Seven Story Tower A Mythic Journey Through Space And Time

by Hoffman, Curtiss

• ISBN13: 9780738205953
• ISBN10: 0738205958
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-11
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

From the white stag to the green knight, The Seven Story Tower examines how myth colors our perception of history, nature, and ourselves. Organized around seven key myths-representing the Irish, Greek, Sumerian, Indonesian, Amazonian, and Inuit cultures, as well as the fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien-this book is the perfect intro-duction to the common themes found in world mythology. Curtiss Hoffman, a noted archaeologist and anthropologist, takes us beyond the entertaining stories and uses insights from cultural anthropology and analytical psychology to analyze the many common themes found throughout. In particular, he examines the significance of names, numbers, plants, animals, the heavenly bodies, and the human body. The Seven Story Tower will enhance the reader's appreciation of myth's power today over our lives and cultures.

Author Biography

Curtiss Hoffman, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Bridgewater State College. He is involved in archaeological research at eastern Massa-chusetts Native American sites and is Past President of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xvii
List of Figures	xix
The Broken Circle: A Dialogue between Myth and Science	1	(22)
Approaches to Mythological Analysis	23	(20)
The Pursuit of the White Stag	43	(16)
At the Water's Edge	59	(16)
The Measure of All Things	75	(38)
Worthy is the Yam that Was Slain	113	(20)
A Bride Too Far	133	(34)
A Breed Too Near	167	(32)
Master of Fate	199	(22)
Closing the Circle: Myth in the Modern World	221	(22)
Bibliography	243	(12)
Endnotes	255	(20)
Glossary	275	(12)
Index	287