Comments on: Oh ye Gods, tell me your stories.

Question: Oh ye Gods, tell me your stories.

fantine — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:47:13 -0800

What are the best books on mythology (all kinds)?

I recently read American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which I adored for its wide variety of mythological characters. While I have a good grasp of Greek and Roman gods (and a bit about the Norse gods as well), I feel like my education is lacking in the areas of Celtic gods, Hindu gods, and all other kinds of deities.

I'd love to read some non-fiction accounts OR re-tellings of myths from any culture. I found the thread on Greek/Roman books for children, but I am more interested in other mythologies.

Thanks for any suggestions!

By: Think_Long

Think_Long — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:17:35 -0800

have you read the scandinavian chronicles?

By: Roach

Roach — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:22:16 -0800

Joseph Campbell
- The Power of Myth
- Hero With a Thousand Faces
- Masks of God

By: jammy

jammy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:35:02 -0800

The Little Book of Hindu Deities is quite enjoyable & is more extensive and detailed than one would expect

By: jammy

jammy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:42:22 -0800

another idea: an interesting & lyrical retelling of many Hindu myths is Roberto Calasso's Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India

By: bibliowench

bibliowench — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:49:56 -0800

I'm using this text next semester for my myth class, and I like both the selection of the myths and the different myth theories: Introduction to Mythology. It's a textbook, so it's pricey, but you can get a cheaper older edition or a library copy perhaps. Be wary that some anthologies, like this one, are bowdlerized to the point of absurdity.

The Norse Myths is a fun read. The prose level is more suited towards teenagers, but it's a good alternative if you don't want to tackle the Eddas.

Over Nine Waves has some nice retellings of Irish Myths.

I've used selections from African Myths of Origin for trickster tales, if you'd like to read more about "Mr. Nancy."

By: soma lkzx

soma lkzx — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:53:20 -0800

i can't believe i was beaten to the little book of hindu deities. seconding it, then!

By: pecanpies

pecanpies — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:54:36 -0800

The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer

By: jammy

jammy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:00:01 -0800

Gene Yang's American Born Chinese has a great re-telling of the Monkey King woven into the overall structure of the story

By: twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious

twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:17:41 -0800

As a kid, I loved anything the d'Aulaires wrote, especially the Book of Greek Myths.

Also, Bernard Evslin wrote a great series, the Monsters of Mythology, that packed the legendary heroes and monsters of Greek myths full of characterization, making the stories seem driven more by individual motivations and flaws rather than an ambiguous concept of destiny.

You can't really go wrong with any translation of the Monkey King stories I think. And Laurence Yep gathered folktales from immigrants in Chinatown in Tongues of Jade.

By: immlass

immlass — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:54:01 -0800

Seconding the Crossley-Holland Norse myths book. In fact, all the Pantheon myth series books that I've read have been pretty good.

The Datlow-Windling edited fairy tale series of fiction retellings has some good mythology in it, e.g., Pamela Dean's Tam Lin.

By: prufrock

prufrock — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:08:25 -0800

Bulfinch's Mythology

Also, I'm sure you aren't looking for a semiotic treatment of modern myths. But I'm going to recommend Barthes anyway.

By: alteredcarbon

alteredcarbon — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:36:56 -0800

Roach has the answer that I second. Campbell was an american mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. But follow your bliss.

By: Chocolate Pickle

Chocolate Pickle — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:37:28 -0800

Bullfinch's is the standard.

By: of strange foe

of strange foe — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:21:17 -0800

"The Mexican Dream: The Interrupted Thought of Amerindian Civilizations" by J. M. G. Le Clezio goes a lot into Amerindian mythology/rituals before the conquistadors got there.

By: RussHy

RussHy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:19:06 -0800

Nthing the Joseph Campbell books. Another good mythology author is Robert Graves.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:42:19 -0800

Jim Fitzpatrick's version of the Book of Conquests retells Irish myth in the style of heavy metal album covers :D I loved it as a lad.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:53:33 -0800

Oops, forgot link to main entry at Fitzpatrick's site where has far more insightful things than I to say about the inspirations for his illustrations, plus links to the second volume of what will eventually be a trilogy based on the myths. He's yer man who did the famous Che picture, btw.

By: nax

nax — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:52:09 -0800

Indian mythology: Mahabharata (fantastic, by the way)

Greek: Edith Hamilton for the classic retellings

By: bookish

bookish — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:39:38 -0800

For Indian mythology, I'd recommend Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization as a place to start. It's the work of Heinrich Zimmer, a teacher of and a huge influence on Joseph Campbell. It's a good read that conveys some of the important concepts and characters in the Hindu myths, as well as a taste of their really mind-blowing beauty.

The Book of Hindu Imagery: The Gods and Their Symbols is a way useful little reference book. It covers the major gods and goddesses and goes through the various hand gestures, postures, accessories, and symbols that are associated with them. This is important stuff for learning how to "read" Hindu imagery, which is a vital part of Hindu mythology past and present.

The above-mentioned Ka is a beautiful re-telling of Hindu myths, but I wouldn't really recommend it for beginners. It's poetic and speculative and might seem confusing, jumpy, or just weird if you don't know anything about the stories he's re-imagining.

When it comes to Hinduism, it's really difficult to say exactly where mythology ends and theology begins. Imagine if people had never stopped worshiping the Greek gods, but instead focused thousands of years of philosophical and existential thought on them. That's not far from what happened in India: the Greek and the Hindu gods probably originated in the same proto-Indo-European pantheon, and many figures show strong similarities-- Indra and Zeus, Kama and Eros. If you're interested in getting into the more "religious" side of Hinduism, Diane Eck's Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India is a phenomenal and very readable introduction to Hindu devotion and modern "temple Hinduism."

There's also, of course, the Bhagavad Gita. That and the lovely Vaishnavite poems of The Gitagovinda are probably my two favorite religious works ever. Both have been translated quite well by the late Barbara Stoller Miller.

By: fings

fings — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:06:56 -0800

Roger Zelazny wrote a few things inspired by . I'd recommend Lord of Light, which uses Hindu and Buddhist myths, Creatures of Light and Darkness uses Egyptian mythology, but is less straightforward story, and more about imagery.

And if you want to watch something instead of reading, check out Sita Sings the Blues, which tells a story from the Ramayana through cartoon and 1920s blues music.

By: rtha

rtha — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:24:01 -0800

Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods - online, free!

By: Houstonian

Houstonian — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:38:15 -0800

A Dictionary of Creation Myths covers only creation myths, but expands across a lot of different cultures. It's set in a dictionary format instead of a novel format, but it is fascinating because it lets you see similarities between creation myths. For example, there's an entry called "Creation from Clay" which gives an overview of this type of myth. Then, it has a "see also" list of creation myths that involve clay: Blackfoot, Dyak, Egyption, Hebrew, Polynesian, Sumerian, Yoruba. Each of those have their own entry, giving the story and citing the exact religious text or book that contains the story, for your later Googling pleasure.

History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees is comprehensive, at almost 400 pages. It is not New-Age adaptations of Cherokee myths and ways; it's the real deal. It was written by James Mooney in the late 1800s/early 1900s. On the linked Amazon page, you can preview the Table of Contents to see how comprehensive it is.

By: Tamanna

Tamanna — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:15:02 -0800

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are two of the cornerstones of Hindu mythology. I'm at work, else I'd trawl around for the Amazon links, but if I were you I'd try and get the English translation by C. Rajagopalachari- his are easily the best versions out there.

By: elisynn

elisynn — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:16:04 -0800

Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton (the stories there are heavily based on Welsh mythology)

By: beandip

beandip — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:23:51 -0800

fings is right about Lord of Light. I think you would enjoy it, when you are in the mood for some more fiction featuring mythological-type characters tied together in an excellent storyline.

By: Hanuman1960

Hanuman1960 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:04:30 -0800

For Egyptian deities, there is an, unfortunately, out of print book called Egyptian Gods and Goddess by Clive Barrett. Copies are still available through 2nd hand sellers at Amazon...

By: fantine

fantine — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:36:35 -0800

These are brilliant. Thanks for all the suggestions! I can't wait to check them out.

By: palindromic

palindromic — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:03:50 -0800

The White Goddess by Robert Graves is a very fun book to read, similar to The Golden Bough.