A Short History of Myth

A Short History of Myth
ISBN-10
184195716X
ISBN-13
9781841957166
Series
A Short History Of Myth
Category
Religion / General
Pages
159
Language
English
Published
2005
Publisher
Canongate
Author
Karen Armstrong

Description

This brilliant, readable synthesis of the history of mythology and the function it serves to humanity is the launch title of the groundbreaking publishing event, The Myths . “Human beings have always been mythmakers.” So begins Karen Armstrong's concise yet compelling investigation into myth: what it is, how it has evolved, and why we still so desperately need it. She takes us from the Paleolithic period and the myths of the hunters right up to the “Great Western Transformation” of the last five hundred years and the discrediting of myth by science. The history of myth is the history of humanity, our stories and beliefs, our curiosity and attempts to understand the world, which link us to our ancestors and each other. Myths help us make sense of the universe. Heralding a major series of retellings of international myths by authors from around the world, Armstrong's characteristically insightful and eloquent book serves as a brilliant and thought-provoking introduction to myth in the broadest sense -- and explains why if we dismiss it, we do so at our peril.

Other editions

Similar books

  • Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions
    By James R. Lewis

    Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC- CLIO, 1992. Green, Miranda J. Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. Spence, Lewis. The Fairy Tradition in Britain. London: Rider and Company, 1948.

  • Religion and the Law in America: An Encyclopedia of Personal Belief and Public Policy
    By Scott A. Merriman

    Provides a collection of essays and alphabetical entries that cover the history of freedom of religion in the United States.

  • Understanding Reception: A Backdrop to Its Ecumenical Use
    By Matthew Charles Ogilvie, Frederick M. Bliss

    London : Darton , Longman and Todd . 1974. A Second Collection : Papers by Bernard J. F. Lonergan , S.J. Edited by William F.J. Ryan and Bernard J. Tyrrell . London : Darton , Longman and Todd . 1976. The Way to Nicea : The Dialectical ...

  • Food & Nutrition Sciences: Answer Key
    By John C. Meagher

    Food & Nutrition Sciences: Answer Key

  • Religion Past & Present: Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion
    By Hans Dieter Betz

    In the D. Emeis & K.H. Schmitt , Handbuch der Gemeindekatechese , northern German dioceses , the most commonly used 1986 • F.-P. Tebartz - van Elst , “ Gemeindliche Katechese , ” in : catechism was B.H. - Overberg's Katechismus der ...

  • Atlas of the bible, by reader's digest association
    By Harry Thomas Frank

    Atlas of the bible, by reader's digest association

  • Festivals and Plays in Late Medieval Britain
    By Clifford Davidson

    128 See John Walton Tyrer , Historical Survey of Holy Week : Its Services and Ceremonial , Alcuin Club Collections 29 ( London : Oxford University Press , 1932 ) , esp . 58 ; and see also this occasion was important for other reasons ...

  • Satanism Today
    By James R. Lewis

    Edmunds, R. David. The Shawnee Prophet. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1983. Edward, Paul, ed. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Macmillan, 1967. Edwards, Frank. Stranger Than Science. New York: Lyle Stuart, 1959.

  • Crossing and Dwelling: A Theory of Religion
    By Thomas A. Tweed

    Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green, eds., The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents (Boston and New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995). On the artist who painted the image of the Trail of Tears shown in Figure 5, Jerome Tiger, ...

  • 로제타 홀 일기 2
    By 로제타 홀

    로제타 홀 (Rosetta S. Hall) ... Opened a Women's Hospital in Chemulpo Son Sherwood and Marian Bottomley married in Ohio Arrived in Korea, Sherwood and his wife 6 Sherwood hall, Establishment of the Haiju TB Sanatorium Sherwood hall, ...