Historical Atlas of World Mythology 1: The Way of the Animal Powers

Historical atlas of world mythology #1

by Joseph Campbell, George Armstrong (Illustrator), Robert Walter (Editor)

The volume itself is a onsummatje example of the art of bookmaking. Campbell's scholarly and readable text is integrated throughout with a profusion of color plates, specially-commissioned full-color maps, outstanidng black and white photographs, unique drawings, and numerous illuminating charts. Drawing on cultural and art history, as well as on anthropology,ethnology,archaeology,paleontology, and linguistics, THE WAY OF THE ANIMAL POWERS will be indispensable to all those interested in mythology, comparative religion, history , and the study of man.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Religion, Anthropology, Spirituality

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1983

About the author

Joseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. He was born in New York City in 1904, and from early childhood he became interested in mythology. He loved to read books about American Indian cultures, and frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles.

Campbell was educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in medieval literature, and continued his studies at universities in Paris and Munich. While abroad he was influenced by the art of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the novels of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and the psychological studies of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. These encounters led to Campbell's theory that all myths and epics are linked in the human psyche, and that they are cultural manifestations of the universal need to explain social, cosmological, and spiritual realities. 


After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, and then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 40s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He also edited works by the German scholar Heinrich Zimmer on Indian art, myths, and philosophy. In 1944, with Henry Morton Robinson, Campbell published A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake. His first original work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, came out in 1949 and was immediately well received; in time, it became acclaimed as a classic. In this study of the "myth of the hero," Campbell asserted that there is a single pattern of heroic journey and that all cultures share this essential pattern in their various heroic myths. In his book he also outlined the basic conditions, stages, and results of the archetypal hero's journey.


Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and wrote prolifically, authoring many books, including the four-volume series The Masks of God, Myths to Live By, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space and The Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Joseph Campbell died in 1987. In 1988, a series of television interviews with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, introduced Campbell's views to millions of people.


Reviews

[Paul Boudreau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important addition to any library on human early cultural development. The photos are great and the analysis is insightful. Two cautions: 1) this book is out-of-date. For instance the timeline of human development page doesn't recognize that early Homo sapiens interbred with both Neanderthals and with Denisovans. I don't fault the author - but readers need to follow up reading this with some research into more modern findings. 2) the flow of thought jumps around a lot. It makes some sense that Campbell tries to link hard evidence from 20,000 years ago with much more recent developments in cultures such as those in North America but it is not made clear when he leaves the ancient early cultures and explores linkages with the much more recent cultural developments.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing folio of maps, drawings and photographs. Campbell catalogs ancient hominid mythology and couples it with details about contemporary stone age cultures. Some of the highest quality images of cave paintings and rituals that I have ever seen. I want the five-volume set.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

been going to the archery range. makes me dream about hunting. had to go back and read this one again.

[Elizabeth Scheller Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it years ago for a class on comparative religion... read it again just because and STILL like it.