Pagina Electronica / E. N Genovese, San Diego State University

MYTHOLOGY: TEXTS AND CONTEXTS
By E. N. Genovese
Seventh Edition, 2004, McGraw-Hill, Primis Custom Publishing
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In General

This text is intended to provide a basic survey of comparative mythology. It contains a selection of ancient, classical, and medieval excerpts, most in the author's translations. To discover the nature and effect of 40 or so myths, the text investigates their original texts and contexts.

Each excerpted text is subjected to a summary discussion of its structure, themes, and other literary and mythic qualities. In addition, there is often a discussion that outlines the development of the originating civilization or establishes that civilization's relation to others, with attention to geography or other mythic and nonmythic literature.

Features


Important names and terms are noted in margin at first occurrences, many with pronunciation, etymological glosses, and nuances.

Most chapters include a brief discussion of a theory of myth interpretation as applied to preceding content.

Chapter summaries

Review questions for each chapter include important ideas, characters, terminology, summaries, comparisons.

Extensive index and pronunciation guide

Contents


Introduction

Origins | 1, Myth: Quetzalcoatl | 2, Egypt: Ogdoad, Ennead | 3, Mesopotamia: Enlil, Marduk | 4, Genesis: Yahweh, Elohim | 5, Indo-Europeans: Zeus, Indra, Thor | 6, Classics, Hesiod, Ovid | 7, Heaven: Paradise, Golden Age

Mysteries | 8, Goddess: Sati, Inanna, Demeter | 9, Devil: Satan, Lucifer | 10, Hermaphrodite: Hermaphroditus, Attis, Shiva | 11, Fate: Prometheus, Pentheus | 12, Underworld: Aeneas, Orpheus | 13, Regeneration: Osiris, Dumuzi, Adonis 

Quests | 14, Demigod: Gilgamesh, Heracles | 15, Savior: Buddha, Jesus | 16, Legend: Homer, Schliemann | 17, Hero: Achilles, Odysseus | 18, King: Oedipus, Beowulf | 19, Quest: Perceval 

Bibliography | Pronunciation | Index


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