http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2007/10... ( )

This book provides a framework for understanding myths as an explanation of genuine phenomena, expressed by pre-literate societies. Sometimes the context changes, as the people telling tale move on, which further obscures the referents. The authors use the deconstruction of myths to explore the patterns of thought that cause the original stories to change. One example is what they term the "Willfulness Principle" - Since humans cause things to happen, that means that when things happen, it must have been willed to happen, perhaps by deities or giants. For instance, there is nothing in their world view to explain volcanoes exploding of their own accord - Instead, gods or giants must be throwing rocks and boulders out of their dwelling on the mountain. Why would they do that? Because they are angry, or because they are fighting.

For instance, the authors deconstruct the Prometheus myth as a description of a very real volcanic mountain near the Black Sea, Mt. Elbrus. As they put it, depending on where you draw the line, at 18,000 ft high, Mt. Elbrus is either the highest mountain in Europe or a nondescript bump in Asia. The large bird that pecks out the chained giant's liver has wings that cover the sun (or ash clouds the cover the sun), and the trembling and screams of agony from Prometheus himself are felt as earthquakes and heard as booms and rumbles. The red blood of the liver that flows as Prometheus regenerates overnight would be the vision of lava seen at night flowing from far away. Prometheus, god of fire, associated with red flowing heat. Hmm - it does fit.

The book is as much about how people think as how to interpret the myths of the past, so it is enlightening from two perspectives. The book is fascinating but quite dense with information and new ways of looking at the world, so it reads very slowly. ( )