Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0195119576, Paperback)
What makes something mythic? What do mythic events and narratives have to do with us? In
Mythology, David Leeming offers an unusual and effective approach to the subject of mythology by stressing universal themes through myths of many cultures. This anthology collects a wide array of narrative texts from the Bible to English literature to interpretations by Joseph Campbell, C.G. Jung, and others, which illustrate how myths serve whole societies in our universal search for meaning.
Leeming illustrates the various stages or rites of passage of the mythic universal hero, from birth to childhood, through trial and quest, death, descent, rebirth, and ascension. The arrangement of texts by themes such as "Childhood, Initiation and Divine Signs," "The Descent to the Underworld," and "Resurrection and Rebirth" strip mythic characters of their many national and cultural "masks" to reveal their archetypal aspects. Real figures, including Jesus and Mohammed, are also included underlining the theory that myths are real and can be applied to real life. This edition is updated to include additional heroine myths, as well as Navajo, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, and African tales.
(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 08 Jan 2013 05:30:59 -0500)
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(3.08)
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Leeming predominantly uses texts from the Western tradition, but with relevant examples from Indian/Buddhist, ancient Middle Eastern, and Native American traditions. My only issue with the book is that the texts are not always drawn from authoritative or original sources, so we get a smattering of Bulfinch and Frazier, Robert Graves, Alan Watts, and of course Campbell himself. While this probably facilitates the use of this volume for beginning students in comparative mythology, for me, it compromises its usefulness for more serious study. There is a bibliography of general texts on myth and religion, and Leeming provides a short commentary on each station of the hero's path.