Books - HUM 201 - World Mythology - Rose - LibGuides at Harrisburg Area Community College

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Featured Mythology e-Books

From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths

Here, Heather O'Donoghue skillfully uncovers both the history and legacy of these myths to provide the authoritative student text on Old Norse mythology.

Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Creation Myths

The content is arranged by region and myth cycle. Regions covered include: Africa; the Americas; Egypt; Norse, Celts & Europe; the Far East; Greece; India & Central Asia; the Near East; the Pacific; and the Roman World. Each regional section begins with a number of Overview essays that discuss the literature, mythology, and art of the region. All articles also include a section that surveys films, novels, and comic books that feature the mythical warriors and battles discussed in the write-up. Maps, illustrations, and poetry round out this two-volume set. Several Finding Guides list content by region and beliefs, in addition to a Subject Index.

The Legacy of the Goddess: Heroines, Warriors and Witches From World Mythology to Folktales and Fairy Tales

It is often assumed that the female characters found in popular folk and fairy tales are little more than inconsequential stereotypes--mostly serving as hapless victims in need of rescue, boring one-dimensional princesses, or egotistical and conniving villains. This book presents more fully-realized portraits of these female characters and the ways in which they actually represent bold and powerful connections to the goddesses of classic mythic narratives.

Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe: An Investigation

Hutton shows how hags, witches, the Fairy Queen, and the Green Man all came to be, and how they changed over the centuries.

Tales of the Earth: Native North American Creation Mythology

David Leeming considers the creation myths of many tribes, emphasizing four commonly occurring figures: the Great Spirit, the trickster, the goddess, and the hero.

Art and myth of the ancient Maya

Highlighting such previously overlooked topics as sexuality and generational struggles, this beautifully illustrated book paves the way for a new understanding of Maya myths and their lavish expression in ancient art.

Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico

The stories in Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky trace the history of the world from its beginnings in the dreams of the dual god,Ometeotl, to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico and the fall of the great city Tenochtitlan.

Gilgamesh: The Life of a Poem

Acclaimed literary historian Michael Schmidt provides a unique meditation on the rediscovery of Gilgamesh and its profound influence on poets today.

Gilgamesh

This edition of the colossal Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic should satisfy all readers who seek to plumb its wealth and depth without stumbling over its many inconvenient gaps and cruxes.

Illustrated Myths and Legends of China

Illustrated Myths & Legends of China is a profusely illustrated collection of 32 carefully chosen tales of Chinese myth and legend.

Superheroes and Gods: A Comparative Study From Babylonia to Batman

The work provides a unique study of superheroes and gods in literature, popular culture, and ancient myth.

Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes

. In these stories a mysterious and invisible realm of gods and spirits exists alongside and sometimes crosses over into our own human world; fierce women warriors battle with kings and heroes, and even the rules of time and space can be suspended.

Pantheon - the Norse

Pantheon - The Norse explores the beliefs and practices found within Heathenry including a look at cosmology and various celebrations. It also discusses the gods and spirits that are acknowledged within the belief system giving brief descriptions of each and how they were and are understood

Storytelling Around the World: Folktales, Narrative Rituals, and Oral Traditions

This book provides students, instructors, and lay-readers with a cross-cultural understanding of storytelling as an art form that has existed for centuries, from the first spoken and sung stories to those that are drawn and performed today.

Featured Mythology Print Books

The Norse Myths That Shape the Way We Think by Carolyne Larrington
Publication Date: 2023-05-23
A fresh look at the stories at the heart of Norse mythology, exploring their cultural impact right up to the present day.
The Chinese Myths a guide to the gods and legends by Tao Tao Liu
Publication Date: 2023-01-10
The essential guide to the complex, fascinating world of Chinese myths: retelling the stories and exploring their significance in Chinese culture.
The Japanese Myths: a guide to gods, heroes and spirits by Joshua Frydman
Publication Date: 2022-07-05
This is a smart and succinct guide to the rich tradition of Japanese mythology, from the earliest recorded legends of Izanagi and Izanami, their divine offspring and the creation of Japan, to medieval tales of vengeful ghosts, through to the modern-day reincarnation of ancient deities as the heroes of mecha anime.
African Myths and Legends by Kathleen Arnott; Joan Kiddell Monroe (Illustrator)
Publication Date: 1990-04-26
Drawn from all parts of Africa, the myths and legends of the African people demonstrate a fierce sense of justice, great powers of patience and endurance, and supreme ability as story-tellers.
Handbook of Hindu Mythology by George M. Williams; Sangeetha Menon
Publication Date: 2003-10-10
A guide to Hinduism through the ages, offering readers an accessible way of exploring its complex deities, mythological characters, and ideas.
Jealous Gods and Chosen People: the mythology of the Middle East by David Adams Leeming; David Leeming
Publication Date: 2004-03-04
Leeming begins with a brief, engaging history of the Middle East, spanning Neolithic cultures, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, the invention of writing and the rise of Egypt and Babylonia, Israel and Roman rule, and the early history of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Parallel Myths by J. F. Bierlein
Publication Date: 1994-10-11
An entertaining and thought-provoking look at the common threads woven through the world's greatest myths -- and the central role they have played through time.
The Universal Myths by Alexander Eliot; Joseph Campbell; Mircea Eliade (Contribution by)
Publication Date: 1990-02-01
Here is a rich and absorbing survey of the common myths that connect all cultures, Eastern and Western, from antiquity to the present day.
Don't Know Much about Mythology: everything you need to know about the greatest stories in human history but never learned by Kenneth C. Davis
Publication Date: 2006-08-15
From Mount Olympus to Machu Picchu, here is an insightful, lively look at the greatest stories ever told.

American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes; Alfonso Ortiz; Richard Erdoes
Publication Date: 1985-08-12
From all across the continent come beautifully illustrated tales of creation and love, of heroes and war, of animals, tricksters, and the end of the world in a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage.
Native American Creation Myths by Jeremiah Curtin
Publication Date: 2004-09-10
In retelling Native American creation myths, Harvard-educated linguist and ethnographer Jeremiah Curtin (1835–1906) provides readers with compelling narratives of the origin of the earth and its creatures.
Living Sideways: tricksters in American Indian oral traditions by Franchot Ballinger
Publication Date: 2004-11-01
A comprehensive study of American Indian tricksters. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 3 line drawings.
James Mooney's History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees by James Mooney; George Ellison (Introduction by)
Publication Date: 1992-08-01
Containing the full texts of Myths of the Cherokee (1900) and The sacred formulas of the Cherokees (1891) as published by the Bureau of American Ethnology

Buddhist Goddesses of India by Miranda Shaw
Publication Date: 2006-11-05
Shaw reveals the character, powers, and practice traditions of the female divinities in this definitive and essential guide.
Searching for the Amazons : the real warrior women of the ancient world by John Man
Publication Date: 2018-02-27
John Man travels to the grasslands of Central Asia--from the edge of the ancient Greek world to the borderlands of China--to discover tthe truth about these women whose legend has resonated over the centuries.
Women and Goddesses in Myth and Sacred Text by Tamara Agha-Jaffar
Publication Date: 2004-12-09
This cross-cultural primary source reader, provides an opportunity for readers to examine, compare and contrast the role of major female figures in Western, non-Western, major and indigenous religions.
Women of Mythology by Kay Retzlaff
Publication Date: 2003-12-31
From the divine to the sensual, women have long exercised a profound influence on world cultures, and so have become integral to the stories they tell. These tales, from ancient Egypt to old Ireland, from classical Greece to China, praise the divine and human heroines who demonstrate courage, daring, wit, creativity, and loyalty.
Women at the Beginning by Patrick J. Geary
Publication Date: 2006-02-19
In these four artfully crafted essays, Patrick Geary explores the way ancient and medieval authors wrote about women. Not confining himself to one religious tradition or region, he probes the tensions between women in biblical, classical, and medieval myths (such as Eve, Mary, Amazons, princesses, and countesses), and actual women in ancient and medieval societies.
Spinning Straw into Gold by Joan Gould
Publication Date: 2005-02-22
Replete with a wealth of wisdom about the private battles and public roles each woman must face in her life, Spinning Straw into Gold explores the choices, demands, and changes a woman must face every day.
Taking Her Seriously: Penelope & the plot of Homer's Odyssey by Richard Heitman
Publication Date: 2005-05-25
Taking Her Seriously is a reevaluation of Penelope, one of the most universally admired female characters in Western classical literature.

Classical Mythology in Context by Lisa Maurizio
Publication Date: 2022-08-22
Classical Mythology in Context provides a contextualized treatment of classical myth, combining ancient sources, comparative perspectives, theoretical approaches, and artistic interpretations.
Art and Myth in Ancient Greece by T. H. Carpenter
Publication Date: 2021-04-13
The Greek myths are so much part of our culture that we tend to forget how they entered it in the first place. Visual sources - vase paintings, engraved gems and sculpture in bronze and stone - often pre-date references to the myths in literature, or offer alternative, unfamiliar tellings. In some cases visual art provides our only evidence, as there is no surviving account in ancient Greek literature of such important stories as the Fall of Troy, or Theseus and the Minotaur.
Gods, Heroes, and Monsters : a sourcebook of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern myths by Carolina López-Ruiz
Publication Date: 2017-06-15
This collection stresses cultural continuities and comparisons, showing how Greek and Roman myths did not emerge in a vacuum but rather evolved from and interacted with their counterparts in the ancient Near East. Reinforcing this more inclusive definition of "classical," it is organized thematically, which allows readers to excamine each category of myth in a comparative and cross-cultural light.
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: the hero's journey by Thomas Van Nortwick
Publication Date: 1996-01-04
In this compelling book, Van Nortwick traces the heroic journeys in three seminal works of ancient epic poetry, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer's Iliad, and Virgil's Aeneid.
Greek Gods, Human Lives: what we can learn from myths by Mary R. Lefkowitz
Publication Date: 2003-10-11
The Greek myths - as told by Homer, Ovid, Virgil, and many others - offer crucial lessons about human experience. Greek mythology makes vivid the fact that the gods control every aspect of the lives of mortals, but not in ways that modern audiences have properly understood.
Exploring Greek Myth by Matthew Clark
Publication Date: 2012-04-23
Offers extensive discussion of variant forms of myths and many lesser known, but deserving, stories Investigates a variety of approaches to the study of myth including: the sources of our knowledge of Greek myth, myth and ritual in ancient Greek society, comparative myth, myth and gender, hero cult, psychological interpretation of myth, and myth and philosophy
Oh My Gods: a modern retelling of Greek and Roman myths by Philip Freeman
Publication Date: 2012-01-03
From acclaimed writer and scholar Philip Freeman, a contemporary retelling of classic Greek and Roman mythology.
Classical Mythology by Mark P. O. Morford; Robert J. Lenardon
Publication Date: 2006-07-20
Featuring the authors' clear and extensive translations of original sources, it brings to life the myths and legends of Greece and Rome in a lucid and engaging style.
Gender and the Interpretation of Classical Myth by Lillian E. Doherty
Publication Date: 2001-11-29
Myths reflect, reinforce, and sometimes subvert gender ideologies and so have an influence in the 'real world'. This is true in the present no less than when the Greek and Roman myths were created. The struggles to redefine gender roles and identities in our own time are inevitably reflected in our interpretations and retellings of these classical myths.

Joseph Campbell is a renowned scholar of comparative mythology:

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
Publication Date: 1972-03-21
The first popular work to combine the spiritual and psychological insights of modern psychoanalysis with the archetypes of world mythology, the book creates a roadmap for navigating the frustrating path of contemporary life. Examining heroic myths in the light of modern psychology, it considers not only the patterns and stages of mythology but also its relevance to our lives today--and to the life of any person seeking a fully realized existence.
Primitive Mythology: the Masks of God by Joseph Campbell
Publication Date: 1991-11-01
The author of such acclaimed books as Hero With a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth discusses the primitive roots of mythology, examining them in light of the most recent discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, and psychology
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: the hero's journey by Thomas Van Nortwick
Publication Date: 1996-01-04
In this compelling book, Van Nortwick traces the heroic journeys in three seminal works of ancient epic poetry, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer's Iliad, and Virgil's Aeneid.
Transformations of Myth Through Time by Joseph Campbell
Publication Date: 1990-02-28
The renowned master of mythology is at his warm, accessible, and brilliant best in this illustrated collection of thirteen lectures covering mythological development around the world.
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell; Bill Moyers
Publication Date: 1988-05-01
This extraordinary best-seller is a brilliant evocation of the noted scholar's teachings on mythology.
Romance of the Grail: the Magic and Mystery of Arthurian Myth by Joseph Campbell; Evans Lansing Smith (Editor)
Publication Date: 2015-12-15
Campbell's writing captures the incredible stories of such figures as Merlin, Gawain, and Guinevere as well as the larger patterns and meanings revealed in these myths. Merlin's death and Arthur receiving Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake, for example, are not just vibrant stories but also central to the mythologist's thinking.