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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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Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
Adventures of Ulysses
World Landmark #40
by Gerald Gottlieb, illustrated by Steele Savage
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends
by Lewis Spence
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
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 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 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)
$8.46
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)
$7.61
Atlantis Rising
by Robert Sullivan, drawings by Glenn Wolff
from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
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)
Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology
Dover Thrift Editions
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.80
Bulfinch's Medieval Mythology
Dover Thrift Editions
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.50
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry
by Thomas Bulfinch
from Living Book Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.04
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry and Legends of Charlemagne
by Thomas Bulfinch
Book Club from Doubleday & Company
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)
$13.59
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)
$10.19
Classical Mythology & More
by Marianthe Colakis and Mary Joan Masello
from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
for 6th-10th grade
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$15.00 (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'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
Greek Mythology for 4th-9th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$25.49
Diamond Path
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
DK Eyewitness: Mythology
by Neil Philip
from DK Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Eternal Cycle
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$3.20 (1 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)
Gods of Sun & Sacrifice
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Green Willow and Other Japanese Fairy Tales
Calla Editions
by Grace James
from Dover Publications
for 7th-10th grade
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)
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)
$6.76
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)
$12.75
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 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Journeys through Dreamtime
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Land of the Dragon
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Lost Realms of Gold
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Mother Earth, Father Sky
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
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)
$10.99
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Little, Brown & Company
Mythology for 7th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$19.54
Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
Mythology for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$32.00
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)
$7.64
Myths of the Norsemen
by H.A. Guerber
from Dover Publications
for 6th-10th grade
$12.71
Norse Mythology
by Neil Gaiman
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 8th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.56 $6.80 (1 in stock)
Norse Myths
by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library from Pantheon Books
for 7th-10th grade
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)
$16.15
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
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)
$5.06
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 of Homer
by Homer (translation by Richmond Lattimore)
from HarperCollins
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$16.14
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)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles and Mary Lamb, introduction by Marina Warner
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$11.90 $6.40 (2 in stock)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Richard Armour
from Living Book Press
for 7th-12th grade
$11.89 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Tales from the Mabinogion
by Gwyn Thomas and Kevin Crossley-Holland
from Overlook Press
for 4th-Adult
Titans and Olympians
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
Triumph of the Hero
Time-Life Myth & Mankind
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
Twice Told Tales
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Heritage Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Way to Eternity
from Time-Life Books
for 7th-Adult
in Time-Life Myth & Mankind Series (Location: FIC-MYTH)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys OSI
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
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