Mythology

Chances are you've heard about the similarities between the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh and the Genesis flood account, or how Tolkien's Middle Earth was inspired by Scandinavian and Germanic folklore, or how the Romans stole the Greek gods and gave them different names. What accounts for the continuity among myths? Why is there always a creation story passed down in every culture? Who cares about "the gods," anyway?

Humans have a common story. It wasn't as if the Arapahoe Indians came into being independently of the Mandarin Chinese or the Celts; their mythologies might suggest otherwise at first glance, but on closer inspection similarities emerge. One of the most striking is the prevalent concept of a god or gods emerging from a void to create the universe. Another, particularly common in the Near East, is the story of one good man who survives a universal flood in order to preserve human and animal life.

Similarities persist beyond creation myths. Basically every mythology around the world includes a trickster figure—usually a deity, always a supernatural being, the trickster exists to tempt humans and other gods, cause problems (both benign and disastrous), and betray anyone who gets too close. In Norse mythology the trickster is Loki; for the Native Americans it was Coyote; in West African tradition he takes the form of a spider, Anansi.

There are differences, of course. Myths encapsulate a culture's religious, moral, philosophical, psychological, and scientific attitudes, and as far as any two cultures are different, their myths will reflect that. Eastern mythology sees things primarily as a unity, whereas the Greeks liked to compartmentalize (anticipating even in ancient times the Enlightenment dualism their philosophers grandfathered).

Yet even here, specific gods in both the Eastern and Western traditions were attributed certain tasks and functions. Gods frequently took other shape and appeared to humans, gods were essentially humans on a large scale, the mysteries of nature were explained by the activities of the gods (usually with a bizarre earthiness). All this is true in nearly every culture that has produced its own mythology.

Does that mean the universality of mythological types and archetypes proves the general principles to be true? Of course not—ancient myths are at odds with both Christian doctrine and modern science, and people that still believe them either live far from civilization or spend their Saturdays browsing New Age bookstore shelves. What it does mean is that human nature is pretty universal, and man's imagination is ultimately limited by the boundaries of that nature.

What myths show us best is not man as he actually is, however; they give us a clear picture of man as he would like to be. By creating stories of gods that are essentially humans without boundaries, man is able to envision his deepest fantasy, to himself be godlike. Yet it isn't the biblical holy and transcendent god man wants to be, it's simply a being actually capable of doing whatever he or she pleases without fear of consequences. The gods of myth are simply men whose rebellion has been granted license.

Reading the ancient accounts is about as instructive as you can get if you want to know how we humans think of ourselves. If the picture is less than flattering, that may be due to fits of honesty on the mythologist's part, or to the fact that as Christians we view nobility much differently. Reading the old myths is sometimes entertaining, often jarring, but always helpful if you're looking to understand Man as he really is.

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
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$13.60
Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
by JoAnne Fletcher
First Edition from Duncan Baird
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$8.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends
by Lewis Spence
Reprint from Dover Publications
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Arabian Nights
by Sir Richard Burton, trans.
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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
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$29.99
Arabian Nights
by Sir Richard Burton, trans.
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Arabian Nights
by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, editors, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
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Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
Arabian Nights - Two Volume Set
by Sir Richard Burton (translator), illustrated by Arthur Szyk
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Arabian Nights I
Signet Classics
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Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
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$8.46
Arabian Nights II
Signet Classics
by Anonymous, Sir Richard Burton (Translator), Jack Zipes (Adapter)
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Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
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$7.61
Atarax the Wolf Tells: Greek Myths
by Adam De Gree
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$7.50
Atlanta's Race
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Aztec and Maya Myths
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Beautiful Stories of Life
by Cynthia Rylant
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
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$5.10
Bulfinch's Medieval Mythology
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by Thomas Bulfinch
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Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry
by Thomas Bulfinch
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$11.04
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch
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Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch, illustrated by Stanley William Hayter
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Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable
by Thomas Bulfinch
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Bulfinch's Mythology: The Complete Texts
by Thomas Bulfinch
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Bulfinch's Mythology: The Legends of Charlemagne
by Thomas Bulfinch
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Castles
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Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$9.34
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Chinese Mythology: The Four Dragons
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Companion to World Mythology
by Richard Barber, illustrated by Pauline D. Baynes
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Complete Illustrated Stories of the Brothers Grimm
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Crane Maiden
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
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$16.99
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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$25.49
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$25.00
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$75.64
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by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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$25.46
Demetrius and the Golden Goblet
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Egyptian Myths
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Enchantment Tales for Children
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Eternal Cycle
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
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Fa Mulan
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Favorite Greek Myths
by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Troy Howell
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
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by Mary Pope Osborne
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Forests of the Vampire
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
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$24.00 (1 in stock)
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Gods of Sun & Sacrifice
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by Bernard & Dorothy Evslin, Ned Hoopes, illustrated by William Hunter
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$2.00 (19 in stock)
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by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edouard Sandoz
from Houghton Mifflin
Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
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Greek Myths
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Greek Myths
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Greek Myths
by Olivia Coolidge
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Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
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by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by David Lockhart
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Greek Mythology for 2nd-5th grade
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Heroes & Monsters Of Greek Myth
by Bernard Evslin, Dorthy Evslin, ned Hoopes
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$11.86
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Time-Life Myth & Mankind
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Iliad
Everyman's Library
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$19.55
Iliad
by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
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by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
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Ancient Literature for 11th-Adult
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by Homer (translation by Robert Fagles)
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by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
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Iliad (retold)
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
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Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Age of Fable
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Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Legends of Charlemagne
by Thomas Bulfinch
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by Thomas Bulfinch, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli
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Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
2nd edition from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 4th-9th grade
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$15.00
Imitation in Writing: Greek Myths
Imitation in Writing Series
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Time-Life Myth & Mankind
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by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Ellen Raskin
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Korean Children's Favorite Stories
by Kim So-un, illustrated by Jeong Kyoung-Sim
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Time-Life Myth & Mankind
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Legends of the North
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edouard Sandoz
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Lost Realms of Gold
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Ma Lien and the Magic Brush
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Mother Earth, Father Sky
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Myth Made Fact
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Myth Made Fact
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Mythology
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Mythology for 7th-Adult
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Mythology
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Mythology for 7th-Adult
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Greek mythology for 4th-6th grade
Myths and Folk Tales Around the World
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Myths of Greece and Rome
by H. A. Guerber, revised by Dorothy Margaret Stuart
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Myths of the Norsemen
Puffin Classics
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$7.64
Myths of the Norsemen
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Norse Gods and Goddesses - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Norse Mythology
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$13.56
Odin's Family
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Odyssey
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
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Odyssey
Everyman's Library
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Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
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Odyssey
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