Introduction to Mythology Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths

by Thury, Eva M.; Devinney, Margaret K.

• ISBN13: 9780190262983
• ISBN10: 0190262982
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-02-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Integrating original texts with explanations, interpretations, and theory, Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths, Fourth Edition, introduces students to a wide range of myths drawn from sources all around the world and approached from various critical perspectives.

FEATURES

An innovative pedagogical structure helps students discern the complex web of literary allusions that characterize mythological texts

A global locator map at the beginning of each chapter situates the myths in their geographical context

Running margin notes provide cross-references and explanations of terms

A glossary of deities, an illustrated timeline, and suggested readings offer additional resources

A vibrant art program features more than 200 illustrations, photographs, and maps

Author Biography

Eva M. Thury is Associate Professor of English at Drexel University.

Margaret K. Devinney is Associate Professor Emerita of German at Temple University.

Table of Contents

*=New to this Edition
Preface
Time Line
PART I. INTRODUCTION TO STUDYING MYTH
1. What Is Myth?
2. Ways of Understanding Myth
PART 2. MYTHS OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION
2A. Creation
3. Greece: Hesiod
4. Rome: Ovid (Creation)
5. The Bible: Genesis (Creation)
6. Mesopotamia: Enuma Elish
7. Icelandic/Norse: Prose Edda (Creation)
8. North America: Stories from the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo (Southwest); and from the Iroquois League (Northeastern Woodlands)
9. Africa: Uganda and Nigeria
10. China: Nü Kwa, Kuan Yin, and Monkey
11. Mesoamerica: Popol Vuh
2B. Destruction
12. Rome: Ovid (Flood)
13. The Bible: Genesis (Flood)
14. Icelandic/Norse: Prose Edda (Ragnarok)
PART 3. HEROES AND TRICKSTERS
15. Theory: Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Dave Whomsley
16. Mesopotamia: The Epic of Gilgamesh
17. Applying Theory: A Lévi-Straussian Analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh, G. S. Kirk
18. India: The Ramayana
19. Icelandic/Norse: Prose Edda (Heroes)
* 20. Arthurian Legend: The Holy Grail, Donna Lynne Rondolone
21. Africa: The Mwindo Epic
22. Greece: Oedipus the King, Sophocles
23. Theory: The Structural Study of Myth, Claude Lévi-Strauss
24. North America: Raven
25. African and African-American Trickster Stories
26. Greece: Prometheus
27. Applying Theory: Different Versions of Myths
PART 4. RITUAL AND MYTH
28. Theory: The Forest of Symbols, Victor Turner
29. Greece: Demeter and Persephone
30. Egypt: Isis and Osiris
31. Applying Theory: Meals in the Bible, Mary Douglas
32. Icelandic/Norse: The Rituals of Iceland, H.R. Ellis Davidson
33. Greece: Heracles and Dionysus
PART 5. DREAMS AND MYTH
34. Theory: Man and His Symbols, C.G. Jung
35. Applying Theory: How to Perform a Jungian Analysis
PART 6. FOLKTALE AND MYTH
36. Theory: The Morphology of the Folktale, Vladimir Propp
37. Applying Theory: A Proppian Analysis of The Wizard of Oz
38. Germany: Grimms' Household Tales
39. Rome: "Cupid and Psyche," Apuleius
40. Applying Theory: Highlighting Different Aspects of the Same Tale Using Multiple Analyses
PART 7. CONTEMPORARY MYTH
41. Daniel Boone: Building the Myth around the Man, Richard Slotkin
42. Stagecoach and Firefly: The Journey into the Unknown in Westerns and Science Fiction, Fred Erisman
43. Harry Potter: A Rankian Analysis of the Hero of Hogwarts, M. Katherine Grimes
44. The Vampire as Hero: Tales of the Undead in a Contemporary Context, Eva M. Thury
PART 8. LITERATURE AND MYTH
45. Poetry and Myth
46. "Yellow Woman": Native-American Oral Myth in a Contemporary Context, Leslie Marmon Silko
47. Narrative and Myth
Glossary of Gods, Heroes, and Antiheroes
Additional Works Cited
Credits
Index