This work by Sir James Frazer (1854-1941) is widely considered to be one of the most important early texts in the fields of psychology and anthropology. At the same time, by applying modern methods of comparative ethnography to the classical world, and revealing the superstition and irrationality beneath the surface of the classical culture which had for so long been a model for Western civilisation, it was extremely controversial. Frazer was greatly influenced by E. B. Tylor's Primitive Culture (also reissued in this series), and by the work of the biblical scholar William Robertson Smith, to whom the first edition is dedicated. The twelve-volume third edition, reissued here, was greatly revised and enlarged, and published between 1911 and 1915; the two-volume first edition (1890) is also available in this series. Volume 3 (1911) is concerned with the concept of taboo, and its presence in all religious systems.
Revealed here is the evolution of man from savagery to civilization, from the modification of his weird and often bloodthirsty customs to the entry of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.
The work was aimed at a wide literate audience raised on tales as told in such publications as Thomas Bulfinch's The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes.
Frazer's groundbreaking study of myth and magic was among the first works of trans-historical anthropology, examining the world-wide beliefs in magic held by ancient peoples, and illuminating the ancient practices of nature worship, the ...
Reissued here is Frazer's own single-volume abridgement of 1922.
Being itself a product of lightning it naturally serves, on homoeopathic principles, as a protection against lightning, ... We have seen that both in France and Sweden special virtues are ascribed to mistletoe gathered at Midsummer.
The only unabridged, illustrated edition of the classic exploration of the world of myth, folklore, and primitive customs is an inspiration to poets, students, and readers in general.
This edition of The Golden Bough A study of magic and religion by Sir James George Frazer is given by Golden - Million Book Edition
Meantime a wish has often been expressed that the book should be issued in a more compendious form. This abridgment is an attempt to meet the wish and thereby to bring the work within the range of a wider circle of readers.
For the first time this one-volume edition restores Frazer's bolder theories and sets them within the framework of a valuable introduction and notes.
This 1890 study offers a monumental exploration of the cults, rites, and myths of antiquity and their parallels with those of early Christianity. Abridged by the author from his 12-volume work.