MYTHOLOGIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

by Samuel Noah Kramer

Ten leading scholars take a fresh look at ancient mythologies in a work that can be read with pleasure and intellectual profit by both the specialist and the general reader. Includes chapters on the mythologies of ancient Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, India, China, and more.

Genres: Mythology, History, Religion, Literature, Reference

480 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 1960

About the author

Dr. Samuel Noah Kramer, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania, 1929; born Simcha Kramer), was a historian, philologist, and Assyriologist, particularly renowned as an expert in the language and history of Sumer. He was Clark Research Professor Emeritus of Assyriology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was also Curator Emeritus of the Tablet Collections.

Dr. Kramer is often credited with the virtual creation of Sumerian cuneiform literature as an academic field, in which he wrote some 30 books for both academic and popular audiences. was a member of the American Oriental Society, Archeological Institute of America, Society of Biblical Literature and American Philosophical Society, which awarded him its John Frederick Lewis Prize.

Reviews

[John Wanga]

Mhhh, can't complain learnt that Egyptians worshipped Cows for a reason. And the fact that the Egyptian king was viewed as a god, the great almighty Horus. Surprisingly, Africa doesn't seem to have myths or perhaps we didn't exist at the time.

Oh well, I guess it makes for a good reading anyways.

[NDB]

Although a collection of scholarly papers this is not an academic book. It is an excellent introduction to the major themes expresed in Egyptian, Summarian & Akkadian, Hittite, Canaanite, Greek, Indian, Iranian, Chinese, Japanese and Mexican Mythology.

[Denise DeRocher]

Everything you did not already know about mythology is encompassed in this volume!