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Cover

Introduction to Mythology

Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths

Fourth Edition

Eva M. Thury and Margaret K. Devinney

Publication Date - 10 February 2016

ISBN: 9780190262983

944 pages
Paperback
8 x 10 inches

In Stock

The only complete--and truly global--world mythology text, now in full color

Description

Integrating original texts with explanations, interpretations, and theory, Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths, Fourth Edition, introduces students to a wide range of myths drawn from sources all around the world and approached from various critical perspectives.

FEATURES

An innovative pedagogical structure helps students discern the complex web of literary allusions that characterize mythological texts

A global locator map at the beginning of each chapter situates the myths in their geographical context

Running margin notes provide cross-references and explanations of terms

A glossary of deities, an illustrated timeline, and suggested readings offer additional resources

A vibrant art program features more than 200 illustrations, photographs, and maps

New to this Edition

  • Vibrant full-color design
  • Enhanced charts and diagrams
  • King Arthur and the Holy Grail: added chapter (Chapter 20)
  • Monkey King story (Chapter 10)
  • Iroquois League Creation myths (Chapter 8)
  • Works by Audre Lorde (Chapter 45)
  • Ramayana: expanded introduction (Chapter 18)
  • Paths of discovery relating to Native American stories and to feminism (Preface)
  • Revised Instructor's Manual
  • Updated Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/thury
  • Extensive update of the popular supplement, Now Playing: Learning Mythology Through Film

About the Author(s)

Eva M. Thury is Associate Professor of English at Drexel University.

Margaret K. Devinney is Associate Professor Emerita of German at Temple University.

Previous Publication Date(s)

April 2012
January 2009
December 2004

Reviews

"Introduction to Mythology is a first-class textbook. I have looked around at many other texts and there are very few with the breadth and depth of this book."--Marjorie Berman, Red Rocks Community College

"This is an excellent guide to world mythology for both students and teachers. It is especially helpful to a teacher trying to cover a lot of global ground in a comprehensive mythology course. Few would have the expertise commanded by the two authors to cover everything from Native American through African through contemporary film myths."--Micaela Janan, Duke University

"I've taught world mythology for twenty-five years, using a variety of texts over that time, and the Thury and Devinney textbook is by far the best and most valuable resource on the market. I have been using it since the first edition and haven't yet seen a superior work."--Marvin D. L. Lansverk, Montana State University

"Introduction to Mythology covers mythology and also introduces the notion of myth in contemporary narrative form, all the while offering a coherent analytical group of ideas to explain why these themes we find in mythology are still in our narratives today. And it does so in one book. It is the only book I know of that takes such a comprehensive approach to the subject."--Bob G. Warren, Valencia College

Table of Contents

    *=New to this Edition
    Preface
    Time Line
    PART I. INTRODUCTION TO STUDYING MYTH
    1. What Is Myth?
    2. Ways of Understanding Myth
    PART 2. MYTHS OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION
    2A. Creation
    3. Greece: Hesiod
    4. Rome: Ovid (Creation)
    5. The Bible: Genesis (Creation)
    6. Mesopotamia: Enuma Elish
    7. Icelandic/Norse: Prose Edda (Creation)
    8. North America: Stories from the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo (Southwest); and from the Iroquois League (Northeastern Woodlands)
    9. Africa: Uganda and Nigeria
    10. China: Nü Kwa, Kuan Yin, and Monkey
    11. Mesoamerica: Popol Vuh
    2B. Destruction
    12. Rome: Ovid (Flood)
    13. The Bible: Genesis (Flood)
    14. Icelandic/Norse: Prose Edda (Ragnarok)
    PART 3. HEROES AND TRICKSTERS
    15. Theory: Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Dave Whomsley
    16. Mesopotamia: The Epic of Gilgamesh
    17. Applying Theory: A Lévi-Straussian Analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh, G. S. Kirk
    18. India: The Ramayana
    19. Icelandic/Norse: Prose Edda (Heroes)
    * 20. Arthurian Legend: The Holy Grail, Donna Lynne Rondolone
    21. Africa: The Mwindo Epic
    22. Greece: Oedipus the King, Sophocles
    23. Theory: The Structural Study of Myth, Claude Lévi-Strauss
    24. North America: Raven
    25. African and African-American Trickster Stories
    26. Greece: Prometheus
    27. Applying Theory: Different Versions of Myths
    PART 4. RITUAL AND MYTH
    28. Theory: The Forest of Symbols, Victor Turner
    29. Greece: Demeter and Persephone
    30. Egypt: Isis and Osiris
    31. Applying Theory: Meals in the Bible, Mary Douglas
    32. Icelandic/Norse: The Rituals of Iceland, H.R. Ellis Davidson
    33. Greece: Heracles and Dionysus
    PART 5. DREAMS AND MYTH
    34. Theory: Man and His Symbols, C.G. Jung
    35. Applying Theory: How to Perform a Jungian Analysis
    PART 6. FOLKTALE AND MYTH
    36. Theory: The Morphology of the Folktale, Vladimir Propp
    37. Applying Theory: A Proppian Analysis of The Wizard of Oz
    38. Germany: Grimms' Household Tales
    39. Rome: "Cupid and Psyche," Apuleius
    40. Applying Theory: Highlighting Different Aspects of the Same Tale Using Multiple Analyses
    PART 7. CONTEMPORARY MYTH
    41. Daniel Boone: Building the Myth around the Man, Richard Slotkin
    42. Stagecoach and Firefly: The Journey into the Unknown in Westerns and Science Fiction, Fred Erisman
    43. Harry Potter: A Rankian Analysis of the Hero of Hogwarts, M. Katherine Grimes
    44. The Vampire as Hero: Tales of the Undead in a Contemporary Context, Eva M. Thury
    PART 8. LITERATURE AND MYTH
    45. Poetry and Myth
    46. "Yellow Woman": Native-American Oral Myth in a Contemporary Context, Leslie Marmon Silko
    47. Narrative and Myth
    Glossary of Gods, Heroes, and Antiheroes
    Additional Works Cited
    Credits
    Index

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