World Mythology: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #716

by David A. Leeming

The mythologies of the world are collective cultural dreams, and as such should be analyzed first from cultural perspectives. How do myths of the ancient Egyptians or Greeks, for instance, reflect the realities of the Egyptian and Greek cultures? When compared, however, mythologies reveal certain universal themes or motifs that point to larger trans-cultural issues such as the place of the human species in creation or the nature of deity as a concept.

World A Very Short Introduction is organized around the universal motifs. Creation, the Flood, the Hero Quest, the Trickster/Culture Hero, the Pantheons, the High God, the Great Goddess. Veteran mythology scholar David Leeming examines examples of each motif from a variety of cultures--Greek, Egyptian, Norse, American Indian, African, Polynesian, Jewish, Christian, Hindu--treating them as reflections of the cultures that "dreamed" them. He compares and analyzes them, exposing their universal significance and creating a "world mythology."

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Audiobook

160 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 21, 2022

About the author

aka David Adams Leeming

Reviews

[فؤاد · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب در پنج فصل پنج مضمون کلان در اساطیر جهان رو در نظر گرفته (خدا، آفرینش، طوفان، حقه باز، قهرمان). در هر فصل اول توی مقدمه توضیحات کلی در مورد اون مضمون میده، بعد اسطوره های مختلف راجع به اون مضمون رو میاره.
یه کتاب جمع و جور خوب برای آشنایی اولیه با اساطیر جهان.

[Jessica Weida · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice overview of the world's mythology with comparison of the flood, creation, trickers, heros and gods/goddesses.
Great listen to strike an interest to do a deeper dive into area topics.

[Tess McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent intro to a variety of mythologies and how they connect. Good thing since my teacher did very little to help with that.

[Becca Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read--great for spiritual deconstruction or general interest in world religion. Leeming writes so clearly and succinctly, diving into five universal aspects of almost all religious myths: deity, flood, creation, trickster, hero.

It's always fascinating to me to understand how the spread of various religious aspects has evolved, and Leeming posits a lot of parallels between popular modern religions and ancient ones (the Holy Family's origins being found in the holy Egyptian family, etc.). There's a very objective and almost sterile approach to these stories that I really appreciated, because, for the most part, he allows the reader to come to their own conclusions about the provided parallels between religions.

I think that the many commonalities found within various religions (especially the ones that had no contact with each other) are such interesting paths to understanding the human psyche. Why has almost every culture included some form of a flood myth? Is there an inherent, psychological reason? Why do many invent "tricksters" (Lucifer, etc.) and deny the existence of a flawed creator? Anyway.

"World mythology, then, is a collection of the many ways in which humans have projected the journey of life. Our deities reflect the hope that we are not alone, that there is a reason for our existence."

[Emil O. W. Kirkegaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compilation of various myths, presented in short form with light commentary.

[Zach Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpfully identifies 5 themes that are nearly universal across all world mythologies: deities, creation stories, floods, tricksters, and heroes. Good intro to stories to document this commonality.

Obviously, certain perspectives of the author shape his commentary on these commonalities, and the book is probably too short to justify these perspectives. Two examples:

1. “Nobody has ever seen these deities.” Perhaps so. Perhaps not. Certainly many of the people in the myths claimed to have had some sort of encounter with these deities.

2. “These myths are cultural projections that help societies find their place in the world.” Really? How do you know that they are all projections? Couldn’t it be true that the myths shape the culture more than the culture shapes the myths? Or at least couldn’t this be true in at least one of the mythic traditions?

Anyway, this probably isn’t the book to justify those perspectives, so for what it is it’s good.

[Josh Friedlander · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is says on the tin: all the world myths (introduced very shortly). Leeming gathers them into categories, such as heroes and creation and flood myths. There are tricksters (such as Anansi) who try to sow chaos, and sometimes pay the price for it.

Could you map these archetypes to the Freudian tripartite division of the psyche - trickster id, Almighty superego, and hero ego? That's the thing with studying myths, it gives you an endlessly tempting set of possibilities for finding patterns and lessons. It's no wonder Freud saw in them the key to understanding the subconscious (the old "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"!) Nowadays…I wouldn't say that we know better, but at least are more aware of the possibility of apophenia.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly fascinating look at the common threads to all cultural mythologies. Important to note how these myths have served to provide each culture a purpose of life narrative. What this book clearly articulates are the patterns in aspects such as deity, creation, the trickster, hero’s journey, quest for immortality etc. Perhaps it is like a game of telephone: common threads to tell a story that changes over time and per the cultures conveying it. But oh man, there’s so much sex and bodily fluids!

[Michael Patton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dry recitation. To be honest, I didn't go too far into the book. But I think I went far enough. So why then, why didn't I check the free sample before I bought the book? Well, in the "Very Short Introduction" series, the titles of all their books are listed at the beginning of each book. And because they have so many titles, the sample ends before the text of the book begins. Come on, guys!

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Got to the important stuff without overloading unnecessary details. It may be helpful to remind both the reader and the author that myth is a literary category and not synonymous with fiction or fantasy. This is especially cogent when the author addresses things like the virgin birth and the Genesis origin story.

[Patrick Kelley]

This is a wonderful introduction to the common motifs and themes of mythology from around the world. It is amazing that in a short book, i learned about the deities, creation, flood, trickster and hero myths from so many cultures. Concise and simple, this bookwas fun.

[Devv✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main themes of World Mythology were concisely explained in this book with the themes relating to good over evil, fertility, resurrection, awakening and death. It's a good start for those aiming to dive deeper into mythology with curiosity about myths that are less commonly spoken about.

[Mary Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bit crammed but that's the series. It was a bit confusing because the info was so short. However, it says very short introductions. This guy needs to write clearer sentences but organized everything well. Provided further reading list.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one! I learned some cool mythology I didn't know about from around the world and got suggestions for further reading. I liked how he organized them thematically.

[Joshua Remington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series. This particular introduction looks at stories that are told around the world and across cultures.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid introduction to world mythology and the major categories of myth.

[Jenny Trick · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars. Very informative but read like a super long essay which wasn’t super engaging. A lot of repeating and summing things up too which felt dry. But still contained a lot of good info.

[Eileen Gaston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating connections among common themes around the world, from creation to flood to miraculous births…It packs a tremendous amount of information into, as the title indicates, a very short book.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational, had to read fir my Lit-229 class

[Artie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Organized by archetypal themes. Interesting comparative analysis. Learned a lot about some more obscure cultural mythologies!

[sznn.plnk ☀️🌿 · Rating 3 out of 5]

had to read this for school, and it was very insightful albeit a little dry.

[jack ready · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lil educational read to stay fresh over break. good overview overall - see what I did there... !

[Dalan Mendonca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does what it says on the cover. Quick overview of key tropes and mythological stories from across the planet with good commentary.

[Leif · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many mysteries in our world and every culture has created a mythos to explain them.

The book does an excellent job in allowing the reader to compare various mythologys to each other, such as highlighting the surprising similarities between the traditional biblical flood story and an almost identical Babylonian story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has always been fascinated both others cultures and to those who want to understand how our myths shape our thinking.