The World of Myth

Third Edition

David A. Leeming

A genuinely global collection that stresses the universality of the human endeavor to understand reality
Presents a comprehensive and truly broad perspective on mythology and culture
Uses a comparative cross-cultural dimension to enrich students' perspectives on global themes in mythology
Affordable price allows the book to be assigned with other types of course material without breaking students' budgets

New to this Edition:

Twenty-three new myths from Polynesia, Africa, Australia, India, Japan, the Caribbean, Central Asia, South America, Italy, China, Greece, Iran, England, Israel, Ireland, Mesopotamia, and France
Each chapter introduction now ends with "Questions to Consider"
Glossary terms are boldfaced the first time they occur in the text

The World of Myth

Third Edition

David A. Leeming

Description

Building on the best-selling tradition of previous editions, The World of Myth, Third Edition, offers a uniquely comprehensive collection of myths from numerous cultures around the globe. Featuring a thematic organization, it helps students understand world mythology as a metaphor for humanity's search for meaning in a complex world.

Author David Leeming provides a sweeping anthology of myths, ranging from ancient Egypt and Greece to the Polynesian islands and modern science. Students will be captivated by stories of great floods from the ancient Babylonians, Hebrews, Chinese, and Mayans; tales of apocalypse from India, the Norse, Christianity, and modern science; and myths of the mother goddess from Native American Hopi culture and James Lovelock's Gaia. Leeming has culled myths from Aztec, Greek, African, Australian Aboriginal, Caribbean, Japanese, Muslim, Hittite, Celtic, Chinese, and Persian cultures, offering one of the most wide-ranging collections of what he calls the "collective dreams of humanity".

The World of Myth

Third Edition

David A. Leeming

*=New to this Edition
INTRODUCTION: The Dimensions of Myth
Select Bibliography
PART ONE. COSMIC MYTHS
The Creation
EGYPT: Ex Nihilo Beginnings
* POLYNESIA (Maori): The Separation of the World Parents
MESOPOTAMIA: Enuma Elish and the World Parent
ISRAEL: Genesis and the Talmudic Lilith
INDIA: The Sacred Words
IRAN (PERSIA): Aryan and Zoroastrian
CHINA: Cosmic Egg and Yin and Yang
* AFRICA (MALI): The Dogon Nummo Twins
GREECE: Hesiod's Theogony
ICELAND (NORSE): The World Parent of the Eddas
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (ONONDAGAN): Star Woman and Earth Divers
MESO-AMERICA (AZTEC-MEXICA): Coatlicue the World Mother
AFRICA (BOSHONGO-BANTU): Bumba's Creation
* AUSTRALIA (ABORIGINE): The Djanggawuls
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (ACOMA): Goddesses and the Emergence
DARWIN: Origins
MODERN PHYSICS: The Big Bang
Bibliography
The Flood
MESOPOTAMIA (SUMER-BABYLON): Utnapishtim (Ziusudra)
ISRAEL: Noah
IRAN (ZOROASTRIAN): Yima
EGYPT: Hathor, Blood, and Beer
CHINA: Y:u
INDIA: Manu
GREECE-ROME: Deucalion and Pyrrha
MESO-AMERICA (MAYAN): The Popol-Vuh
SOUTH AMERICA (INCAN): Viracocha and the Giants
* MODERN SCIENCE: Climate Change and Rising Waters
Bibliography
The Apocalypse
ASIA MINOR (CHRISTIAN): The Book of Revelation
IRAN (ZOROASTRIAN): The Savior Saoshyant
ARABIA (MUSLIM): End of the World
INDIA: The End of the Kali Age
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (HOPI): Emergence to the Fifth World
ICELAND (NORSE): Ragnar:ok
MODERN PHYSICS: Entropy and Heat Death
Bibliography
PART TWO. MYTHS OF THE GODS
The Pantheons
MESOPOTAMIA (SUMER): Gods of the Elements
EGYPT
INDIA: The Trimurti
GREECE: Orginators and Olympians
ROME: The Renamed Olympians
ICELAND (NORSE): The Aesir and the Vanir
IRELAND AND WALES: The Family of Don and the Tuatha de Danann
* JAPAN: The Kami
Bibliography
The God as Archetype
The Supreme Being
INDIA: Krishna-Vishnu as Brahman
ISRAEL: Yahweh
NATIVE SOUTH AMERICA (UITOTO): Nainema
AFRICA (BUSHMAN): Mantis
* CARRIBEAN VOODOO: Bondye
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (CHEROKEE): Sun Goddess
JAPAN: Amaterasu
* CENTRAL ASIA: Tengri and Others
MODERN SCIENCE: Immanent Mind
The Great Goddess
IRELAND AND WALES: Danu-Don
* AUSTRALIA (ABORIGINE): Kunapipi
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (INUIT): Sedna
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (LAKOTA SIOUX): White Buffalo Woman
MEXICO: Our Lady of Guadaloupe
* NATIVE SOUTH AMERICA (INCA): Pachamama
* INDIA: Devi
MODERN SCIENCE: Gaia as Earth
The Dying God
MESOPOTAMIA (SUMER): Inanna (Ishtar)
EGYPT: Osiris and Isis
GREECE AND ROME: Adonis and Aphrodite
ASIA MINOR (PHRYGIA): Attis
GREECE: Dionysos
ICELAND (NORSE): Odin
NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN (PENOBSCOT): Corn Mother
* AFRICA (MALOZI): Nyambe
The Trickster
MESOPOTAMIA (SUMER): Enki and the Me
GREECE: Hermes Steals the Cattle
INDIA: Krishna and the Gopis
ICELAND (NORSE): Loki
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (MAIDA): Coyote
* CENTRAL ASIAN: Erlik
* POLYNESIA (Maori): Maui
AFRICA (FON): Legba
Bibliography
Gods, Goddesses, and Lesser Spirits
Greece and Rome
Prometheus, Pandora, Narcissus, Ganymede, Hyacinth, Tiresias, Echo, Narcissus, Hyacinth, the Eumenides, Zeus and Europa, * Romulus and Remus
Non-Greco-Roman
Mithras, Izanami and Izanagi, Pele and Hiiaka', Indra, * Guanyin (Kannon)
Bibliography
PART THREE. HERO MYTHS
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (TEWA): Water Jar Boy
GREECE: Theseus
GREECE: Herakles (Hercules) and the Twelve Labors
* GREECE: Perseus and Medusa
INDIA: The Buddha
IRELAND: Cuchulainn
* IRELAND: Fionn
GREECE: Antigone
EUROPE: King Arthur
EUROPE: Parcival and the Holy Grail
GREECE: Jason and the Golden Fleece
ROME: Aeneas
ARABIA: Muhammad and the Night Journey
AFRICA (KIKUYU): Wanjiru
* AFRICA (NYANGA): Mwindo
INDONESIA (CERAM): Hainuwele
INDIA: Rama and Sita
INDIA: Draupadi
MESOPOTAMIA: Gilgamesh
GREECE AND ROME: Orpheus and Eurydice
GREECE: Odysseus
ISRAEL: Jesus
* IRAN: Zoroaster
MESO-AMERICA (TOLTEC/AZTEC): Quetzalcoatl
EUROPE: Mary
GREECE: Alcestis
* ENGLAND: Beowulf
Bibliography
PART FOUR. PLACE AND OBJECT MYTHS
The World of Afterlife
EGYPT: Osiris
GREECE AND ROME: Lands of the Dead
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (HOPI): The Kachinas
THE MOUNTAIN
INDIA: Mount Meru
* ISRAEL: Mount Sinai
THE CITY
GREECE AND ROME: Troy
ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Jerusalem
GREECE: Delphi
The Genitals
GREECE: Tiresias
NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (APACHE): The Vagina Girls
THE STONE
ASIA MINOR (PHRYGIA): The Agdos Rock
AUSTRALIA (ABORIGINE): Erathipa
* IRELAND: The Giant's Causeway
THE TREE
INDIA: The Cosmic Tree
CHINA: Fusang
ICELAND (NORSE): Yggdrasil
THE GARDEN, THE GROVE, AND THE CAVE
* MESOPOTAMIA: Inanna's Garden
ARABIA: Muhammad's Cave
The Labyrinth
GREECE: Daedalus and Icarus
* FRANCE: The Labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral
Bibliography
Glossary
Index

The World of Myth

Third Edition

David A. Leeming

Author Information

David Leeming is Emeritus Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut. He is the author or editor of numerous books on world mythology, including The Oxford Companion to World Mythology (2005).

The World of Myth

Third Edition

David A. Leeming

Reviews and Awards

"Leeming offers an amazing and extensive collection of mythology from around the world. This text will help students to understand the common themes and symbols used in myths, and also prepare them to become world citizens. There is no better exercise in critical thinking than to read another culture's mythology and compare it to one's own (or another culture's). If Joseph Campbell is correct when he says that 'We think mythically,' then Leeming's text excels at teaching its readers how to communicate with a diverse world."--Justin Stone, Valencia State College

"The diversity of examples brought to each topic is wonderful. Including not only mythic but also scientific approaches to issues ranging from creation to the end of the world makes The World of Myth a delicious tasting plate of worldviews."--David Fletcher, Kendall College of Art and Design

"As a lifelong aficionado of mythology, I am very impressed with how The World of Myth is comprehensive, compelling, and easy to read. As an English professor of world literature, Leeming contextualizes mythology in such a way that my students will not have a problem understanding how myths are still relevant to today's various world cultures."--Devona Mallory, Albany State University

"One of the best things about this text is that it is not focused exclusively on ancient Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern myths. Its inclusion of Native North/South/Central American and Asian myths makes it especially compelling for a course that is truly intended to be a global exploration of ancient myth."--Sara Craft, Florida State University