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Summary

The only complete world mythology textbook available, Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths, Second Edition, integrates original texts with explanations, interpretations, theory, and numerous pedagogical aids to introduce students to a wide range of myths from various critical perspectives. Featuring texts from sources around the world, it includes readings from Greek and Roman classics (by Homer, Hesiod, Ovid, and other writers); Nordic mythology (by Snorri Sturluson); Hindu culture (The Ramayana); Chinese mythology (Nu Kwa; new to this edition) and from such ancient works as The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, and the Mesopotamian story of Enuma Elish (new to this edition). Selections from Native-American sources and folktales and stories from Africa, Germany, and the United States are also included. In addition, authors Eva Thury and Margaret Devinney draw comparisons between classical myths and such contemporary cultural phenomena as The X Files, Star Trek, Mother Goose, and, new to this edition, Harry Potter, Stagecoach, and Firefly. They also incorporate readings by Carl Jung, Claude Levi-Strauss, Victor Turner, and other scholars who consider mythic material from different analytical perspectives. Finally, traditional works by writers like John Milton and John Keats as well as those by contemporary authors like Anne Sexton, John Updike, Angela Carter, and James Joyce are presented as examples of literary texts with mythological roots. Introduction to Mythology uses an innovative pedagogical structure to help students unravel the complex web of literary allusions often found in mythological texts: Extensive marginal notes provide cross-references and explanations of terms and culture-specific concepts A glossary of deities and suggested readings for each chapter offer students additional resources An improved and refined art program features more than 200 illustrations, photographs, and maps An illustrated timeline places the readings in relation to each other and to historical and cultural events and artifacts A Student's Website contains chapter objectives and summaries, key terms, study questions, self-tests, and off-site links of interest An Instructor's Manual includes key terms, pedagogical suggestions, study questions and projects, and sample objective test questions for each chapter

Preface
Acknowledgments
Time Line
Introduction to Studying Myth
What Is Myth?
Ways of Understanding Myth
Myths of Creation and Destruction
Myths Of Creation
Greek Creation Stories
Ovid's Creation Story
Biblical Creation Stories
A Mesopotamian Creation Story
The Prose Edda's Creation Stories
Native American Creation Stories from the Southwestern United States
African Creation Stories
A Chinese Creator Goddess
Myths Of Destruction
Ovid's Flood Story
Biblical Flood Stories
Ragnarok
Heroes And Tricksters
The Hero with a Thousand Faces: The book Joseph Campbell, discussed
The Epic of Gilgamesh
A Levi-Straussian Analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh--G.S. Kirk
The Ramayana
Heroes in the Prose Edda--Snorri Sturluson
Oedipus the King--Sophocles
The Structural Study of Myth--Claude Levi-Strauss
Raven: A Native American Trickster
The Mwindo Epic
African and African-American Trickster Stories
Prometheus: The Greek Trickster
Looking Back at Heroes: The Different Versions of a Myth
Ritual and Myth
Ritual
Demeter and Persephone: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter
Isis and Osiris
"Deciphering a Meal"
The Rituals of Northern Europe
Heracles and Dionysus
Myths and Dreams
Man and His Symbols
How to Perform a Jungian Analysis of a Myth or Fairy Tale
Folktale and Myth
The Morphology of the Folktale
A Proppian Analysis of The Wizard of Oz
Household Tales
Cupid and Psyche
Using Multiple Analyses to Highlight Different Aspects of the Same Tale
Myth in a Contemporary Context
A Study of the Construction of the Daniel Boone Myth
Stagecoach and Firefly: Science Fiction and the Journey into the Unknown
Harry Potter: A Rankian Tale on the Hero of Hogwarts
Myth and Literature
Mythological Themes in Poetry
Mythological Themes in Native American Literature
Mythological Themes in Modern Narrative Glossary of Gods, Heroes, and Antiheroes Additional Works Cited Art Credits
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

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