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$17.99
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
Mythology for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$29.99
Mythology: Daedalus, Echo and Narcissus, the Fortunate King, Atalanta's Lovers
by Olivia Coolidge & Katharine Pyle, illustrated by Jaclyne Scardova
from Silver Burdett Press
Greek mythology for 4th-6th grade
Myths and Folk Tales Around the World
by Robert R. Potter
from Globe Book Company
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Myths of Greece and Rome
by H. A. Guerber, revised by Dorothy Margaret Stuart
Revised edition, 1960 printing from George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Myths of the Norsemen
Puffin Classics
by Roger Lancelyn Green
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Myths of the Norsemen
by H.A. Guerber
from Dover Publications
for 6th-10th grade
$14.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Norse Gods and Goddesses - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Jeff A. Menges
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$3.99
Norse Mythology
by Neil Gaiman
for 8th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.95
Odin's Family
by Neil Philip, illustrated by Maryclare Foa
from Orchard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.00
Odyssey
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)
Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.00
Odyssey
Signet Classics
by Homer, prose translation by W.H.D. Rouse
from Signet Classics
Ancient Literature for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$5.95
Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$17.00
Odyssey
by Homer
2nd edition from Wordsworth Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Odyssey
Everyman's Library
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Franklin Library
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
Odyssey & Guide - 2 book set
by Homer
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Odyssey (retold)
Puffin Classics
by Geraldine McCaughrean retells Homer
Puffin Classics from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Odyssey Graphic Novel
by Homer, adapted by Gareth Hinds
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$18.99
Odyssey of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
from HarperCollins
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$18.99
Prose Edda
by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Jean I. Young
2004 printing from University of California Press
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
Ramayana
from Penguin Classics
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Realm of the Rising Sun
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ring and the Fire
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Purple House Press
$10.99
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