World Mythology The Illustrated Guide

by Willis, Roy; Walter, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780195307528
• ISBN10: 0195307526
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-06-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The great myths of the world create meaning out of the fundamental events of human existence: birth, death, conflict, loss, reconciliation, the cycle of the seasons. They speak to us of life itself in voices still intelligible, yet compellingly strange and distant. World Mythology offers readers an authoritative and wide-ranging guide to these enduring mythological traditions, combining the pure narrative of the myths themselves with the backtground necessary for more complete understanding. Here, noted mythology expert Roy Willis, brings together a team of nineteen leading scholars navigate a clear path through the complexities of myth as they distill the essence of each regional tradition and focus on the most significant figures and the most enthralling stories. All aspects of the world's key mythologies are covered, from tales of warring deities and demons to stories of revenge and metamorphosis; from accounts of lustful gods and star-crossed human lovers to journeys in the underworld. All are told at length and are accompanied by illuminating and readable introductory text. Also included are summaries of important theories about the origins and meaning of myth, and an examination of themes that recur across a range of civilizations. Beautifully illustrated with more than 500 color photographs, works of art, charts, and maps, World Mythology offers readers the most accessible guide yet to the heritage of the world's imagination.

Author Biography

Roy Willis, Ph.D., is Honorary Fellow in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh.

Table of Contents

Foreword	8	(2)
Robert Walter
Introduction	10	(7)
Dr Roy Willis
GREAT THEMES OF MYTH	17	(18)
Dr Roy Willis
Creation/The origins of the world	18	(2)
Cosmic Architecture/The structure of the universe	20	(2)
Myths of Humanity/Causes of life and death	22	(2)
Supernatural Beings/Gods, spirits and demons	24	(2)
Cosmic Disasters/The end of the world	26	(2)
Heroes and Tricksters/Agents of change	28	(2)
Animals and Plants/Energy, transformation and kinship	30	(2)
Body and Soul/Spirit and the afterlife	32	(2)
Marriage and Kinship/Myths of the social order	34	(1)
A WORLD MYTHOGRAPHY	35	(273)
Egypt	36	(32)
Professor John Baines
Dr Geraldine Pinch
The First Gods/Order from chaos	38	(2)
The Ennead/The Nine Gods of Heliopolis	40	(2)
Osiris/Upholder of order	42	(1)
Isis/The devoted widow	43	(1)
Horus and Seth/The struggle for the throne of Osiris	44	(2)
Solar Myths/The eternal cycle of renewal	46	(2)
Myth and Magic/The secret name of Ra; the Book of Thoth	48	(1)
Snakes and Scorpions/Agents of chaos	49	(1)
Powerful Goddesses/Neith, Sekhmet and Bastet	50	(1)
Other Goddesses/Anat, Astarte, Hathor and Taweret	51	(1)
Kings and the Gods/The sacred role of the pharaohs	52	(2)
Priest-Magicians/Setna Khaemwese and Imhotep	54	(1)
Life After Death/The soul in the underworld	55	(1)
The Middle East	56	(2)
Professor Reverend Canon J.R. Porter
Sumer and Babylon/Myths from the first cities	58	(2)
Gilgamesh/The great epic of mortality	60	(1)
Ishtar and Tammuz/The descent to the underworld	61	(1)
Myths of Creation/Enki, Marduk and the divine decrees	62	(1)
The Flood/Destruction and survival	63	(1)
Ugaritic Myths/Kingship and succession	64	(2)
Myths of the Hittites/Dragons and lost gods	66	(1)
Persian Myths/Ahura Mazdah and the battle between good and evil	67	(1)
India	68	(20)
Dr John Brockington
Origins of the World/Sacrifice and conflict	70	(2)
Indra/Warrior and king of the gods	72	(2)
Brahma/The creator god	74	(1)
Vishnu/Protector of the world	75	(1)
Vishnu's Incarnations/The avatars	76	(1)
Rama/The righteous avatar	77	(1)
Krishna, the Adorable/The eighth avatar of Vishnu	78	(2)
Shiva/The erotic and ascetic combined	80	(2)
Devi/The manifold goddess	82	(2)
Shiva's Family Circle/Shiva, Parvati, Skanda, Ganesha	84	(1)
Jain Myth/A response to Hinduism	85	(1)
The Enlightened One/Myths of Buddhism	86	(2)
China	88	(22)
Dr John Chinnery
Order Out Of Chaos/Pan Gu and Hun Dun	90	(1)
Nu Gua and Fu Xi/The creation of humanity; flood myths	91	(3)
Sun, Moon and Stars/Myths of the heavenly bodies	94	(2)
Chinese Buddhism/Amitabha and Guanyin	96	(2)
Taoist Myth/Gods and Immortals	98	(3)
Myths of the Family/Filial piety and household gods	101	(1)
Tibet and Mongolia	102	(2)
Dr Martin Boord
Myths of Origin/Radiant, Black Misery and the karmic wind	104	(1)
Myths of the Ancient Kings/The sky-descended rulers	105	(1)
King Gesar/The warrior-king	106	(1)
The Taming of the Gods/The impact of Buddhism	107	(1)
Mongolian Shamanism/Encounters with the spirit realm	108	(2)
Japan	110	(14)
Dr C. Scott Littleton
Izanagi and Izanami/The primal couple	112	(3)
Amaterasu and Susano/The contest of the sibling deities	115	(1)
The Divine Crisis/Amaterasu's removal of the sun	116	(2)
The Izumo Cycle/Susano's descent to earth; Okuninushi and the White Rabbit	118	(3)
Gods, Heroes and Demons/Inari, Hachiman and the Oni	121	(1)
The Realm of Saga/The exploits of Jimmu-tenno and Yamato-takeru	122	(1)
Buddhist Myths/Three figures of mercy	123	(1)
Greece	124	(42)
Dr Simon Goldhill
Myth and Society/Public and private observances	126	(2)
The Birth of the Gods/The rise of the Olympians	128	(2)
The Origins of Humanity/Prometheus, Pandora, Deucalion, Pyrrha	130	(2)
Zeus/King of the gods	132	(1)
The Couplings of Zeus/Human and divine consorts	133	(3)
Athene/The virgin goddess	136	(1)
Poseidon/God of the sea	137	(1)
Apollo/The brilliant god	138	(1)
Artemis/Chaste goddess of the hunt	139	(1)
Dionysos/God of wine and altered states	140	(2)
Goddesses of the Soil/Demeter and Persephone	142	(1)
Ares and Aphrodite/War, love and sex	143	(1)
Home, Hearth and Fire/Hermes, Hestia and Hephaistos	144	(2)
The Underworld/The kingdom of Hades	146	(1)
Heroes and Monsters/The world's prodigies	147	(1)
Herakles/The archetypal hero	148	(2)
Theseus/Athenian hero and statesman	150	(2)
Jason/The great adventurer	152	(2)
The Argonauts/Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece	154	(2)
Perseus/Slayer of Medusa	156	(1)
The Trojan War/Homer's warrior epic	157	(3)
After Troy/Odysseus and Agamemnon	160	(2)
Transgressors/Breakers of the natural order	162	(2)
Centaurs and Amazons/Races of fabulous beings	164	(1)
Transformations/Myths of metamorphosis; Orpheus	165	(1)
Rome	166	(10)
Dr Mary Beard
Gods and Goddesses/The borrowed pantheon; household gods and civic virtues	168	(4)
The Foundation of Rome/The destiny of Aeneas the Trojan	172	(2)
Romulus and the Kings of Rome/The she-wolf and the myths of the past	174	(2)
The Celtic World	176	(14)
Dr John MacInnes
The Celtic Pantheon/A miscellany of gods	178	(2)
Myths and Gods of Ireland/The Mythological Cycle	180	(2)
The Hero of Ulster/Tales of Cu Chulainn	182	(2)
Finn and His Warriors/The Fenian myths	184	(2)
Goddesses/Motherhood, war and sovereignty	186	(1)
Otherworldly Voyages/Conla, Mael Duin and Bran	187	(1)
Stories of Wales/The ``Mabinogion''	188	(1)
The Arthurian Legend/Arthur and his knights	189	(1)
Northern Europe	190	(16)
Dr Hilda Ellis Davidson
Early and Lost Gods/Fragments of Northern myth	192	(1)
Cosmology in the Viking Age/The World Tree and its realms	193	(2)
Loki and Ragnarok/The trickster, the wolf and the last great battle	195	(1)
Odin/Ruler of Asgard	196	(2)
Thor/The thunder god	198	(2)
Freyr and the Vanir/Gods of sky, land and water	200	(2)
Goddesses and Female Spirits/Freyja, Golden Apples, Valkyries and Norns	202	(2)
The Dragon-Slayers/Beowulf and Sigurd	204	(2)
Central and Eastern Europe	206	(8)
Dr Faith Wigzell
The Other World/The thrice tenth kingdom	208	(1)
The Baba Iaga and the Amazons/Female creatures of folk tale	209	(1)
Ancestors and Hearth Spirits/Ivan the Fool and the domovoi	210	(1)
Spirit Souls of the Departed/The rusalka, vila and other visitors	211	(1)
Malevolent Spirits/Forest creatures, werewolves and vampires	212	(2)
The Arctic Regions	214	(6)
Dr David Riches
Dr Piers Vitebsky
Myths of the Inuit/Spirits of sea and sky	216	(2)
Myths of Siberia/Animals, trees and shamans	218	(2)
North America	220	(14)
Dr Guy Cooper
Creation Myths/Great Spirit and Earth Diver	222	(1)
The Origins of Humanity/The first human ancestors	223	(1)
Gods and Heroes/Shapers and controllers of the world	224	(2)
Shamans/Vision quests and guardian spirits	226	(1)
Tricksters/Entertainers and mischief-makers	227	(1)
Navajo Myths/Curing ceremonies and Coyote tales	228	(2)
Myths of the Plains/Wakan Tanka and the sacred pipe	230	(2)
Animal Myths/The relatives of humankind	232	(2)
Mesoamerica	234	(16)
Dr Nicholas J. Saunders
The Old Gods/The jaguar and the fire deity	236	(1)
Creations and Cataclysms/The myth of the suns	237	(2)
Tezcatlipoca/Lord of the Smoking Mirror	239	(1)
Quetzalcoatl/The feathered serpent	240	(2)
Huitzilopochtli/God of sun and war	242	(2)
Tlaloc and Fertility/Aztec gods of rain and corn	244	(2)
Gods of the Sacred Calendar/Sacred and solar cycles	246	(2)
Gods of the Maya/The three-layered cosmos	248	(2)
South America	250	(14)
Dr Nicholas J. Saunders
Ancient Religions/Spirits, sacrifice and sacred journeys	252	(1)
Myths of the Andes/The Incas and their predecessors	253	(3)
The Inca Pantheon/Viracocha, Inti, Mama Kilya - and Ilyap'a	256	(2)
The Sacred Skies/Animal constellations and sacred lines	258	(2)
Spirit Worlds/The universe transformed	260	(2)
The Ancestral Forest/Origin myths of the forest peoples	262	(2)
Africa	264	(14)
Dr Roy Willis
Origins of the World/Africa's creation myths	266	(2)
The Upside-Down World/The realms of the living and the dead	268	(1)
Death and Sex/The loss of immortality	269	(1)
Myths of Kingship/The divine lineage of earthly rulers	270	(3)
Tower Myths/The folly of human presumptuousness	273	(1)
Eshu The Trickster/Cunning mediator between heaven and earth	274	(2)
Animal Myths/Tricksters, inventors and transformers	276	(2)
Australia	278	(10)
Professor Robert Layton
The Big Flood/Myths of origin	280	(2)
Death and Mourning/The origins of mortality	282	(2)
The Origins of Marriage/Eaglehawk and Crow; Wodoy and Djunggun	284	(1)
Tricksters/The ancestral order disrupted	285	(1)
Shaping the Landscape/Myths of ancestral wanderings	286	(2)
Oceania	288	(12)
Dr James Weiner
Myths of Origin/Creator gods and culture heroes	290	(2)
Myths of the Sky/Human and heavenly realms	292	(1)
Food and fertility/Sex and the origins of horticulture	293	(1)
Myths of the Maori/Rangi, Papa and the Polynesian pantheon	294	(2)
Ku and Lono/The Hawaiian ritual cycle	296	(1)
Maui/Oceania's trickster hero	297	(1)
Cargo Cults/The European impact	298	(1)
Myth and Magic/Living myth on Goodenough Island	299	(1)
Southeast Asia	300	(8)
Dr Ing-Britt Trankell
Dr Roy Willis
Myths of Origin/The creation of the world and humanity	302	(2)
Humans, Gods and Spirits/The origins of civilization	304	(2)
Encounters With Magic/Barbarians, demons and witches	306	(1)
The Giver of Life/Myths about rice	307	(1)
Further Reading	308	(2)
Picture Credits	310	(1)
Index	311